The drama predicts that a fictional Hurricane Julia would hit the US coast on Saturday 3rd September 2005. In fact, Katrina hit just five days earlier on Monday 29th August. With an American public angry at the government's lack of preparation and slow response, it poses an uncomfortable question: if a television programme could predict these events, why couldn't the American government? Catherine Levy, producer and co-writer of Oil Storm shares her thoughts.

The similarities between the effects of the fictional Hurricane Julia in Oil Storm and the real Katrina are remarkable. Are you psychic?!
No I really can't say I'm psychic! We did put in an awful lot of research though. We spoke to over 100 experts and it was slightly freaky to see so many things we'd calculated actually happen. The date was literally just a few days out. We predicted the category, the scale, how it would impact on the production of oil (our estimate that 80% of oil production would be affected was correct) and also that the price would go up to $70 a barrel (when we wrote it, it was only $40, so it was quite a leap.)

How did you feel as the enormity of Katrina became apparent?
I was completely weirded out by it. It was just bizarre watching the news and seeing the Mayor of New Orleans and reporters on CNN and NBC saying almost exactly the words we'd scripted! It felt very odd indeed. We'd been allowed to film our fictional scenario in the Emergency Preparedness Centre and I saw on the news the very same people we'd met there.

At the time of this interview the Gulf coast is bracing itself for category 5 Hurricane Rita. What do you think will happen differently this time?
I think a lot of lessons have been learnt. They're evacuating people now, in particular the sick, the elderly and those on low incomes. The problem is that if it stays category 5 there will undoubtedly be damage and lives lost. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has been begging Washington for more resources for months and the Bush administration have ignored them with the consequences we're seeing now. Bush is in a whole load of trouble right now.

In your film the fictional Hurricane Julia causes oil barrel prices to rise. Could Katrina bring about a US-wide recession due to this increase?
A number of industries have already been hit. Two or three airlines have already said they can't cope with the price increases. The trucking industry has also been affected and we're seeing boycotts and strikes. Alan Greenspan, US Federal Reserve Board Chairman, warned that the aftermath of Katrina would 'blow a hole in the American economy'. If Rita does severe damage to Houston [the heart of America's oil industry] then it may mean a deep recession... it's hard to tell.

There have been accusations of racial discrimination in the evacuation and rescue effort. Do you think these are justified?
Undoubtedly. It's very clear there's a divide between the affluent and the black and poor. You can see there's an underclass and they're literally pushed to the boundaries of the city. The hurricane has exposed deep and fundamental problems in US society and they have to ask themselves some hard questions.

You must have spent a lot of time in the States...
Yes, it took nine months to make the film and six of those months were spent in Texas, Houston, San Antonio, New Orleans, Boston, New York, Chicago, Washington and Moscow. I bought a Mac with iChat [video conferencing software] so at the end of a hard day's filming I would log on and chat with all the family. It kept me sane. I have to say though I had great fun making the film. I met some extraordinary people, from senior diplomats to oil rig workers.

What's your background?
I was a journalist at the BBC for several years working on Newsnight, Correspondent and Rough Justice. I moved to Drama for four or five years, so Oil Storm utilised both my journalistic and dramatic backgrounds. I've worked on plenty of documentaries before but this is my first epic.

Finally, what would you say is the key message in Oil Storm?
It really explores America's reliance on oil. After a year long crisis in which oil prices have escalated and lives have radically changed you ask yourself are you going to get back in your Humvee and go back to life as it was, or will you have a rethink and start riding a bicycle? Without a doubt, hurricane or no hurricane there is a problem with oil and we need to prepare for it running out.