Levees: The Rise And Fall Of Hurricane Katrina

“There are natural hazards, but disasters are the result of human actions that put people and property in harm’s way” (Cigler 2007: 64). Throughout history New Orleans has been continuously altered by the presence of humans through the creation of levees and canals, the introduction of artificial irrigation systems, and through human induced processes that have ultimately accelerated the process of land degradation and erosion. While a natural hazard struck New Orleans in 2005, the disaster portion resulting from Hurricane Katrina was a result of human induced interactions throughout the history of New Orleans.

Federalism is a system of government in which things likes states share power with a national government. The United States government functions according to the principles of federalism. There are a lot of things that happen in the world that cannot be explained. Hurricane Katrina is one of the worst natural disasters in American history that raises this question like why or how did this happened. Hurricane Katrina was an extremely destructive and deadly tropical cyclone that was the costliest natural disaster and one of the five deadliest hurricanes in the history of the United States. It was the eleventh named storm, the fifth hurricane, and the third major hurricane of the record-breaking 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. The hurricane was so disastrous, there was no help for days after it hit. A lot of lives lost because of no communication and bad execution of a hurricane that was aired to hit the United States.

Repeated events, highlighted by the flood of 1993 and the fallout of Katrina, continues to illustrate the US Army Corps of Engineers’ failure in strengthening flood control up and down the Mississippi, including the redesign and upgrading levees. America is a product of this constant struggle in dominating nature using science and reason.

“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

Graphic novels have the ability to portray multiple perspectives and can cleverly represent as many groups an author believes is needed. What becomes the decision of the author is which perspective deems more important or more fascinating. Depending on which the author decides to portray, there tends to be different effects on the readers. Neufeld uses Scott’s Mccloud’s ideas from Understanding Comics, such as adding detail to a character to differentiate them from the reader in order to induce certain emotions. The perspective taken from the primary source may receive more empathy or distaste depending on who the author chooses to represent. Through detailing certain character, this focus is made clear to be on the victims. However, graphic novels are sometimes subject to biases and misinterpretations, which can belittle the authenticity of the accounts being given. Different accounts of the events hold different biases. They could either represent those who have undergone the specific event or that of someone who has speculated from the outside. In A.D. New Orleans after the Deluge, Josh Neufeld represents a perspective not commonly exemplified, as he assigns different perspectives to his character and juxtaposes them using the dialogue from their interactions. A different view of the story is told, and reasons to the questionable, or unethical actions of the victims are brought into focus and analyzed through a perspective that sides with the victims.

Katrina hit New Orleans, Louisiana on August 29th, 2005, but the failure of the government started before this day “by allowing building and growing in areas in low flood lands.” The government did not regulate these land areas that have always been at a threat for flooding and natural disaster, which was ignored by the government and public, and was in place, still a place for growing infrastructure. Failures included by the author of the national agencies include design limits that can lead to levees being overtopped by flood and hurricane events that are larger than they were designed for and design flaws and construction and maintenance shortcomings that lead to protective works being breached when they cannot stand up to the forces exerted by large flood and hurricane events. The author also points out the problems with the hundred-year flood event, which only has a one percent chance of happening every year. When the NFIP focuses on this possible catastrophe, it losses the

Ignoring the fact that much of New Orleans was below sea level and the three listed places aren't, I think we can all agree the answer is no---but not for the reasons you think. Also forgive me, many are direct quotes.

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.

Levees were implemented as the primary form of protection from the bodies of water surrounding the city. Moreover, officials recognized these structures were critical to protecting the city’s inhabitants given the city’s topography. However, a confluence of factors led to projects that were more immediately profitable being a top priority while simultaneously allowing the infrastructure critical to protecting the city deteriorate. Because of decisions to postpone upgrades and maintenance, the city’s chances of withstanding a hurricane of Katrina’s magnitude were decreased. Ultimately, the levee breaches caused the city’s destruction.

Hurricane Katrina was not New Orleans’ first time being hit with devastating effects from a hurricane. New Orleans has been struck by hurricanes six times over the past century. In 1915 was a category 4 hurricane, it killed 275 people and caused millions of dollars’ worth of damage. 1940, 1947, 1965, 1969 and again in 2005. The Mayor of New Orleans issued a first ever mandatory evacuation. With New Orleans being hit multiple times over the past decade surprised me that serious precautions weren’t taken previously, such as better levees or seawalls. Living in a place below sea level, one would think that the levees and seawalls would be stronger, but the levees collapsed below design height during the Katrina storm .

The failure to adequately prepare for the storm led to increased and more widespread devastation, which in many cases harmed those living in the affected areas. An independent analysis of the reason for such massive chaos was performed and determined that “Most of the damage was due to the failure of the levee system that surrounds the city to protect it from flooding” (Ubilla). Had these levees been properly built, and had there been more of them protecting the city of New Orleans, major flooding could have potentially been lessened. A simple feature of the levee structure which engineers neglected to include is the concrete

Hurricane Katrina. One of the most devastating hurricanes in the history of the US. It had social, political, and economic consequences. It mostly hit Louisiana. The hurricane destroyed a lot of homes and other buildings while it was going on. The flooding had a huge impact itself also. It left millions of people homeless in New Orleans and along the gulf coast. There were so many homeless that they allowed some to live and sleep in a football stadium. It was full with beds everywhere. You could imagine how people were feeling when they were stuck in the areas affected. Anyways, around that time there were looters. They would break open stores and steal the stuff that they needed to survive. It became apparent that as they were receiving barely

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.

The history of the Vietnamese population in the United States is one of hardship, second chances, and an overwhelming sense of history and community. In the case of New Orleans, both in their journey to the American South and in the face of Hurricane Katrina, Vietnamese immigrants have been unquestionably resilient and improbably successful. After the storm, much of the national attention on the city was focused on the relationship between black and white. Meanwhile, the Vietnamese who had settled here were quietly returning and rebuilding. Although a relatively new immigrant community, the Vietnamese population has embodied the diversity and toughness that defines New Orleans while undertaking what one could consider the quintessential pursuit

For years now the discussions have arose about the levee systems in America and how some are not safe and need to be replaced. This problem has been focused on the levee system in New Orleans. Many engineers and other people have asked the question whether or not the present levee system in New Orleans could withstand a huge wave or a direct hit from a powerful hurricane. These questions were answered when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans as a Category 3 hurricane which isn't even the most powerful. After the hurricane hit the levee system failed and there were many breaches in the system, which lead to the flooding of most of the city. My question is what could have been done to stop this disaster from happening and what now can be