House Probe Blasts Katrina Preparation

The deaths and suffering of thousands of Hurricane Katrina's victims might have been avoided if the government had heeded lessons from the 2001 terror attacks and taken a proactive stance toward disaster preparedness, a House inquiry concludes.

But from President Bush on down to local officials there was largely a reactive posture to the catastrophic Aug. 29 storm — even when faced with early warnings about its deadly potential.

A 520-page report, titled "A Failure of Initiative," was being released Wednesday as Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff testifies before a Senate committee conducting a separate investigation of the government's Katrina response.

The Associated Press obtained a copy of the report Tuesday night.

"The preparation for and response to Hurricane Katrina should disturb all Americans," said the report, written by a Republican-dominated special House committee chaired by Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va.

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