Modern Federalism : Hurricane Katrina

Federalism is two governments working together and sharing power. This means that the national government does not have all the power since the states have some and the states have some power so the national government have all the power. They share power so one doesn’t grow too powerful and become a tyrant. An example is driving laws. The states can make their own driving laws and there is no national power over it. But the national government does have the power to override the states if they think the states are becoming too loose in their

Hurricane Katrina was one of the deadliest hurricanes that hit America. Federalism played a major role in the rescue missions for this natural disasters. It’s evident that the government failed in many ways during Hurricane Katrina. Federalism plays a huge part in preparing for natural disasters. The powers were not equally shared within the levels of government, which made the local government weak and had to completely rely on the federal government. The government of U.S. was not prepared enough for hurricane Katrina.

The communication breakdown took place because of the breakdown in the communication infrastructure. All the above ground communication structures were destroyed. A 400 foot antenna fell in the intensity of the Hurricane Katrina winds. Communication with the Sheriff’s office and the public safety communication as destroyed. Almost 2 million phone lines were destroyed. (Information Today, 2006, p.1)

Hurricanes Katrina is a catastrophic natural disaster and a mortal hurricane. Being one of the five biggest hurricane no one could control communication, every device was under distraction. Hours after the hurricane Katrina the communication broke down because of the aftershock, and nobody was expecting hurricane Katrina to be that bad .It is mentioned that over 100 radio stations were destroyed and up to 2000 cell phones towers were forced off the air. The wire lines of network communication were strongly damaged as a result of the hurricane. Almost all phones were not on service. For that all communication was forced to be off just after the hurricane as most of the cities were covered with water.

Federalism is a dual (split in two) system of sovereignty, splitting power between a central government and various state governments. Both the federal and state governments can directly govern citizens through their own officials and laws. The resulting Constitution allowed powers for both federal and state governments. Each had some separate powers and some shared powers.

I believe the principle of federalism didn’t work in the case of hurricane Katrina for the following reasons. Before the storm no one really did anything to prepare. Very little people evacuated like the mayor urged them to. Some people gathered food food and tried to fill up their cars with gas but gas stations started to close down. Even though the President knew that the storm was going to hit, he was on vacation visiting his mother instead of preparing for the storm.

Even though it is the responsibility of the federal and state governments to aid citizens during times of disaster, the people devastated by Hurricane Katrina were not effectively facilitated as according to their rights as citizens of the United States. The government’s failures to deliver assistance to citizens stem from inadequate protection systems in place before the storm even struck. The Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Homeland Security were the two largest incumbents in the wake of the storm. The failure of these agencies rests on the shoulders of those chosen to head the agency. These directors, appointed by then president George W. Bush, were not capable of leading large government agencies through a

Why was the Louisiana National Guard unable to help? The headquarters were flooded also by Katrina

Hurricane Katrina was a devastating disaster that has affected many people in New Orleans. The communication broke down hours after Katrina because of the unexpected fast winds and floods that broke down “3 million phone lines and 1,000 cellular towers in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.”( Joch ). Because of the millions of phone lines that were broken down, contacting the government for help was difficult hours after hurricane Katrina. Not only that, the people of New Orleans underestimated the power of Hurricane Katrina causing many to be “ stranded with no food or water” (Narrator, “The Storm”,PBS).

Federalism is the federal principle or system of government. Multiple governments function and rule given territories and different sets of people. In this system the sovereignty of a country is constitutionally divided between a national or a central government and other state or principle governments where political and admistrative powers are shared between them. The Framers chose federalism as a way of government because they assumed that governmental power inevitably poses a hazard to single liberty, the exercise of governmental power must be reserved, and that to split governmental control is to avoid its manipulation.

The relationship between the federal government of the United States and the state and local governments is unique. This relationship in the modern age has become more interconnected and complicated than ever before. The weaknesses of American Federalism has never been as glaringly obvious as it was in the response by state, local and federal governments to the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Failures by multiple elected officials and government agencies exacerbated an already dire situation by delaying much needed aid to the gulf region. This, combined with a fundamental misunderstanding of the physical geography of the region, led to policies that weakened the coastline and made New Orleans extremely susceptible to hurricane damage.

When problems arise in our nation, we are left with a complicated crisis as to whose job it is to do what and who exactly should be taking care of any bad situation that seems to pop up with daily life anywhere in the world, but in this case, America. Certain governmental systems, such as Federalism, can be considered a solution to these crises. Federalism can be defined as the relationship between the individual state governments of America and the national or federal government of the United States; and works to balance the power of a large central government, and the power of the smaller regional governments.

In the Unites States of America Federalism is the basic structure of the American government; it is the distribution and balance of powers between the National government and the States government. In order to obtain a compromise between those who wanted stronger state government and those who preferred a stronger national government the founding fathers arranged and settled for a federal system rather than the alternatives of a unitary or confederal system. While both National and State governments each have specific powers and authority, they also share certain powers and must be able to cooperate effectively with each other.

Hurricane Katrina exposed huge issues in the United States disaster preparedness and response programs. In 2005, the structure for homeland security was unable to manage catastrophic events like Hurricane Katrina. Unified management of national response

Federalism is a system of government that divides power between a national government and a regional government with the use of a constitution. Throughout the United States history, federalism has played a significant role in the constitution and the system of government adopted by the United States of America. Federalism has also changed throughout the course of America's history to fit the constitution and the government.