The Weather Doctor's Book Reviews

Path of Destruction:
The Devastation of New Orleans
and the Coming Age of Superstorms

by John McQuaid and Mark Schleifstein

As we quickly approach the first anniversary of the devastation of the US Gulf Coast by Hurricane Katrina, I note that several books on the event are already on the market or are soon to be released. I normally shy away from such books, save the special photo books printed shortly after the storm. One of the main reasons for my reluctance is that the story of the storm is seldom completed so soon after the event. Katrina is a particular case in point as the cleanup and repairs are ongoing as I write and will be for years.

I received a copy of Path of Destruction: The Devastation of New Orleans and the Coming Age of Superstorms by Pulitzer Prize-winning reporters John McQuaid and Mark Schleifstein. The pair had recently co-authored another award-winning series for the New Orleans Times-Picayune. Entitled "Washing Away," it provided the definitive account of the grave hurricane risks to New Orleans and the surrounding Gulf Coast. With this material as background, the authors were in the perfect position to write about the devastation of New Orleans they had previously feared and the rebuilding effort to date.

I admit I was presently surprised by the book, and although the full sad story of the governments' role in the disaster may be decades away, Path of Destruction is a well-written and eye-opening account of this terrible event. Or perhaps, I should say events because the story did not begin in the waning days of August 2005, but began with the settlement of New Orleans and surrounding areas.

The book may not appeal to all weather history and hurricane buffs as it is more a story of government failures and the City of New Orleans than about Hurricane Katrina. The focus is purposely on the city and its plight and thus generally ignores the fate of those areas of Mississippi and Alabama also hard hit. I can understand that. The story of Katrina and New Orleans is too big in its own right.

The authors begin the saga with the flood and hurricane history of this great city. This material sets the stage for the disaster that was bound to happen and, for many reasons, mostly ignored. The first chapters recount the dreadful inadequacies in the flood and storm protection programs for the city and environs that existed prior to 2005. About mid-book, Katrina hits the coast just to the east of the city, fortunately not with the direct knockout punch originally feared but with a damaging blow nonetheless.

Most of the remaining book deals with the governmental responses and points out the general inability of all levels of government to deal with such natural disaster situations and coordinate any form of response. The worst part of the story is that only months before the storm hit, an emergency response exercise focused on almost the exact scenario. But when the water hit the road, the exercise became reality. The story, a good basis for a novel, involves the President and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Governor and the Mayor. While the former looked elsewhere, the latter two were forced to try to respond to the largest natural disaster to strike an American in decades.

I found the book made me angry. How could a nation that prides itself on its great abilities to respond to crises look so utterly foolish in its own backyard? McQuaid and Schleifstein provide an indictment of the Washington officials who failed to act and how ill-prepared they were to act, particularly the career backgrounds of many of the individuals put in charge of emergency response. They have done a good job in attempting to separate the truth from the spin sensationalism amid the political finger-pointing in all directions. I know we will not have the full picture for decades, but this book shows how Americans must rethink their emergency response before the next megastorm or superquake strikes.

The second part of the title the Coming Age of Superstorms refers to an ending chapter that brings up the debate as to whether we are entering an age where climate changes will intensify storm power. Regardless of the side you take on this issue, the preceding chapters of the book show we are unable to cope with current levels of storms.

I highly recommend Path of Destruction: The Devastation of New Orleans and the Coming Age of Superstorms. It will open many eyes to the reality behind emergency response in the United States (not that I believe Canada's policy is in any better shape). The situation can only get worse as populations and infrastructure increase. It seems we have become more vulnerable to natural disasters than we realize.