How Hurricane Katrina Shaped Heritage Emergency Response in Georgia
- georgiaheritageres
- Sep 5
- 5 min read
When Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast in 2005, its devastation was staggering. At an (adjusted) $198 billion in damages and more than 1,800 lives lost, it remains the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history. Among the hardest-hit were cultural institutions: libraries, museums, archives, and historic sites. Forty-two public libraries in Louisiana were destroyed, while museums and historic properties across New Orleans and the Mississippi coast suffered catastrophic losses.
For Georgia, Katrina was not a direct hit. But it was a turning point. As former Georgia State Archivist David Carmichael put it simply: “Katrina. Period. The devastation along the Gulf coast was difficult to grasp, even in person, and the vulnerability of Georgia’s coast was obvious.” The storm revealed how quickly cultural resources—particularly along Georgia’s historic coastline—could be lost without coordinated planning and response.
Lessons from the Gulf
Two weeks after landfall, two Georgia professionals—Ann Frellsen, conservator at Emory University (now retired), and Christine Wiseman of the Georgia Archives (now at Atlanta University Center)—traveled to Mississippi to assist with damage assessments. They worked in three coastal counties, helping 19 libraries and heritage organizations document losses and stabilize collections.
The conditions left a lasting impression. “The chaos and lack of everything was eye-opening,” Frellsen recalled. “The experience changed what I had been taught about humidity and mold growth. I was motivated to learn more about that relationship and how to better control the situation when there was no power.”
That same year, the Heritage Health Index (2005) confirmed the depth of the problem nationwide: a staggering 80% of U.S. collecting institutions lacked an emergency plan or trained staff. Katrina’s destruction combined with these survey findings created a sense of urgency that galvanized cultural heritage professionals in Georgia.
From Awareness to Action
In 2007, the High Museum of Art in Atlanta hosted one of the first post-Katrina Alliance for Response forums, a national initiative to connect cultural stewards with emergency managers. Nearly 100 people attended, and from that meeting, the Heritage Emergency Response Alliance (HERA) was formed.
HERA quickly became a hub for disaster training, resource sharing, and hands-on response. Its members rallied after a 2008 tornado damaged the offices of the Atlanta Daily World, the city’s oldest Black newspaper. Over the course of a week, volunteers salvaged historic files, photographs, and bound newspapers. “That response was a turning point for HERA,” recalled one member. “It showed us the importance of being organized—not just willing—to help.”
The model soon spread. In 2010, Savannah hosted its own Alliance for Response forum, leading to the creation of Savannah Heritage Emergency Response (SHER). Situated in a low-lying, hurricane-prone county, SHER forged a close partnership with Chatham Emergency Management Agency (CEMA). Over time, SHER secured a designated seat in CEMA’s Emergency Operations Center, ensuring cultural heritage was represented in real time during emergencies. As Glenda Anderson of the Georgia Historical Records Advisory Council explained, “Building NCH-EMA partnerships is time-consuming and labor-intensive. Mutual trust and respect do not develop overnight; they are more long-term accomplishments.”
These local networks also began to collaborate with state-level agencies. In 2015, cultural institutions were formally added to Georgia’s Emergency Operations Plan under Emergency Support Function 11 (ESF-11), coordinated by the Department of Agriculture. This inclusion reflected years of relationship-building. As Venessa Sims, ESF-11 lead for Georgia, put it: “NCH organizations play a key role in community stability, are economic drivers, and teachers of art, history, cultural, and natural resources. I am grateful to have been welcomed into this space to serve as a liaison to GEMA/HS and NCH partners.”
From HERA and SHER to GHR
While HERA and SHER became trusted local networks, their reach was limited. Georgia’s 159 counties meant that vast regions of the state had little connection to cultural emergency planning. Recognizing this gap, a statewide training initiative launched in 2019, modeled after the National Heritage Responders program.
Dozens of professionals from across Georgia—representing libraries, archives, museums, emergency management, and even a zoo—participated in virtual and in-person training. This effort laid the groundwork for a more cohesive statewide approach.
In 2023, HERA and SHER members voted to combine and expand their mission, formally rebranding as the Georgia Heritage Responders (GHR). The new network aims to:
Train heritage responders using a train-the-trainer model.
Establish coordinators in each of Georgia’s eight emergency management regions.
Strengthen representation in rural and under-resourced areas.
Serve as a bridge between cultural institutions and emergency management at every level.
As one steering committee member explained, the transition was about sustainability: “We realized the need to think bigger than Atlanta. Georgia’s heritage resources are everywhere—rural churches, small-town archives, historic houses—and they deserve the same protection as our flagship institutions.”
The group’s first statewide training, held in November 2023 at the Georgia Archives, combined hands-on salvage practice with a “train-the-trainer” session to build capacity across the state.
Katrina’s Lasting Legacy
Twenty years after Hurricane Katrina, its influence is still visible in Georgia’s preparedness landscape. The storm exposed how unprepared cultural institutions were for catastrophic loss. It spurred the formation of networks like HERA and SHER, deepened relationships with emergency managers, and ultimately paved the way for Georgia Heritage Responders.
Carmichael reflected on the enduring challenge: “Over the long term, the greatest obstacle has always been a combination of denial (‘a disaster of that magnitude can’t happen to me’) and the tyranny of the urgent (‘I have more immediate concerns’). I can see very little hope of overcoming those challenges except consistent and repeated efforts to make people aware of the dangers and the potential consequences of failure.”
Takeaways for Professionals
For today’s heritage professionals, Katrina’s legacy is a call to action:
Invest in preparedness. Don’t assume disaster won’t strike your institution.
Engage with networks. Join statewide or regional groups like GHR to strengthen collective response.
Partner with emergency managers. Building relationships before disaster strikes ensures cultural heritage is not forgotten in the response.
Train and share knowledge. A train-the-trainer model means expertise spreads further, faster.
As Glenda Anderson reminds us, perseverance is essential: “Sustainability is never a guarantee. Stick-with-it-ness is an all-important necessity.”
Katrina revealed how fragile cultural resources can be. But in Georgia, it also catalyzed a movement toward resilience. The work of HERA, SHER, and now Georgia Heritage Responders ensures that the lessons of 2005 continue to shape a stronger, more prepared heritage community. This was recently tested in 2024 Hurricanes Debbie and Helene, which impacted southern and coastal Georgia, highlighting the need for additional training opportunities across the state and ways to grow the response network.
If you’re looking to get involved, need help updating your emergency plan, or if you’re just seeking hands-on training opportunities, GHR is hosting a workshop at the SGA 2025 annual meeting in Macon, Georgia, on October 2nd from 3:40pm – 4:30pm Come join a tabletop training exercise for heritage emergency response so it’s fresh in your mind for the 2025 hurricane cycle!– See you there!
This retrospective was pulled from a longer article created by GHR leadership, which is published in Provenance, Vol 40, No. 1, 2024.
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