Tuesday marks the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's devastating landfall in New Orleans, and that date, Aug. 29, should remain circled in red on Hawai'i calendars as well.

Everyone remembers vividly the ensuing days when the breach of the levees and the slow relief response compounded the tragic destruction and loss of life.

In the Gulf zone, poorer areas still haven't recovered a full year later, despite the millions of taxpayer dollars spent, much of that outlay wasted through bureaucratic breakdowns in federal and local response. The sheer scope of the catastrophe hindered success, but it was government's dysfunction and failure to invest in levee upgrades and in emergency shelters that are the most painful lessons learned.

Recently, an initiative called "Government After Katrina" (www.governmentafterkatrina.org) was founded by the Partnership for Public Service, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization. It seeks ideas that can help the government operate more effectively in such disasters. Suggestions, including enhanced training and the appointment of a federal chief management officer to coordinate response, deserve a look.

Here at home, the need for sustained investment in preparedness is just as great, if not greater. It's good that the state is now using money in hand to retrofit more public buildings for use as shelters, but the Legislature has got to keep the momentum going even as Katrina fades from memory.

Hawai'i, in its isolation, must be equipped to cope with a devastating blow, whether it comes from natural forces or terrorists' strikes. Government agencies, as well as private businesses and even households making their own emergency kits, all must do their part.