The Univeristy of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s digital publishing initiative, Documenting the American South, provides a first-hand perspective on Southern history through interviews. On June 4, 2006, Pamela Mahogany was interviewed for her personal experience involving the events following Hurricane Katrina. Mahogany describes her actions before deciding to evacuate her home, her trip to the New Orleans Saints’ Superdome, her horrific time at the Superdome, and finally her decision to leave New Orleans. Mahogany’s portrayal of these events allows those who were not directly affected by the hurricane to better understand the physical and emotional distress forced on the victims. For Pamela Mahogany, and probably most other New Orleans residents, Hurricane Katrina at the beginning seemed just like any other storm. Pamela made no precautions before the storm, matter of fact, she slept right through the hurricane. Mahogany stated that she “couldn't really tell that the storm was worse than any of the other storms that we had ever had.” When she woke up that next morning she …show more content…
Immediately on arrival, Mahogany was warned by a Caucasian male saying: “"Please don't go in there” and “If you go in, you go in at your own risk.” Mahogany and her son spent three days at the Superdome, additionally, Mahogany said that she cried all three days because the conditions where so horrible. There was urine and feces covering the ground, and Mahogany stated that she even witnessed a shooting where someone was murdered inside of the Superdome. Honestly, this statement would be difficult to believe if it was not for the raw emotion from Mahogany’s voice when she talks about her time. Being able to hear the first-hand account of someone who experienced the event is what makes oral history so valuable. Mahogany’s emotions could not be expressed in a way that words from a secondary source could do
On August 29, 2005, the third strongest storm ever documented in America, Hurricane Katrina, hit the coast of Louisiana at 125 miles per hour. However, the real horror came when the levees breached, causing New Orleans to fill up like a bathtub. Gary Rivlin discusses the racial, political, and geographical change of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina in Katrina: After the Flood. Gary Rivlin is a journalist and author of five books His many works have appeared in a multitude of places, such as The New York Times Magazine, Mother Jones, GQ, and Wired. Rivlin was born in New Woodmere, New York, therefore he had no connection to New Orleans. Most of his
Author Kristina Kay Robinson wrote in her short story 10 Years Since: A Mediation on New Orleans, “I don’t know how long my city has for me, but every day that I remain, I am working, searching for a newer, truer meaning for the concept of forward.” This sentiment remains true to this day for those devastated by the August 2005 Hurricane Katrina. The aftermath and trauma that victims of Katrina faced in New Orleans, Louisiana, left many people homeless and with psychological issues. Levees in New Orleans failed as large waves flooded the city that was already below sea level. Hurricane Katrina’s course of major destruction left many southern states, including Louisiana, with billions of dollars in damage and destruction and a more than 1,800
In this paper I read the Essay that Abe Louise Young wrote about “The Voice of Katrina Part One”. In this Essay at its core is about Hurricane Katrina, which was a massive hurricane that hit in 2005. It caused massive damage and destruction along the Gulf coast from Florida to Texas. Hurricane Katrina will always be remembered for hitting New Orleans, Louisiana, when the levee system failed leaving 80% of the city flooded and destroyed. Hitting the worst parts of New Orleans such as the 9th ward, already being one of the poorest areas in Mississippi. Much of the Essay talks about the people of New Orleans, Abe being a new graduate started Alive in Truth: The New Orleans Disaster Oral History and Memory Project, her goal she state’s is to
It is pretty poignant, yet honest to say that the hurricane Katrina has long derived an almost obsessional attention from Natasha writer. In “Beyond Katrina: A meditation of the Mississippi Gulf Coast”, Tretheway has purposely pictured the devastation scenario from witnesses’ narratives; hence her story could speak for many stories of people who are less visible, whom we cannot see struggling against the aftermath - the stories we may not know about how tenacious the return of Gulf Coast communities was from those tremendous sufferings they miserably faced up to.
The one significant message that I would like to point out from this essay is “I believe the soul of this place cannot be easily destroyed by wind and rain. I believe the music here will live and people will continue to dance. I believe in “Darlin’” and “Baby.” I believe in “Where ‘yat’?” and “Makin’ groceries.” I believe in neighborhoods where Mardi Gras Indians sew beaded costumes, kids practice trumpet in the street, and recipes for okra can provide conversation for an entire afternoon.” (Miller, M. 2013) To me, this essay captures the quality of being worthy of attention. It conveys the author's feelings towards New Orleans and in not so many words why he chose to move back. To me, these poignantly fifteen words said drove the point home,
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
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
Hurricane Katrina struck the city of New Orleans, Louisiana on August 29th, 2005. The events that followed would leave the whole nation in shock until this day. One of the major topics of discussion after this disaster was whether or not the government's slow reaction time had anything to do with the fact that New Orleans is sixty-seven percent African American. As helicopters circled a wasteland that was once a major tourist attraction, the racism of the Deep South, thought to be extinct, proved it was only dormant. The same racism against African Americans that could be seen on Bourbon Street in the months prior to the hurricane reared its ugly head once more in Gretna, LA and was pointed out on live television by rapper Kanye West.
Perhaps the massive media coverage of Hurricane Katrina provided a foundation for a more positive approach to reporting and responding to the destructive impact of Hurricane Harvey. The media coverage in New Orleans during, and after, Hurricane Katrina painted an adverse picture of the hurricane victims, government response, citizen concern, and general overview of the
The calamitous natural phenomenon known as Hurricane Katrina brought terrible side-effects to lower-class African Americans. A catastrophe like Hurricane Katrina changed the lives of the lower-class African Americans forever because of the devastation from several effects. People today are more prepared for a natural disaster because “Hurricane Katrina was one of the strongest storms to hit the United States coast within the last 100 years” in New Orleans (Brianna Frank). Most of these ramifications of Hurricane Katrina came from the phycological, economic and medical effects due to this natural disaster,
But in a couple of days time, the water turned black and was very foul from raw sewage and dead bodies. People develop rashes on their legs from standing in it. There were a lot of hazards besides the water and wind after Katrina passed through. There were fires and explosions from exposed gas lines and electric wires were down too. A number of people were electrocuted days after the hurricane.
Having never experienced a positive way to express his feeling in his childhood it caused him to be so cold and empty in side. He was as inhuman and void of emotions as his small childhood pet.
In today’s world, there has been one disaster or another, and hurricanes are one of those disasters that always happens. But, for one reason or another we are never prepared or understand the danger of any type of hurricane over a category one. Most of us have been through many hurricanes, like this learner who has lived in Miami, Fla. for over 30 years, and experienced her last hurricane which was Hurricane Andrew. Warnings are always given, first responders are trained to all ways be on alert, and FEMA is supposed to be ready to jump in once the storm has done its damage. But we can never be prepared, because hurricanes are unpredictable, and can become deadly for citizens and create millions of dollars in damages. Within this post we will discuss Hurricane Katrina, preparedness and Emergency management before and after the disaster.