Hurricane Katrina

I recently read an article, the synopsis of which states:

Katrina's destruction was as much a policy disaster as a natural disaster: Development that sprawled into marshes, swamps and flood zones, poor citizens isolated in concentrations of poverty, neglected and overstressed infrastructure. Smart Growth America's coalition has crafted and embraced a comprehensive response for the near, medium and long term actions needed to restore the Gulf Coast and prevent similar disasters elsewhere.

I must admit that having been born and raised in this town, when the class began I had a natural disinclination towards sprawl, and didn't tend to think of it as a political issue. However, after reading a variety of 'anti-sprawl' articles, I see now that many of the proponents of 'smart growth' often use this sort of argument, generalizing situations into contextual oblivion. I was under the impression that the Katrina disaster was the fault of inept FEMA leadership, and negligent local government, however, apparently the disaster may also be evoked to prove the danger of many environmental platforms. I recently heard that the hurricanes are getting stronger due to warmer water from global warming. I don't know if this is the case, however, clearly the above instance seems an irresponsible use of a national tragedy to further a political agenda.