For Florida, Katrina was a sobering reminder of the state’s own vulnerability. Though Louisiana and Mississippi bore the brunt of the destruction, Florida felt Katrina’s impact too. Before the storm turned west into the Gulf, Katrina made landfall in South Florida as a Category 1 hurricane, killing 14 Floridians and leaving more than a million without power. The storm caused billions in damages, particularly to homes, roads, and critical infrastructure. It was a glimpse of the kind of devastation Florida would face again and again in the decades that followed.
Since 2005, Florida has endured some of the costliest and deadliest storms in U.S. history. Hurricane Michael in 2018 caused an estimated $25 billion in damages. Hurricane Ian in 2022 became the third-costliest storm ever to hit the U.S., leaving more than 140 people dead in Florida and destroying entire communities in Southwest Florida. The state has recorded more than 120 hurricane or tropical storm strikes since 1851, far more than any other state. For Floridians, disaster recovery is not an abstract concept, it is a constant, urgent reality.
That is why the lessons of Katrina matter so much in Florida. The accountability, speed, and community-focused systems that were developed reshaped how disaster recovery is managed here today. Florida, more than almost any other state, has depended on those lessons to respond quickly and effectively when disaster strikes, and still relies on the same partners who wrote the playbook after Katrina.
Governor Haley Barbour, who led Mississippi through the storm and its aftermath, summed up the challenge, and how HORNE, a professional services firm, came ready to help: “I think there were 13 municipalities on the Coast, and none of them, none of them had their financial records. HORNE developed a program and helped each one of them figure out where they stood.”
HORNE not only came to help, but per those in charge, they got the job done with incredible efficiency and were recognized for their work.
“At least two Inspector Generals wrote up Mississippi’s programs as what ought to be the national standard,” said Governor Barbour. “We took accounting and keeping up with the money seriously and did a good job of doing it.
On HORNE’s role in managing recovery funds, then Mississippi Emergency Management Agency Director Mike Womack added, “I couldn’t have asked for a better group of people to be working with ... they were like my own staff.”
That partnership with HORNE became the foundation of the Gulf Coast’s recovery. “That led to our strong relationship with HORNE that continued throughout the rest of the disaster period,” Barbour said.
Others who lived through the recovery recall the same sense of relief when HORNE stepped in.
“Once we learned that HORNE had been chosen to oversee, help with, and manage the disaster funding, we all sighed a breath of relief. We really did,” said Chris Richardson, who worked in Mississippi U.S. Senator Thad Cochran’s office at the time.
HORNE’s role went far beyond compliance and paperwork. Many of their employees working on recovery efforts were helping to rebuild their own communities, along with the lives and livelihoods of their families and neighbors.
“We were able to come alongside our state and our citizens and help rebuild. And we were a huge part of that,” said HORNE’s Diana Hardin.
From writing the playbook for future disaster recovery efforts to staffing up in record time, HORNE earned a reputation for fierce ownership and urgency.
“If you could actually assign a percentage of body weight to that component part that is fierce ownership, there’s no question HORNE would outweigh the competition at every turn,” said Bryan McDonald, then Mississippi’s Director of the Office of Recovery.
Floridians know all too well what it’s like to face the kind of devastation Mississippi endured after Katrina. Hurricanes Michael, Ian, and countless others have tested Florida’s resilience. Each time, recovery has required trusted partners who can bring speed, accountability, and compassion to the table.
That’s why HORNE’s legacy after Katrina still matters to Florida today. The same company that helped the Gulf Coast rebuild has since become a critical partner for the state of Florida. When Hurricane Michael struck the Panhandle, HORNE supported the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, now FloridaCommerce, in delivering housing repair and replacement programs years ahead of schedule. Just as they did after Katrina, HORNE delivered results that communities could see and touch.
Twenty years after Katrina, the images of destruction are still haunting. But so are the lessons of resilience and recovery. Communities rise when partners step in with urgency, accountability, and heart. For Floridians, that is not just history. It’s a reminder of why HORNE continues to be trusted with the most important work of all: helping families and communities rebuild when disaster strikes.
