WATCH: Ahead of Katrina Anniversary, Former Mayor Mitch Landrieu, Louisiana Public Service Commissioner, Disaster Preparedness Experts Discuss Trump’s Abandonment of Louisiana Storm Defenses

BATON ROUGE, LA — Ahead of the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, Sabotaging Our Safety hosted a press call with Former Louisiana Lt. Governor and Mayor of New Orleans Mitch Landrieu, former FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, and Louisiana Public Service Commissioner Davante Lewis. The call came as nearly 200 current and former FEMA employees signed a letter warning that Trump is gutting disaster response. 

Speakers discussed how Donald Trump’s administration is undermining FEMA’s readiness and Louisiana’s hurricane protection systems, leaving vulnerable communities dangerously exposed. Louisiana leaders highlighted how this coordinated abandonment of hurricane defenses leaves Louisiana families at risk during an active hurricane season, exactly 20 years after Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast.

“After Hurricane Katrina, we learned that strong federal, state, and local partnerships on disasters require clear communication and collaboration and a forward-leading FEMA that is well-funded, well-organized, and has professional staff experienced in emergency management. And we learned we need to invest in stronger, more resilient infrastructure,” said Former Louisiana Lt. Governor and Mayor of New Orleans Mitch Landrieu. “Right now, we are losing a lot of ground quickly because the lessons that we learned are being completely undermined by the Trump administration’s gutting of FEMA, NOAA, and the National Weather Service, hobbling the federal government’s ability to predict, prepare for, and then respond to disasters.”

“In the 20 years following Hurricane Katrina’s devastation, the federal government has strived to improve its ability to support people before, during, and after disasters, and I fear that we’re forgetting these lessons,” said Former Administrator of FEMA Deanne Criswell. “As the number of disasters, the severity, and the complexity of these recoveries continue to increase, we have to continuously work with state and local partners to ensure we’re doing everything we can to make it easier for these communities to recover so they don’t face the same challenges from Hurricane Katrina.”

“What we’re watching is state governments across this nation follow the Trump administration by ‘DOGE-ing’ their own Departments of Homeland Security, eliminating positions that are needed to have on-the-ground state support. As we’re having this federal change, there’s also a ripple-down effect where state governments are also downsizing at the exact same time, which means we’re going to put people in a serious position,” said Public Service Commissioner Davante Lewis, Sabotaging Our Safety Advisory Council Member. “As we commemorate this 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, and coming up on the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Rita, it is a reminder that we have to center our people, and that people alone and their resiliency, their heart, and their tenacity to build back cannot be the only tool that we use. We need government, and we need systems to make ourselves resilient so people can have a little bit of breathing room as they navigate what we know will be difficult and hard times.”

Full recording of the press call is available here.

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