PBS programs probe response to hurricane

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Taking their own expert measure of Hurricane Katrina (including its prelude and aftermath), PBS series "NOVA" and "Frontline" team up with a pair of documentaries Tuesday. Each in its own way probes the failures in organization, engineering and leadership that brought about the worst natural disaster in U.S. history.
First "NOVA" presents a minute-by-minute reconstruction of the disaster told through eyewitness testimony.
A definitive investigation of the science used to predict the catastrophic storm and its outcome a year in advance, the program poses these questions: What made this storm so destructive? How accurately did scientists predict its impact? And why are powerful hurricanes like Katrina likely to strike more often? It airs at 8 p.m. Tuesday.
Then at 9 p.m., "Frontline" investigates the chain of decisions that slowed federal response to the devastation in New Orleans. The program exposes how and why officials failed to protect thousands of Americans from a widely predicted natural disaster, and examines the overall status of America's disaster-response system.
Interviewees include former Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Michael Brown in his first televised interview since resigning, plus Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin and former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge.