Hurricane Katrina: Complex Recovery at an Unprecedented Scale

Manage Billions in Funding Under Tight Requirements

Hurricane Katrina caused widespread destruction across Mississippi, damaging communities across much of the state and creating a recovery effort at a scale the state had never faced before. Much of this work was being done for the first time at this level, with limited precedent for how programs should be structured or managed.

The state needed to manage $5.48 billion in federal funding, which came with strict rules and requirements. And if the funding wasn’t spent correctly or properly documented, the federal government could take it back.

At the same time, there were multiple programs running across different agencies and regions, meaning existing processes and vendors were not able to keep everything coordinated, compliant, and moving forward at the pace required. State leadership recognized the need for a central program manager to bring structure, oversight, and accountability to the recovery effort.

Deliver Measurable Recovery Outcomes

Our work helped move the state from a position of emergency to one of recovery. Nearly 11,000 homes were completed, giving families a place to return and helping to stabilize communities across the state. Businesses reopened, and local economies began to recover.

Our work helped the state establish and open intake centers across impacted areas in a matter of weeks. This led to 17,000 applications being collected in 90 days, with more than 4,600 residents receiving support navigating eligibility and documentation requirements.

Additionally, our team provided full oversight of the state’s recovery portfolio, which included funding across 20 programs. This work covered approximately $3.3 billion in housing programs, $1.2 billion in infrastructure, and $921 million in economic development efforts, all requiring coordination across agencies and communities.

Strong documentation and reporting processes kept funding moving and reduced the risk of setbacks that can occur from compliance or reporting gaps. This allowed programs to continue running without major interruption, even as requirements changed and recovery extended over multiple phases. These processes even gained recognition at the federal level, with a GAO report citing our systems as a critical tool that helped speed up project approvals and recovery.  

In all, our work resulted in $5.4 billion in recovery funds effectively managed, nearly 11,000 housing units repaired or rebuilt, and more than $30 million saved for the state. More importantly, the work helped lay the foundation for long term recovery, allowing communities to move forward with stability and continuity.