New Orleans Hurricane Katrina Case Study

Hurricane Katrina is one of the U.S’s most catastrophic events, and this was due to the number of people who were killed and displaced. Most of those effected most harshly by the storm were those that were of the poor community, which in New Orleans was mostly black. These people were not able to evacuate the storm, and also had the most trouble to try to rebuild after the storm. Tia Lessin and Carl Deal’s documentary on Hurricane Katrina, Trouble the Water, portrays Hurricane Katrina in a different light, one that constantly get ignored by the popular media. By answering five main questions based on this documentary, a close to accurate portrayal of Hurricane Katrina can be made.

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

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

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

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).

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.

Hurricanes are powerful and dangerous storms that involve great rain and win. When a tropical storm has a wind speed greater than 75 miles per hour, it is considered a hurricane. The United States of America has dealt with many hurricanes that have cost a substantial amount of damage. However there is one hurricane that occurred in 2005 that stands out among the others, Hurricane Katrina. Hurricane Katrina was the deadliest and most destructive of the Atlantic Hurricanes during the hurricane season. Hurricane Katrina had a great economic and environmental impact on the United States which will take time to completely recover from.

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

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.

As Hurricane Katrina approached New Orleans, federal and local officials underestimated the severity of the storm. Once the storm hit, they believed that it was not horrible and that it would be easy to recover from the storm. They were not expecting the levee system to fail and that 80% of the city would be under water hours after the storm passed. Once the levees failed, it took days before residents of New Orleans to get the help that they needed and many people lost their lives waiting for help. Since many New Orleans police officers lived in the city, they were the first to respond to the crisis. Due to the lack of electricity, it was hard for officials to communicate with each other, making crisis response difficult. People reported acts of violence without actually having proof. The media publicized the inaccurate information without getting evidence.

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 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.

Natural disasters can bring communities together, even if they have been torn apart. One morning, residents of New Orleans emerged from various shelters and their homes to examine the remnants of Hurricane Katrina. Several hours later, they realized there was more devastation awaiting them. Hours later, “…a breach in the levees allowed water to continue to rise until whole neighborhoods were flooded.” Hurricane Katrina brought great attention to the lack of local and disaster relief programs. Most programs are not designed or funded to help assist people for more than four or five weeks. When federal assistance money (FEMA) started to run out, the people were expected to find jobs or get help from other government agencies. This only caused

Hurricane Katrina was one of the most “destructive storms ever to strike the United States”. In August 2005, the hurricane started off as a tropical storm in the Caribbean Sea. Then it picked up speed and hit Florida in the Gulf of Mexico and made landfall near the Louisiana and Mississippi border on Aug. 29, 2005. The hurricane brought lots of winds, huge waves, and a lot of flooding that caused a lot of damage in Florida and widespread destruction in parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. The storm killed approximately 1,800 people, and caused about 100 billion dollars in damage.It left hundreds of thousands of people homeless. New Orleans, which lies below sea level, suffered some of the worst damage out of all the states that were

Another questionable aspect of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans is the police’s interactions public. Although the topic was not very heavily reported, the locals all had very different opinions about how the police handled the situation and communicated with the locals.

In today’s world, there has been one disaster or another, and hurricanes are one of those disasters that always happens. But, for one reason or another we are never prepared or understand the danger of any type of hurricane over a category one. Most of us have been through many hurricanes, like this learner who has lived in Miami, Fla. for over 30 years, and experienced her last hurricane which was Hurricane Andrew. Warnings are always given, first responders are trained to all ways be on alert, and FEMA is supposed to be ready to jump in once the storm has done its damage. But we can never be prepared, because hurricanes are unpredictable, and can become deadly for citizens and create millions of dollars in damages. Within this post we will discuss Hurricane Katrina, preparedness and Emergency management before and after the disaster.