In response to Hurricane Katrina’s destructive impact on the Gulf Coast earlier this month, a panel of environmental specialists and disaster relief administrators met Tuesday in Copley Formal Lounge to discuss the environmental and social impact of hurricanes.

The panel discussion, entitled “Hurricane Katrina: Environmental, Social and Political Impacts and Futures,” included experts from Georgetown as well as other universities and institutions. The specialists focused on the unprecedented damage to the U.S. Gulf Coast in Katrina’s wake.

Nathan Hultman, assistant professor of science, technology and international affairs, said that the large increase in the frequency and intensity of hurricanes in recent decades provides ominous signs for decades to come.

“There has been an 80 percent increase in the most intense hurricanes, which are Category 4 and 5 hurricanes,” he said. “By 2060, we are likely to see a significant increase in storm intensities.”

Thomas Cronin, an adjunct STIA professor and research geologist for the U.S. Geological Survey, acknowledged the severity of Hurricane Katrina but said that it was “not unprecedented,” noting that there have been other similarly severe hurricanes in the past. He said that even after a busy hurricane season in Florida and other coastal zones, people are still moving to these regions.

His analysis focused on the “threats to coastal zones from climate vulnerability and sea level rise.” Panelists also discussed research showing that the sea level may be increasing as a result of melting ice sheets, the expansion of ocean surface and the increase in temperature.

Randy McBride, assistant professor of geology at George Mason University, responded that in addition to the rise of sea level, slow subsiding of the earth’s land surface is also contributing to the overall increase in the relative sea level rate.

“The sea level is increasing and the land is sinking, which results in a relative sea level rate of one centimeter per year near New Orleans,” McBride said.

He added, however, that he did not consider Hurricane Katrina to be the worst-case scenario for the region. The “ultimate doomsday” would result in 16 to 19 feet of water covering the entire city of New Orleans, he said.

Adjunct STIA Professor Jose Tereul criticized the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s response to the hurricane, which he blamed for leaving New Orleans in ruins and its residents without shelter, water, food and sanitary facilities.

“There could have been quicker reaction,” Tereul said.

He noted that FEMA operates under the control of the Department of Homeland Security and said that such an agency needs a certain degree of independence to work effectively and swiftly.

The panel was organized by Tim Beach, director of the Center for the Environment, and co-sponsored by STIA and the Georgetown Public Policy Institute.