Natural Disasters : Causes And Impacts Of Hurricane Katrina

On August 23, 2005 Tropical Storm Katrina began as a tropical depression over the Bahamas. Three short days later she was upgraded to a Category 3 full blown Hurricane headed toward the gulf coast. Kathleen Blanco, governor of Louisiana, declared a state of emergency and requested 4000 National Guard troops. The following morning President George W. Bush declared a state of emergency and Governor Blanco ordered evacuation out of the coastal areas while Mayor Ray Nagin ordered a voluntary evacuation of New Orleans.

Hurricane Katrina was a big threat to the coastal areas of Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana, and the governor declared a state of emergency in reaction towards potential destruction the hurricane may fall in New Orleans, a major city in Louisiana. To prepare for the threat of Hurricane Katrina, FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency), was sent to Louisiana to help aid the state. Later, a big disaster befalls in the state of Louisiana, and the governor declared a national evacuation. New Orleans, the heavily populated city, ordered its citizen to evacuate in the Superdome, with food, shelter, and rations being distributed. After the state evacuation was made, there was a shortage of food, water, and operable toilet facilities, thus creating

Hurricane Katrina, one of the most destructive hurricanes to whirl through the southern states of America in 2005, is probably one of the worst natural disasters of the United States in the 21st century. Damages from the storm were estimated at more than $100 billion . People living in the southern states fled north to reach safety from the storm after hearing about it being a category five hurricane on the news a few mornings before Katrina hit the shore. Authorities were doing what they were supposed to be doing, telling everyone to seek shelter, board up windows, head north and prepare for the storm. Everything in the beginning appeared to be just another

Often, the government responds to natural disasters with thorough preparation and planning. The federal, state, and local levels of government do this in an effort to help reduce injury and property damage as well as ensure the overall safety of the general population. The 2005 Atlantic hurricane season saw the costliest and one of the deadliest storms in United States history. This storm was Hurricane Katrina. Hurricane Katrina displaced of an estimated 645,000 Louisiana citizens (Cepeda, Valdez, Kaplan, & Hill, 2010). This paper will examine…

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

The seriousness of Katrina's loss made it clear that local and state resources were overcome, leaving only federal services as capable responders (DW, 2009). There were problems with evacuation and housing. The quantity of individuals in need of shelter was overpowering. Due to the flooding, thousands of Louisiana citizens were made homeless (DW, 2009). There were concerns of mismanagement. There are ongoing fears over the mismanagement and lack of leadership in the assistance hard work in response to the storm and its outcome, and the hindered response to the flooding of New Orleans, and the following state of disorder (DW, 2009). The government was blamed for the death and disorder due to their slow response. There were a communication breakdown

On the morning of August 29, 2005 Hurricane Katrina made landfall bringing with it winds between 100-104 miles per hour. Upon landfall the storm stretched approximately 400 miles across and was rated a category 3 hurricane (History.com Staff, 2009). The aftermath of the storm left the areas of Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana with flooding displacing hundreds of thousands of residents and caused more than $100 billion in damages (Townsend, 2006). The events of the hurricane and its aftermath including government response or rather the perceived lack of was widely broadcasted. Hurricane Katrina provoked an enormous response from all levels of government, the private sector, and foreign countries, however even with the vast resources the response

10 Years ago on the last week in August, one of the most brutal storms the United States has ever had hit Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. On August 28th and 29th, Fifty-five-foot waves crashed down the Mississippi coast leaving total destruction behind. In New Orleans a levee was built to protect the city but failed in 50 different places due to it being poorly designed. FEMA brought many survivors to their camps, but some weren’t that lucky. In New Orleans about 20,000 residents were trapped in the Louisiana Superdome without clean water, medical care, or working toilets. After the floodwaters receded, over 100,000 residents left the city of New Orleans to never return. 10 years later after the hurricane, most of the affected

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

On August 23, 2005 Tropical Storm Katrina began as a tropical depression over the Bahamas. Three short days later she was upgraded to a Category 3 full blown Hurricane headed toward the gulf coast. Kathleen Blanco, governor of Louisiana, declared a state of emergency and requested 4000 National Guard troops. The following morning, President George W. Bush declared a state of emergency and Governor Blanco ordered evacuation out of the coastal areas while Mayor Ray Nagin ordered a voluntary evacuation of New Orleans.

Some of these critical issues caused major problems then should have been addressed prior to the hurricane many land. The delay by both the Governor and Mayor led to overwhelming issues relating to evacuating. Mayor Ray Nagi refusal to give the order to evacuate, but rather use shelters to house Katrine victims from departing the area. The citizen of Louisiana was unaware of the severity of the storm and they trusted their State leader to ensure the safety of the people. When it came time to get the people out of New Orleans the chaos of the disaster made providing help extremely difficult. Organizations like the Red Cross and Salvation Army were responding to the disaster had no real execution plan, the shelters were in disarray and no logistic

During the time of Hurricane Katrina, there were numerous failures from the government to provide aid to those who resided within the boundaries of New Orleans. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina became one of the deadliest hurricanes to strike North America. With over 1,500 people killed and over $100 billion in property damage, all levels of government were not prepared for and did not cooperate efficiently with one another to react to this type of natural disaster. The many government officials near the New Orleans area, all failed to provide proper assistance while the hurricane cycled through and wreaked havoc about the state.

In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina left a path of destruction down the coastline of the Gulf of Mexico. It was the worst natural disaster that the United States had encountered up to that point. Even with warning signs before the storm hit, local and state governments failed to adhere to the warnings. Katrina’s worst devastation came in New Orleans where thousands lost everything due to massive flooding. New Orleans was in desperate need of assistance. Unfortunately, due to difficult circumstances at every level of government, the relief would have to wait. “Breakdowns in communication and confused emergency and law enforcement responses from local, state, and federal officials in the hours and days after Hurricane Katrina led to chaos and panic in the affected areas, endangering citizens’ property and lives.” (Tkacz, 2006, p. 1) Command Relationships were a complete failure in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina due to the absence of Command and Control, training for that type of situation, and the lack of resources.

Hurricane Katrina was one of the most popular disaster’s that devastated the area in which it affected. Many lives were lost in the storm itself and in the after math. Said to blame by many is FEMA and the U.S government. The two were blamed for their lack of response time, pure carelessness, and the inability to properly communicate.

On August 29, 2005, hurricane Katrina made landfall in Louisiana as a category three storm and brought with it some of the most catastrophic effects that any hurricane has ever left behind. Twenty foot surges of flood water washed into New Orleans after the levees broke, and ended up flooding over 80% of the city. It was now in the hands of the United States government to help the millions of displaced Americans find proper shelter, food, water, and services that were required for their recovery.