Case Study 2 One of the most horrific times in New Orleans history was due to Hurricane Katrina. On August 29, 2005 Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans causing massive destructions and flooding throughout all of New Orleans. Katrina forced many individuals to be evacuated from their homes due to flooding. In some parts of New Orleans the water reached up to 15 to 20 feet causing mass chaos and confusion. With the mass of destruction and lack of protection from the local law enforcements, crime in New Orleans spike considerable. There were individuals who were looting and sacking stores, gangs were more prevalent and visible. This created an issue for the New Orleans police department because many of their five hundred officers were cut off by the storm and floodwaters causing many to walk away from their posts. This left the department in shambles, having police New Orleans without having all of its police officers in place to help maintain order. A lot of policeman faced high levels of stress and distress due the rising flood waters, the conditions made their job increasingly tougher. Not only were they tasked with maintaining order, but many of their families were affected by the storm as well. The policemen became targets of angry residents and mob violence and in some instances having to protect …show more content…
I think the first thing is that we need to ensure we have plans in place to help alleviate the officers concerns regarding his or her family during a catastrophe. In instances like this, I would make it mandatory that all essential personnel ensure their families have been evacuated and are in a safe place. This would be a rule I would put in place and have that as part of the contract they sign on as part of their employment. I would also launch a major ethics training program to train officers the importance of their oath and how the local government relies on each of you to do your
The city that was affected the most by Hurricane Katrina was New Orleans, Louisiana. Governor Blanco called for state emergency in Louisiana on August 26, 2005. Then on August 29th, Mayor Nagin issued a mandatory evacuation of the City of New Orleans. The people who were unable to escape the city, were just desperate for help and the worst came out of people. Katrina forced the city into anarchy. Disaster relief agencies were not around to aid people so many resorted to looting because they needed food and other supplies to survive. The New Orleans Police Department (NOPD), whom already did not have a favorable reputation in the city, didn’t help either. Some NOPD officers chose to leave their post and others also participated in the looting which was happening throughout the city. Other NOPD officers were
During times of extreme poverty and inequality more attention is provided to those in hardship. A prime example of this is New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina hit. Before the hurricane hit the only time I had hear of New Orleans was if someone was speaking about doing down to Mardi Gras. The people affected by the hurricane lost a lot. Many lost their homes, tangible possessions stored in their homes, animals, and some lost their lives. Hurricane Katrina was a huge devastation to the country, but many survivors say they did not get adequate supplies, shelter, food, or support (Lee, S, 2006).
For Local, State, and Federal Governments, the hours after a natural disaster are the most vital, it would be difficult to enforce order in the absence of a police force. Amid any natural disaster people are inclined to flee the affected area or protect their own family and property. In the case of the New Orleans Police Department it is reported that roughly a third of the force abandoned their post, which created a vacuum. During post Hurricane Katrina seventy-six officers were fired for abandoning their positions during a major crisis, eleven officers were fired for neglecting their duties Forty-one officers resigned
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.
The New Orleans Police Department is an organization that struggled long before Hurricane Katrina made landfall in August of 2005. Many residents feared the department and some would say that “the department was infected by a culture of discrimination, abuse, and lawlessness” (Ramsey, 2015). Beginning in the 1980’s, police brutality became a major issue in the city, which still continues now, almost 12 years later. During the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, it seemed that the situation was only worse. Residents of New Orleans were experiencing even higher levels of police brutality and with not much control over the city, there appeared to be no form of relief coming any time soon. However, in May of 2010, the Department of Justice
In doing so, the Federal government should confirm that Executive Branch agencies are prepared, skilled, and equipped to achieve their response positions. Confirm and apply the National Preparedness Goal. Officials at all levels did not comprehend what was occurring, did not originally communicate serious information, did not immediately establish the response effort, did not continuously take required resourcefulness and did not work successfully with the broadcasting to get the evidences to the community and its
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.
Hurricane Katrina hit the southeastern coast of the United States in August of 2005. The eye of the storm went through the city of New Orleans and caused thousands of casualties and more than eighty billion dollars in damage (Schwartz). However, poor engineering and design allowed the immense flooding to breach the levee system and flood most of the metropolitan area. Despite the Delta Service Corps admitting that they knew of the possible failures for over twenty years, they claimed that insufficient budgets set by Congress and local governments prohibited them from restructuring and preserving the levees (Can We Save New Orleans?). Katrina was the third most intense land falling tropical storm in United States history. The combination of
On August 29th, 2005 Hurricane Katrina, also known as Katrina, made landfall along the Gulf Coast. It hit states such as Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. As of today Hurricane Katrina is one the most destructive hurricanes to ever hit the United States. In total Katrina caused over one hundred billion dollars worth of damage. It left people homeless, starving, and in some cases dead. New Orleans, Louisiana was hit the hardest, “New Orleans will forever exist as two cities; the one that existed before that date, and the one after.” Even over a decade later, the effects of Hurricane Katrina can still be felt as the south continues to rebuild their lives and return to some normalcy.
Futhermore, crime in New Orleans increased drastically. On September 1, 2005, victims of Hurricane Katrina reperted crimes of rape and domestic violence. The violent crimes left corpses lying on the ground everywhere in the city. “We have individuals who
Nine years ago the massive storm known as Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans and other parts of Louisiana. That hurricane in turn affected a multitude of aspects, those being; economy, tourism, employment, housing etc. Out of all those aspects I’m going to further dive into the initial impact of hurricane Katrina on education and schools in New Orleans, and how students and teachers were affected by this natural disaster. Initially after Katrina, 110 out of the 126 public school were completely destroyed. Previously all the schools were run by a board that was corrupt and didn’t manage the schools efficiently and used them incorrectly which led to corruption. It was bad enough that even the FBI had to intervene by placing a satellite system
The physical impacts left by this storm, is the central premise to understanding what really happened to this city. The time frame from when the storm hit till now, has caused a significant limitation to really comprehending this historic event. Furthermore, the mass amount of destruction was primarily due to New Orleans being on average 1-2 feet below sea level (NOAA, 2012). Also a lack of scientific accuracy sealed in troubling fate for this city. The duality of being geographically vulnerable as well as the shortcomings of scientific knowledge led to extensive damage to 134,000 housing units, the destruction of multiple bridges along the Gulf Coast, various buildings across the city, which caused harmful chemicals to be leaked into the water system and the disorientation of the main power
The wisest decision would be for Katrina to go to school and pursue a career as a forensic scientist or work in a funeral home to better understand the human body and how it decomposes. While there, she will be in contact with different body types that she will be able to study since no family member or stakeholder for that matter will be willing to donate a deceased family member to support her project right away. Also, by going that route into one of those fields, she will increase her chance of getting her project out there versus doing it on her own. She may have a better chance of getting the proper support she needs for her project or proper funds to get her project noticed. Her project should be put on hold until she has a better understanding of the decomposing process.
The failures of government response to Hurricane Katrina was a result of the aggregation of the local and federal governments lacking proper communication with each other, the levels of government not fulfilling their duties in a state of emergency, and the lack of personal responsibility that each level of government took upon themselves in the crisis. On a local level, Mayor Ray Nagin did not mobilize evacuation via bussing, nor did he ensure that adequate amounts of food and water were stocked in shelters, despite these both being primarily mayoral duties in a state of emergency. Former FEMA director Michael Brown accused Mayor Nagin of not having enough of a sense of urgency in the situation, thus causing a delay in aid to New Orleans.
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.