New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin returned from a trip to Cuba this past October where he learned how the Communist country prepares for and copes with natural disasters. The Mayor is hoping to apply those evacuation lessons to the emergency preparedness plan for New Orleans, which has not yet recovered fully from Hurricane Katrina’s battering in 2005.

Nagin said that during Hurricane Katrina, communication problems between federal, state, and local governments in the U.S. hampered evacuation and rescue efforts, but in Cuba, that isn’t a problem.

He also spent time with officials from the Cuban Chamber of Commerce, the Port of Havana, as well as other tourism authorities to learn about potential economic opportunities. Cuba was the Port of New Orleans top source of trade in the late ‘50s, according to The Associated Press.
“Nagin said the widening of the Panama Canal will bring in tremendous new trade opportunities. He’s also optimistic about new non-stop flights to Havana,”  the local Fox affiliate in New Orleans reported.

With the Obama Administration’s recent moves to loosen remittances, telecommunications, and travel restrictions, specifically, for those in the U.S. with relatives in Cuba, Nagin is hoping even more open relations are in the offing.

“I think there is a recognition that something better is going to happen between Cuba and the United States, ” Nagin told the AP. “The question is, how much?”