Hurricane Katrina: Two Disasters From the Frontline Film, The Old Man and The Storm, the life of Herbert Gettridge was followed after he returned to the 9th Ward of New Orleans to rebuild his home after it was destroyed in Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005. After Hurricane Katrina, 500,000 families were displaced, 200,000 homes were destroyed, and 600 congregations were demolished (The Old Man and The Storm). This was a natural disaster of monumental proportions. Ironically though, a mock scenario was created by Louisiana State University’s Center for the Study of Public Health: Impacts of Hurricanes and FEMA, called Hurricane Pam in July of 2004. An artificial disaster was created during a ten day exercise held at the State Emergency …show more content…
The lack of response by the various governmental agencies turned this natural disaster into a blame game that still exists almost five years later. The unpreparedness of governmental agencies on the local, state and federal levels was inexcusable because of the mock disaster of Hurricane Pam that had just been performed a year earlier in 2004. After the hurricane there was an inadequate or unnatural response from all levels of government. The agencies like the Red Cross, Congregations from many neighboring states, and the Army Reserve were quick to respond to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. By the end of the 2005 – 2006 hurricane season the Army Reserve had saved hundreds of storm victims, flown 665 hours in 38 days, transported more than 2,000 urban search and rescue team members, and placed more than 10.4 million pounds of reconstruction materials in breached levees (Lambert).
It seemed to be taking other governmental agencies longer to respond. Local government was doing what they could but a political battle was brewing between New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin and Governor Kathleen Blanco. Eleven months after the Hurricane devastated Louisiana, the Governor was given 4.2 billion dollars from the Federal government but why did it take so long? Governor Blanco’s career was eventually destroyed as part of the blame game of whose fault this inadequate response to the storm really
the inability for local, state, and federal actors to coordinate effectively. The first step for
The 1900 Hurricane in Galveston destroyed a majority of the towns infrastructure and killed a significant amount of the population. One of the main reasons behind the level of devastation was do to the fact that the city was not at all prepared to face a storm as large as the one that hit in 1900, the city had a very low elevation with its highest point being only 9 feet above the sea level, and had very little if any means of protection from Hurricanes(1.). By 1900 Galveston had already been hit with several destructive storms in the past but they were not severe enough for the citizens of Galveston to start making more efforts to curb the potential damage a larger storm could have in the future and thus do to something on a
Many people acted gallantly after Hurricane Katrina. The Coast Guard, rescued nearly 34,000 people in New Orleans alone, and everyday citizens commanded boats, offered needed supplies including food, and did whatever else they could do to help the ones in need. But, the government seemed to be caught off guard from this disaster. The FEMA took days to authorize operations in New Orleans, and even then did not seem to have a guaranteed plan. Officials, along with President George W. Bush, seemed oblivious to the extravagance of problems and suffering New Orleans and elsewhere.
Even though it is the responsibility of the federal and state governments to aid citizens during times of disaster, the people devastated by Hurricane Katrina were not effectively facilitated as according to their rights as citizens of the United States. The government’s failures to deliver assistance to citizens stem from inadequate protection systems in place before the storm even struck. The Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Homeland Security were the two largest incumbents in the wake of the storm. The failure of these agencies rests on the shoulders of those chosen to head the agency. These directors, appointed by then president George W. Bush, were not capable of leading large government agencies through a
Why was the Louisiana National Guard unable to help? The headquarters were flooded also by Katrina
In a time of crisis, the government response to the situation at hand was poor and inefficient. There were numerous flaws and errors in the relief plan proposed to the government which in turn led to delayed relief to victims in need. The immediate response phase after Katrina lasted roughly 12 days. During this time, “victims were evacuated, rescued, sheltered, and received medical care from first responders, charities and other non-governmental organizations, and private citizens”(McNeill, 2011). The fact that the U.S. government organizations were not the first responders to the disaster is shameful for our country.
In the couple days after Hurricane Katrina, many people were left to think whether help was on the way due to the uninhabitable conditions. The ill-timed response lead to a lot of government officials being removed from their positions for their failure to perform at an exceedingly high level with regards to the issuance of natural disaster assistance. Even though there were a lot of improprieties were committed, there were a lot of federal entities that provided a great amount of aid directly after the storm. For instance, the National Guard was commended highly for their participation in the recovery efforts during and after Hurricane Katrina in all areas that were affected, especially New Orleans.
Before Hurricane Katrina, a simulation called Hurricane Pam was created to prepare for a disaster like Katrina. It was the perfect model of what happened in Katrina ( Maestri, “The Storm” ). The purpose of it was to prepare the people (government) in what is needed during a real hurricane. Unfortunately, Before they could finish the exercise, FEMA's funding for the simulation was cut before it was completed causing the simulation to be canceled. The reason why Hurricane Pam was unsuccessful because “Medical care for hurricane victims was not yet finalized, communication systems were not addressed at all, and key transportation decisions were left to be determined ( Narrator, “The Storm”, PBS ). If the simulation were to be completed, the disaster of Hurricane Katrina could’ve been solved with a prepared plan to help many in New Orleans.
On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast at daybreak, “pummeling a region that included the fabled city of New Orleans and heaping damage on neighboring Mississippi. In all, more than 1,700 people were killed and hundreds of thousands of others displaced.” (Laforet, New York Times)
This case summarizes events preceding the Hurricane Katrina, which was one of the worst natural catastrophes in the modern history of the USA. It raises questions about the lack of reasonable prevention and preparation actions due to flimsy structure and management of the responsible organizations and persons, invalidity and inconsistence of their actions and incapability of making the decisions in a timely manner. As a result of the unstructured and incoherent activities, we could observe several ineffective and costly attempts to mitigate floods and hurricanes. In the beginning the local officials, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and “White Houses past and present always seem penny-wise and pound-foolish” because of the chain of the wrong
In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, Louisiana and the Gulf Coast. The results were catastrophic. Katrina and storm-related flooding took more than 1,800 lives and caused an estimated $81 billion in damages. In the storm’s aftermath, there was widespread debate over government response to the disaster. I believe that the bulk of the responsibility lay with the state and local governments. They should have been better prepared ahead of time and had more comprehensive plans in place to minimize danger to citizens. The national government has traditionally only sent its military into a state at the request of that state’s governor. The governors of Louisiana and Mississippi did not immediately request that action (Fraga, L.
Hurricane Katrina was a devastating disaster that has affected many people in New Orleans. The communication broke down hours after Katrina because of the unexpected fast winds and floods that broke down “3 million phone lines and 1,000 cellular towers in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.”( Joch ). Because of the millions of phone lines that were broken down, contacting the government for help was difficult hours after hurricane Katrina. Not only that, the people of New Orleans underestimated the power of Hurricane Katrina causing many to be “ stranded with no food or water” (Narrator, “The Storm”,PBS).
The Washington Times opens with a statement describing the path of Hurricane Katrina and also shares the known death toll. This article gives the audience more of a general overview of the first known effects of the hurricane, without having too many newly revealed facts. The article has quotes from the governors of Mississippi, which gives the reader a feeling that
Yet, blame was being put on FEMA stating that FEMA miscalculated and the actual number needed would be at least 500 buses not 455, originally planned (Cooper and Block, 2006, 172). It was clear to many elected officials and to the city of New Orleans that FEMA was erred in only planning for 455 buses, which was not going to be enough to evacuate the survivors (Cooper and Block, 2006, 184). Another failed encounter occurred by FEMA was the delay of buses as they arrived past the scheduled time (Cooper and Block, 2006, 186). Governor Blanco was frustrated with the issue and ended up taking control over the buses, yet Andy Kopplin the Chief of Staff stated that FEMA had canceled some of the extra buses without the state’s recognition (Cooper and Block, 2006, 189). The few buses that were provided however were located in areas that were forty-three miles away (Cooper and Block, 2006, 185). In Moynihan’s article he states “city buses were flooded, even though they were staged in areas that had not seen flooding during previous storms” (Moynihan, 2009, 4). The failure to communicate and plan accordingly for the appropriate amount of buses needed to transport survivors was a failure on FEMA’s
During Katrina there were many times that the local, state, and federal governments did not cooperate effectively. For example, the governor of Louisiana, Kathleen Blanco, addressed the issue her state faced and asked for “everything” the federal government had, as in disaster relief and aid, but the ambiguity of the statement caused the federal government to withhold resources until the governor addressed more specific needs. Issues such as these prevent the different levels of government from cooperating in an effective manner and demonstrate one of the most significant problems with federalism. Another example of how the different levels of government fail to cooperate effectively is a statement by William Lokey from the federal government’s disaster relief agency, FEMA. During an interview with the press, Lokey tells the governor and the entire nation that certain areas of Louisiana’s coasts are safe and that flood waters are receding. The statement made by Lokey misinformed the public and other levels of government, causing more confusion and hindering relief