Causes And Failures Of Hurricane Katrina

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.

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 catastrophic natural disaster in American history. The aftermath had substantial negative impact on New Orleans and it could have been avoided if proper disaster management practices were put in place. Therefore, it is important to determine the factors that caused the hurricane to be catastrophic. One factor that was responsible for the disaster was failure of the three levels of the government working cohesively (Thiede & Brown, 2013). The incoherent interaction between the three levels of government will be assessed. Another factor that will be examined is social and psychological refusal of Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina is infamous: the storm that buried the vibrant city of New Orleans under up to sixteen feet of water. Hurricane Katrina was a natural disaster, but the crimes committed against the storm’s survivors in the months prior, setting them up for devastation, were the true tragedies. Not only were the citizens of the Big Easy neglected pre-Katrina, but they remained on the back burner of the federal government for days after the storm hit. Citizens of New Orleans - who had just been put through one of the worst natural disasters the United States had ever seen - were treated like animals, or foreign refugees seeking sovereignty in the US. They were not treated with the common decency an American citizen deserves, but why did this happen? The answer is simple, because the politicians on all levels, before, during, and after the storm, neglected the citizens that trusted them. City, State, and Federal government officials incorrectly used funds that had been allocated for disaster relief, and to the repair of the levees for many years leading up to the disaster. Because of this corrupt behavior, the people of New Orleans were caught in a very unnatural disaster to accompany the storm. The low class citizens of New Orleans were hit with unparalleled injustices. The atrocities committed against these innocent people was no less than a war waged against them, but the

Hurricane Katrina took 1,833 lives, but this number could’ve been lower had the government respond in a proper manner. The failure of proper execution of the Mayor Ray Nagin, of New Orleans at the time, the failure of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to execute actions in a timely manner, and the failure of the President to actually visit the people in need to help all led to more destruction. Former FEMA director Michael Brown failed to address the request made by officials. The Lieutenant Governor was also criticized for making vague request and not communicating properly what she needed. Many of the officials in charge did not properly communicate what they needed. And those who did communicate request, were ignored.

The next day, President George Bush declared a state of emergency at the federal level. It was only after the President declared this state of emergency, that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), would be authorized to organize and gather resources to assist those in the city. The disaster demonstrated that the government was operating inefficiently. FEMA had asked for firefighters and ambulances, amongst other first responders not to make any movements until areas were mobilized by the authorities from the local areas and the state as well. In turn, the response time was drastically slowed down. They were ill prepared despite even running a simulation exercise named, “Hurricane Pam.” This simulation even had similar circumstances as Katrina, including strength, however the government failed to learn from it. The state and Federal government ran into

Hurricane Katrina was devastating. My sister’s husband was a lifeguard when that occurred. He saved a couple lives but felt as if he failed since he couldn’t save more. He is a hero, but feels guilty about all the ones he couldn't save. I couldn’t believe the amount of damage that occurred, how unprepared the local, state and national governments were and the large amount of deaths that took place. I experienced Hurricane Sandy in New Jersey which was truly a scary experience. I can’t even imagine what the people in Katrina had to go though since that was ten times worse.

Emergency managers’ response in the wake of Hurricane Katrina was uncoordinated and went poorly. Survivors were left for several days without basic relief such as food, water, and sanitary items. This paper investigates what led to this major response failure. The conclusion is that preparedness was not a top priority for officials at the local, state, and federal levels. First, this paper describes the major response failures in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and the reason that they failed using the National Preparedness Framework and the National Response Framework. Then, it identifies several instances in which preparedness efforts were postponed despite the well-known risk that New Orleans was well overdue for a major hurricane that could

The above quote was spoken by a Mr. Jim Willis and quoted by the Washington Post. It summarized perfectly how a natural disaster has the ability to unmask the disparities of society. On August 29th, 2005, a moment in American history was being created. This moment has come to be known as Hurricane Katrina. Her high wind speeds and three days of endless rain led to numerous deaths and astronomical amounts of damages for the residents of Louisiana and Mississippi. Although her terror only lasted for three taunting days, just like the residue she left behind, she also left residents with emotional, physical, and psychosocial scars.

Another issue the was presented when Hurricane Katrina hit American soil revolved around the how the United States governments agencies at all levels approached the environment that was damaged. As was stated earlier the local government is always first to come to the rescue when disasters hit, but when has such as immense as Katrina would call for the likes of the federal government. The Federal Emergency Management Agency was among many of the agencies that would be called into questioning during this dreadful disaster.

As Hurricane Katrina approached New Orleans, federal and local officials underestimated the severity of the storm. Once the storm hit, they believed that it was not horrible and that it would be easy to recover from the storm. They were not expecting the levee system to fail and that 80% of the city would be under water hours after the storm passed. Once the levees failed, it took days before residents of New Orleans to get the help that they needed and many people lost their lives waiting for help. Since many New Orleans police officers lived in the city, they were the first to respond to the crisis. Due to the lack of electricity, it was hard for officials to communicate with each other, making crisis response difficult. People reported acts of violence without actually having proof. The media publicized the inaccurate information without getting evidence.

The blame all fell on a select few individuals ranging from The President of the United States of America to the Mayor of New Orleans. Kathleen Blanco, a former schoolteacher and two-term Lt. Governor of Louisiana, elected governor in January 2004 and who was in charge of Louisiana 's response when Hurricane Katrina struck on Aug. 29, 2005. Ray Nagin, another official in the hot seat, was the elected mayor of New Orleans in May 2002 and served as mayor during the disaster. Michael Brown, the former Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) director from 2003-2005, who was in charge when Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast on Aug. 29, 2005. Last but not least, President George W. Bush was the active president during the time of America’s struggle. All of these officials in some way contributed to

On August 29, 2005 was the biggest catastrophes that shock the state of Louisiana. Hurricane Katrina struck the city of New Orleans and caused major damage to the city. “When the storm made landfall, it had a Category 3 rating on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale–it brought sustained winds of 100–140 miles” (History.com Staff). Many Residents were told prior to the day Karina hit to evacuate the city of Orleans Some people did but other couldn’t. The hurricane broke levees and caused the city to go under water. Once the levees broke it destroyed homes, businesses and left people for died. Governor Kathleen Blanco took charge of her state. She made sure routes where in place for New Orleans residents to evacuate. Mayor Ray Nagin “…declared

In the presence of a natural disaster it is the initial response usually comes local government and its emergency services, of course this will incorporate the help needed by volunteer agencies and eventually state agencies when disaster like Hurricane Katrina presents itself. That being said, there are critical components that are associated with Hurricane Katrina are the unpreparedness, vulnerability, and the inadequate polices of the situation.

On August 26th, 2005, the world’s eyes turned to New Orleans as it became the site of the country’s deadliest natural disaster in decades and the planet’s most expensive one on record. While the immense scale of Hurricane Katrina—a Category 5 hurricane with 174 mile-per-hour winds that directly hit a major urban center—is to blame for the storm’s devastation, the municipal, state, and federal governments also deserve much blame for their faulty preparation and response.