Because the power had been knocked out. One press account described the facility as, quote, a deathtrap, end quote, because the elderly are particularly susceptible to heat related illnesses. Last month this photo of residence of an assisted living facility in texas who were trapped in waist deep water went viral. As of these recent disasters make clear, Older Americans are particularly vulnerable before, during, and even after a storm. In fact, when Hurricane Katrina slammed into the gold coast 12 years ago, more than half of those who died were seniors. As the danger of the Senate Homeland security committee, along with senator Joe Lieberman of connecticut, i lead a bipartisan investigation into the response to Hurricane Katrina at the federal, state and local levels. Our investigation which resulted in this weighty report revealed many weaknesses in our nations Emergency Response system. And although i doubt very many people read the whole report, it does have an excellent summary t