Emergency management systems’ failure to mitigate the devastation caused by hurricane Katrina imposed a number of unfortunate lessons from this disaster, lessons hard won and learned. These lessons are worth repeating for the benefit of the international emergency management community. Lessons this paper seeks to convey: the significance of organization and leadership, with communications as the critical link between them, to advance disaster responsiveness. Particular emphasis is placed on the role of communications, in its multiple modes, as it applies to disaster response management relevant to both Bulgaria and the Black Sea Basin/ Balkan region.