Public: Response to Katrina Better Now Than Just After Hurricane Hit

Katrina third most closely followed news event after 9/11, Iraq War

Most Americans were not impressed with the initial response to Hurricane Katrina, but according to the latest CNN/USA Today/Gallup survey, majorities of Americans now say that the people and officials involved in the rescue effort are doing a good job. The weekend poll shows Americans were inclined to fire FEMA Director Michael Brown (who resigned from FEMA on Monday). Most Americans believe that government agencies in New Orleans should have been better prepared, and they support the proposal for an independent investigation into the problems with the government's response. But they reject the notion that race or poverty were reasons why the government was slow to respond.

The poll, conducted Sep. 8-11, finds that 58% of Americans say they have been following the news about the hurricane "very closely" and another 38% "somewhat closely." Only the terrorist attacks on 9/11 and the war with Iraq found more Americans paying "very" close attention to those events -- out of a list of over 150 events tracked by Gallup since the early 1990s.

The vast majority of Americans have also reacted emotionally to the events in the Gulf Coast -- 98% say they have felt sadness, 78% shock, and 62% anger.

When asked about the initial response to Hurricane Katrina, majorities of Americans are critical of President George W. Bush, FEMA and federal government agencies responsible for handling emergencies, state and local officials in Louisiana, and the residents of New Orleans. However, when asked how these same groups were responding to the hurricane in the past few days, majorities of Americans say each person or group has been doing a good job.

The results show little differentiation among the four groups, suggesting the public believes blame for the problems should be shared by many. In that regard, 70% believe there should be an independent investigation into the problems with the government's response; only 29% disagree.

By a 47% to 37% margin, with the rest expressing no opinion, Americans were of the opinion (in the weekend poll) that at least one person, FEMA Director Michael Brown, should be fired. (Brown resigned on Monday, Sep. 12. Last Friday, Coast Guard Vice Admiral Thad Allen replaced Brown as commander of Hurricane Katrina relief operations. Bush supported Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff's decision to reassign Brown.)

The public does not accept the argument "that there was no way for [government agencies] to adequately prepare for a hurricane that strong." Instead, by a 71% to 28% margin, the public believes that the agencies should have been better prepared. Americans are also more likely to believe that the slow response was a result of bureaucratic inefficiency (49%) than a lack of adequate preparation (40%).

Despite criticisms of the government about its response to Katrina, clear majorities of Americans have confidence in the federal government's ability to respond both to future natural disasters, and to terrorist attacks.

Sixty percent of Americans express a "great deal" or "moderate amount" of confidence in the federal government to respond to natural disasters, compared with 40% who have "not much" confidence or "none at all."
Similarly, 63% have confidence in the federal government to respond to terrorist attacks, while 37% do not.

Nevertheless, 49% of Americans say the media are spending too much time trying to figure out who is responsible for the problems in the areas affected by the hurricane, compared with 48% who say that about Democratic leaders in Congress, and 31% about congressional Republican leaders.