How Katrina drove New Orleans to be a pioneer in data management

By Jonathan Andrews

There aren’t many positive outcomes associated with natural disasters but in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which struck New Orleans in 2005, the urgent need for the better management of data was apparent.

The city began to use data to improve and speed-up decision making, which was essential to the city’s recovery. Government officials realised they needed GIS data, information about properties, and a way to contact owners and to engage with them to start renovating properties.

“We had to get really sophisticated very quickly in how we used information, and that data became a weapon for us and a great resource,” says Kimberly W. LaGrue, Chief Information Of...