Hurricane Katrina Psychological Effects

Hurricane Katrina came ashore the Gulf Coast and New Orleans and caused not only physical damage but psychological/mental anguish. This was at the end of August 2005. As a result, there was a lot of PTSD cases that were as a result of this catastrophic event. People across the United States witnessed the event unfolding on television and word of mouth but had no idea of the tremendous amount of emotional toll that the people of these communities went through and were going to continue to go through.

“When communities are rebuilt, they must be even better and stronger than before the storm,” (“Bush”). This is what former president George W. Bush said during his speech in New Orleans concerning the effects of Hurricane Katrina. Hurricane Katrina was a massive natural disaster that consisted of high powered winds and immense amounts of water. The hurricane was initially a category 3, but gradually rose to the classification of a category 5 storm, which is the largest storm there is (“Hurricane Irene”). In fact, there were accounts of winds recorded at about 127 miles per hour in the Gulf areas such as Grand Isle, Louisiana, and near the Mississippi River (“Hurricane Katrina Statistics”). All of these factors are made

These psychological disturbances may negatively affect child growth and development, and may last beyond one year after the disaster. McLaughlin et al. (2010) showed around 11% of children to have ongoing emotional disturbance even 3 years after the Katrina hurricane, with aggression, excess fear, withdrawal and signs of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) being displayed.

A study performed by Mary C. Waters called the The Resilience in Survivors of Katrina Project (RISK) project showed the psychological effects Hurricane Katrina had on 1,019 poor, young African American women who were single parents living in the New Orleans area when Katrina struck. The RISK project used information and surveys before Hurricane Katrina and after, with followups happening two different times after the hurricane, in order to evaluate physical and mental health. The goals of the RISK project included two major points: “to scientifically study the impact of the hurricane, the trauma that the mothers and their children experienced, and the effect of their

Hurricane Katrina has plagued both lower-class African American adults and their children due to the phycological effects. The repercussions of Hurricane Katrina had an everlasting effect on the lives of most adult victims. Many adults were at risk for being diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. This was defined in an article as, “an anxiety disorder that can develop after a person has experienced an ordeal that poses severe physical harm” (Hurricane Katrina). A natural disaster like Hurricane Katrina would have been a primary trigger for causing Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Unfortunately, the realization of this disease was that most adults effected would never be able to feel safe again. On the other hand, the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina on the lives of the innocent children was also just as devastating. Many children were at the risk of developing a disease called Serious Emotional Disturbance. This disease would have been caused by a traumatizing event. An example of this was Hurricane Katrina. The outcome would have caused severe stress on mainly the effected children. In their future, this disease would challenge the children’s thinking and problem coping difficulties. As discussed in one article, “children with SED are not able to cope with their peers or their environment” (Hurricane Katrina).

I am writing to you in regards to the recent disaster that hit New Orleans, Louisiana “Hurricane Katrina.” Besides the death toll, hurricane Katrina left many people homeless as more than 800,000 housing units were destroyed or damaged in the storm. Katrina is the costliest U.S hurricane, with estimated damage over $81 billion and costs over $160 billion (2005 US dollars). I believe that the socioeconomic impact of “Katrina” was not felt equally amongst the different classes. Those who were wealthier typically whites were able to flee, and the poor typically black were unable to flee to safety, and suffered the worst during and after ‘Katrina.” Many of the residents were displaced to different states which included Texas, Colorado, Illinois, North Carolina, Oklahoma to name a few. In a study conducted by Kaplan- Meier called the Displaced New Orleans Residents Pilot Study showed the discrepancy amongst blacks and whites and their duration of displacement. One-quarter of white residents had returned to the city within 2 months of Hurricane Katrina, whereas it took an additional month for one-quarter of the black residents to return. The durations at which half of the pre-hurricane population of blacks and whites returned to New Orleans differ greatly. In particular, half of white residents had returned within 3 months of the storm; on the other hand, fewer than half of black residents had returned. (Kaplan- Meier) A poll done by Newsweek magazine showed

Following Hurricane Katrina, many people sought to answer the question of whether its social effects and the government response to the country’s biggest natural disaster had more to do with race or with class. During the Hurricane Katrina, the damage was worst in the city's low-lying areas where poor, black residents were concentrated. The fact that most of those pleading for help were black served as a reminder that race continued to affect the opportunities of Americans. The racial dimension of this inadequate governmental response provided a focused attention on the mixture of political bungling and racial hostility that transformed a natural disaster into an enduring human tragedy. Race, class and economic factors are seen as inextricably

In October of 2012, a post-tropical cyclone swept its way through the Caribbean. The name of this cyclone is better known as Sandy. It began its journey to the East Coast as that of a tropical wave in the Caribbean, and in a matter of 6 hours turned into a tropical storm and then eventually a hurricane. The winds increased to up to 74 miles per hour. Sandy was a 5.8 out of 6 on NOAA’S s scale causing nearly 285 deaths, and costing nearly $367 billion. Although, this was a devastating hurricane, it could have been more destructive if the proper precautions were not taken before and during the storm. However, there are certain procedures that need to be improved in order to ensure the coasts are better protected.

The largest issue that arose from the disaster was communication, be it between FEMA and local/state government or the local government and the people. While reading these interviews, a general trend arises. No one believes that the happenings of Hurricane Katrina were majorly their fault. Some claimed that they were overwhelmed but many directly pinned the miscommunications on other segments of the problem. This constant blaming of others shows that the issues were never truly resolved after the disaster. Based on the indications of the post-effect, it is very unlikely that the different groups could have communicated well during a disaster of the proportion.

“Hurricane Katrina.” Hurricane Katrina, hurricanekatrina.web.unc.edu/psychological-effects-of-katrina/.Summary: Hurricane Katrina has causes people to have many psychological side effects. Some of which are PTSD, which is a disorder in the anxiety area. This occurs after one has survived a traumatic experience such as a hurricane. For children, they can get SED or serious emotional disturbance. This can have effects on the child’s ability to get their education. This is because it causes the child to think correctly and will cause the child to have a high level of anxiety. The psychological effects of a natural

CNN News Meteorologists have said that Hurricane Rita could be another Katrina. According to Science and Society it will only get bigger. Hurricanes can change dramatically very fast. Rita can get stronger or weaker. I am supporting the thought of evacuating the city and when you see the facts written below, I think you will agree.

By determining who is at risk of developing PTSD following a major hurricane, more resources can be allocated to help prevent and treat this disorder.

Hurricane Katrina may have occurred a decade ago, however, the effects of one of the most costly natural disasters in US history are still being seen (Weems, et al., 2007, pp. 2295). Irwin Sandler described, “The effects seen by the New Orleans community as adversities, which he described as things that can threaten the satisfaction of basic human needs and the acquisitions of competencies to carry out values social roles. He went on to say that they can be characterized in terms of their ecological properties of occurrence in time and place” (2001, pp. 19). He continues to say, “That this effects children more than adults, as there are basic human needs which must be satisfied based on age appropriate development tasks” (2001, pp. 20).

Disasters by their nature kill and injure people, drastically alter people’s life by physical destruction and creating mental trauma. One cannot avoid a disaster from occurring but can definitely take measures to overcome it. Government agencies like FEMA can provide information early warnings to the people in disaster prone areas prior to its occurrence. This research paper discusses about the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina, reasons for failure to communicate information during Hurricane Katrina, the category of people who were more vulnerable to this disaster, and how could they be overcome for future disasters.

Childhood and adolescence are important times in a child’s life as it is during these periods that they undergo important developmental changes. When a child or adolescent experiences disaster there are effects on social, biological, psychological, psychosocial, and cognitive development. Many children, when faced with adversity, are capable of adapting successfully, however, studies show that children who have experienced trauma are likely to display difficulties in various developmental domains, including emotional and behavioral symptoms, and difficulties in cognitive and socio-emotional functioning (Kilmer & Gil-Rivas, 2010). The longitudinal study being conducted focuses on the development of people who lived in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina, a natural disaster that caused unparalleled desolation for many living along the Central Gulf Coast (Osofsky et al., 2009). Throughout this paper, the effects of disaster on development is analyzed based on the experiences of Patrick.