The large-scale natural disaster that I chose was that of Hurricane Katrina from 2005. Although the damage and lives lost was catastrophic, the toll it took on the race relations, political rhetoric, and emergency response tactics was more evident throughout the recovery process. This hurricane produced as many heroes as it did villains. It also brought about improvements in weather forecasting and natural disaster communications. Hurricane Katrina also displaced countless families, most who lost their homes and belongings. “Hurricane Katrina was a devastating category 4 hurricane that overpowered the levees of New Orleans, which were only designed for category 3. It gave way massive flooding, thousands of deaths, and cost millions of insurance …show more content…
It caused countless deaths, displaced hundreds of families throughout the United States, and destroyed thousands of homes. However, not all the consequences of the hurricane were negative. There were several countries that contributed money, supplies, and manpower to help assist the recovery effort almost as soon as Hurricane Katrina dissipated into thin air. It should also be noted that despite all the aid that was rendered to the United States in support of the recovery effort, there are still sections of New Orleans that have not been rebuilt whatsoever. Furthermore, there were funds that went unaccounted for to this very day. “ Allies offered $854 million in cash and oil. But only $40 million has been used so far for disaster victims or reconstruction” (Solomon, 2007).
Whatever aid was used went towards temporary housing, food, and social services. It’s a shame that because of the American government being way too bureaucratic or proud to accept aid from any country that offered. A lot of supplies were either unused or denied outright due to red tape or bureaucratic limits on how aid can be spent. Needless to say that the government’s response as a whole to the Hurricane Katrina left a lot to be desired and brought about changes to how the Federal Government reacts to natural disasters.
Hurricane Katrina’s impact on global trade could be summarized using Hurricane Katrina’s impact on New Orleans. The
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Another negative consequence of Hurricane Katrina was the damage to Louisiana’s thriving sugar cane industry.
The humanitarian dimensions of the affected were that of lawlessness, looting, and loss of life. After the hurricane had passed, criminals started looting and stealing. Now, it would be one thing to steal basic necessities for themselves and their families. Items such as food, water, and clothing, were not frowned upon as much as those stealing televisions, computers, and cars. Not to mention the fact that corrupt cops were also guilty of those crimes and so much more. Those law enforcement officers that did remain had to deal with not only the criminals but also that of the reputation of those aforementioned cops. Another outcome of Hurricane Katrina was the evacuation successes and failures, of which were many of
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 the history of the United States of America, Hurricane Katrina was known as one of the worst hurricanes in the world. The hurricane was a combination of tropical waters and gushing winds. It was the vicious hurricane that caused severe damage to the citizens of the United States of America. The amazing city known for its southern style, Cajun cuisines, jazz music and its celebration of Mardi Gras will never be the same. New Orleans, Louisiana was changed forever in August 2005 when this category five hurricane left the city devastated. The catastrophic storm tore through the city of New Orleans and surrounding areas destroying everything in its path and killing hundreds of people.
and federal funds. Soon after, New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin ordered an evacuation of all
The devastating and deeply rooted traumatic effects of Hurricane Katrina will live in the psyches of the people of New Orleans and beyond for generations to come. Katrina was the largest and third strongest hurricane to make landfall in the United States barreling in as a Category 5 with up to 175 mile-per-hour winds and a 20-ft storm surge that would create a humanitarian emergency with the likes never before seen in the United States. This hurricane caused unimaginable death, destruction, and displacement, leaving a known death toll of 1,836 and an unknown number thought to be washed out to sea. The real truth is we will never know exactly how many people lost their lives during Hurricane Katrina.
“Then New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson offered 200 members of his state’s national guard to help Louisiana the day Katrina hit, but a letter from Washington authorizing the move did not arrive until five days later.” (Robillard Web). Four days after Katrina President George W. Bush sent 7,200 troops from the National Guard (Robillard Web). The Red Cross played a big role in Hurricane Katrina suppling 68 million meals to the survivors (American Web). Millions were taken care of with food, water, and shelter by 245,000 of the Red Cross Disaster workers (American Web). Firemen from other cities volunteered in the hundreds to help clean up (American Web). Louisiana was happy to have all the help they got after the
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,
New Orleans took precautions to keep the city safe in the event of a future hurricane. The new buildings reconstructed after the destruction of the hurricane were built to be flood resistant (“After the Disaster”). Many of the new houses were being renovated to be higher off of the ground than previous homes in a like manner (“After the Disaster”). This was to prevent equivalent damage from flooding to occur in the future. Another effect of the levee problems that made Hurricane Katrina much worse was that the city installed more and stronger flood barriers to keep the city free of flood waters (“After the Disaster”). The Department of Health and Human Services sent multiple medical supplies to health professionals so they are prepared for the future as well (“Bush”). The city of New Orleans learned so much more about their city after the hurricane hit. They learned how close of a community they lived in. The amount of people that stepped in to help the city in its time of need was enormous. New Orleanian people received help from many organizations, including: The Social Security Administration, The Department of Labor, the Postal Service, and many others (“Bush”). In a like manner, the president at the time, George W. Bush, intervened and cared for the city of New Orleans when they needed it. He gave the city hope and motivation to get back onto its feet. President
On the morning of August Twenty-ninth, 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana and the Gulf Coast region. The storm brought the water to about twenty feet high, swallowing eighty percent of the New Orleans city immediately. The flood and torrential rainstorm wreaked havoc and forced millions of people evacuate from the city. According to the National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration, Katrina caused approximately one hundred and eight billion dollars in damage. Hurricane Katrina was one of the most destructive disasters have ever occurred in the United States, but it also revealed a catastrophic government at all levels’ failure in responding to the contingency.
When a natural disaster comes to mind you think many resources are utilized. You think many agencies from around the world must have come to help one of the biggest disasters the country has seen. Although that is not exactly what happened in New Orleans many agencies did come to help. Local, State, and Federal agencies were present during and after the hurricane. Governor Katherine Babineaux Blanco and Mayor Ray Nagin called a state of emergency and issued a mandatory evacuation, shortly after, President Bush to issue a state of emergency and mandatory evacuation on a federal level to ensure assistance from agencies like FEMA and the America Red Cross (Kamp). Mayor Ray Nagin also
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.
Hurricane Katrina is known for being the most dangerous and murderous hurricane that occurred on August of 2005. It was formed by a tropical wave that moved from the coast of Africa to the Gulf Coast. According to hurricanes they are distinguished by five different categories, the fifth being the strongest. The tropical wave turned into a hurricane under the fifth category that destroyed thousands of homes and killed thousands of people. Hurricane Katrina destroyed New Orleans hardest since it is located below sea level. Also because they had levees designed for a category three hurricanes. Therefore, it flooded quicker allowing places to flood from four feet to about nine feet. People went to their roof tops to find a way of survival. Hurricane Katrina impacted the ethical, social, and economical implications towards the survivors.
One of the most costly hurricanes in U.S. history was the 2005 hit from Hurricane Katrina where the total damages were estimated to exceed $100 billion to the U.S. The storm was a category 3 when it finally struck land at the Louisiana and Mississippi coast but out at sea it reached a staggering category 5. This massive storm caused massive flooding to New Orleans after it had caused the levees to break due to the strong surges. The breakdown of the levees grew much attention because it was revealed about how vulnerable the coastline really was to these types of strong storms which in return caused such a catastrophe to the communities in its path. The flooding catastrophe was to follow the storm due to the vulnerabilities which grew worldwide
Unfortunately, in many instances this was not enough, seeing as the final death toll from the storm came to an estimated 1800 people (Kenny, 2013). As the G.A.O. stated, “it exacted terrible human costs with the loss of significant number of lives and resulted in billions of dollars in property damage”(GAO 2006). Faster aid and relief to the victims of Katrina was a possibility that did not occur due to the lack of preparation and acceptance of aid by the United States government.
Hurricane Katrina was a big impact to so many cities. People had to find different ways to survive.
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.