Witt Warns Recovery Could Take 30 Years

Hurricane Katrina destroyed thousands of homes along the coast in Louisiana, and if they are rebuilt at the same speed they were originally built, the recovery could last up to 30 years, says James Lee Witt, former director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

According to an article by Marsha Sills in Lafayette, Louisiana’s Daily Advertiser, Witt made the remarks last week during the board of Regents forum on higher education. Witt recommended that the private sector and academia become involved in the recovery to avoid the lengthy time frame, Sills says.

“We’re facing one of the largest urban-rural redevelopments that we have ever faced in our nation,” Witt told attendees, and urged academia to influence policy changes.

Since Katrina, Sills says, Witt has traveled frequently to the state to advise lawmakers. “Today, when we went back, it didn’t look much different [than immediately after the hurricane struck],” Witt said. “No gas stations. No schools...But there’s movement there and it’s starting to evolve.”

Witt also called the action of putting FEMA under the auspices of the DHS a mistake and said he has been in discussions with members of Congress to move the agency from the Homeland Security umbrella.

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