In an effort to identify lessons learned in the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita and to share promising practices, AARP convened a diverse group of more than 100 government officials at federal, state and local levels; emergency preparedness and response experts; relief organizations, and aging and disability advocates in Washington, DC, on December 1st, 2005. All of the panelists were “people who had been there.” The goal of the conference was to bring the right stakeholders together to explore workable strategies for the future to better protect older persons in both the community and in nursing homes. Highlights from the AARP conference and an extensive literature review, plus data from a short survey of persons age 50 and older conducted by Harris Interactive for AARP in November 2005, are presented in this AARP Public Policy Institute report