Animal Lessons After Hurricane Katrina

More than 9 rescue shelters have been rescuing animals that were dying in Hurricane Katrina. Many rescue companies had been putting tons of money and shelters in certain places in New Orleans. The companies that have been putting all their work into the devastating tragedies that happen in hurricanes are ASPCA, Hope for paws, and Animal friends. Tons of people were looking for their pets and animal rescue organizations said there was 350 pets that missing and 587 pets were recovered by the rescue pet organizations. ASPCA one of the greatest pet organizations in the world that lend a big hand. ASPCA had rescued 674 animals in Hurricane KASPCA has done a lot for animal lovers out there in the world. They have donated and given away money to families and pet owners that have pets suffering at

In 2007 the CARE fund ensures that animals who have been turned down or considered untreatable by other shelters receive the proper medical care that they need. The temporary Foster Program is made available as a means for temporary housing for animals whose’ owners may be in homeless shelters. In case of a hurricane, flood, the Disaster Response Program was designed to rescues animals at danger due to a natural disaster. The Be a Lifesaver program was established in and sent staff members to Louisiana and Mississippi to save the animals after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. The VBSPCA is also involved in the preservation of wildlife, and approximately 2,000 orphaned and injured wildlife are received at the shelter annually. Their Wildlife Program includes a network of licensed wildlife rehabilitators, wildlife transporters/rescuers, and referral line volunteers (http://vbspca.com). The VSBPA is also partnered with PetSmart, which is the largest pet retailer of goods and services that pets need. Their vision is to provide Total Lifetime Care to every pet, every parent, every

On August 29th, 2005 Hurricane Katrina caused catastrophic damage and flooding in Mississippi, Louisiana, New Orleans and areas in between. It destructed the lives and homes of thousands of people, with a total of 1,883 fatalities (Hurricane Katrina Statistics Fast Facts, 2015). Hurricane Katrina left many homeless and hospitals unprepared for the challenges posed to the healthcare system as a whole. Some of these challenges included gaining access to healthcare facilities, providing expedited care to those most in need, and preventing spread of disease that commonly occurs during natural disasters. Many facilities did not evacuate in time and many were left stranded in flooded waters as patients conditions worsened and access to essential medications and treatments became limited.

Hurricane Katrina was a big threat to the coastal areas of Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana, and the governor declared a state of emergency in reaction towards potential destruction the hurricane may fall in New Orleans, a major city in Louisiana. To prepare for the threat of Hurricane Katrina, FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency), was sent to Louisiana to help aid the state. Later, a big disaster befalls in the state of Louisiana, and the governor declared a national evacuation. New Orleans, the heavily populated city, ordered its citizen to evacuate in the Superdome, with food, shelter, and rations being distributed. After the state evacuation was made, there was a shortage of food, water, and operable toilet facilities, thus creating

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, fires broke out, corpses were in streets, looting was taking place around the city, floor waters became toxic with sewage and gas. US Army Corps of Engineers came in to pump New Orleans dry; this was a continuous operation. (video: The Lost City of New Orleans: A Case Study) Organizations such as the American Red Cross, Salvation Army, National Guard and others helped the relief effort with housing,

When a disaster strikes, part of FEMA’s duty is to make sure people are prepared with sufficient supplies in order to improve the situation. FEMA’s second failed attempt in response to the storm was with transporting citizens out of the city. Despite the early warnings for New Orleans citizens to evacuate some decided to stay since they themselves lacked the transportation to leave or some believed they could wait out the storm similar to what they had done in the past with other hurricanes. With the amount of citizens that stayed in the city, FEMA

The complaint is that during major storms, like Katrina, many animals are left without homes or people to care for them. When rescued, these animals are usually terrified and have a hard time trusting people. Some of the dogs who were rescued required special attention so people who volunteered had to read to them so they could gain the pets' trust. Many of the animals are afraid of loud noises and

Ten years ago this August, a category five hurricane ripped through the Southern United States, leaving a path of destruction in its wake. New Orleans’ native Joni Pavlik is more familiar than most with tragic event, as many of her family members had to evacuate their home town to avoid the storm. Unfortunately, the devastation inflicted by Katrina left them without a home. “They evacuated, as always, when a bad storm heads that direction,” Joni remarked. “When they knew there was no home to go to, they turned to Ray and me for safe shelter.” She and her husband, along with the community, gladly welcomed the twelve family members and six pets with open arms. Now, years later, some have moved away and others have passed on. And while memories

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.

August 29, 2005 may be just another date to most of the American population but for New Orleans it is a date that weighs heavy on the hearts of the residents. Every year when this date comes around, residents are reminded of the lost ones they didn’t get to say goodbye too, the pets that were lost, homes that were damaged and lost, families that were shattered and broken apart due to this tragic event. Thousands of lives were taken during this time, not including the hundreds of thousands of homes that were lost. Many people sat on the roofs of their homes trapped inside of unbearable hot attics, or canoeing through disease waters trying to stay alive until emergency response teams could reach them.

Hurricane Katrina resulted in massive loss of life and billions of dollars in property damage. There are many lessons worth learning from this event. Finger pointing started before the event was over. Most of the focus on Hurricane Katrina was on its impact on New Orleans; however, the storm ravaged a much wider area than that. This paper will briefly summarize the event, the impact on the city of New Orleans and the lessons learned to ensure preparedness today.

According to the SPCA 6.5 million animals enter U.S. animal shelters nationwide every year. Approximately 1.5 million shelter animals are euthanized because the shelters are too full. Now, thousands of animals have been rescued from recent hurricane disasters, and are being displaced across the country. Dallas animal shelters such as the SPCA of Dallas took in hundreds of these displaced animals and are now currently trying to find them a home.

According to “Pets Alive”, in April of 2002, Katrina Sturgeon read a newspaper article that stated that around 70% of the animals brought to the

Katrina traveled into the Gulf of Mexico on August 26 and started to expand. When the storm reached the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, it strengthened to a Category 5 hurricane however, deteriorated before making it to Louisiana to a Category 3 on August 29 with winds at 145mph. Due to the 20 to 30 foot storm surge and levee failure, it resulted with the infrastructure critically damaged from Florida to Texas. State and local agencies use the Sea, Lake, and Overland Surges from Hurricanes (SLOSH) model to know whom and when to evacuate to include what routes people should take. There was argument on who failed the devastated areas, since the assistance needed could not get to the certain areas due to massive flooding and bridges destroyed. Even though there was no one agency to blame through the lack of coordination and communication from local agencies up through the Federal Government, the lessons learned where noticed within hours and days after the storm arrived, the local population felt as being neglected or forgotten.

Although there were numerous predictions that a category 4 or 5 could hit New Orleans, very little disaster planning or management was accomplished before Katrina hit in August 2005 (Lalwani, et al., 2007, p10). After Katrina made landfall August 29th, several sections of the levee system collapsed including levees protecting the Ninth Ward (Lalwani, et al., 2007, p10). The manmade MRGO channel caused the problems it was predicted; the channel increased the power and the size of the waves that destroyed many levees (Heerden, Kemp, Bea, Shaffer, Day, Morris, Fitzgerald, and Milanes, 2009, p306). By early September, people were forcibly evacuated and the storm displaced more than 1.5 million people (Lalwani, et al., 2007, p10). According to Lalwani, et al. (2007, p10), “Katrina was the most destructive and costliest natural disaster in the history of the United States,” with an estimated $75 billion worth of damage. Months after the hurricane, 3,200 people were unaccounted for and many of the low-lying areas, most of which were poor and minority neighborhoods, were still under water.