Selflessness In New Orleans

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

There has been significant statistics that revealed a large portion of individuals in New Orleans have low socio-economic status. The great Hurricane Katrina in 2005 did not help these statistics improve. In fact, it increased due to the damaging effects from the hurricane. Prior to the hurricane, there wasn’t a significant plan to address the vulnerable population, especially how to handle the mental state of children within this population after a major disaster. The individuals within this population includes the minority, low income, non-English speaking, and non-educated. Even though warnings and methods to prepare for the hurricane was given, not everyone fully understood the extent due to language barriers and inability to access essential supplies to protect themselves.

One of the most unique things about New Orleans particularly in the 18th and 19th centuries where this image is derived from was race and racism. People were excluded or included, considered inferior or superior based on the race they belonged to. To this end, Indians, and African Americans were classified on the lower end of the race totem pole while whites were seen as superior. Furthermore, one’s stance in society or occupation was determined by their race. The whites were majorly businessmen and land owners presiding over big farms that they owned. The blacks and the Indians were mostly peasants ‘owned’ by the white people and forced to work on the farms of the white people against their will owing to the fact that they were imported from their original residences as slaves (Appleby, Eileen and Neva 18). It is, therefore, clear that race and racism played a significant role in helping define New Orleans as we know it today. Bringing racism to the fore provides a platform upon which it can be alleviated to help

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).

Hurricane Katrina was a devastating disaster that has affected many people in New Orleans as well as the surrounding areas. It had a stunning “death toll of 1300 people and damage over $100 billion ”( Davlasheridze 94 ). The communication were taken 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 battered, 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 ).

While racism in the handling of the disaster was evident to many Southern blacks, some believe that poverty was a contributing factor. Not only were 90% of the citizens of New Orleans black, they were also extremely poor.

Prior to Katrina, New Orleans focused on a “levees only” to uphold a tight flood infrastructure system. However, Katrina was a force too powerful and destroyed these levees, affecting the communities around them. In terms of culture and race, the population of the lower socioeconomic class were pushed into poverty and driven out of their homes; to further illustrate, African Americans were a class that became the most exposed to high levels of risk and was depicted as criminals on press. On Yahoo News, two pictures have two different connotations. One says “White People ‘FIND’” and the other says “Black People ‘LOOT.’” The mainstream press coverage then views stranded whites as good citizens.

The news screens showed the videos and pictures of destruction, death and despair. The watchers got an overwhelming sense of lack of support and feeling that the majority of the victims were black. The huge population of blacks in New Orleans, 67.9%, compared to blacks in the rest of the country, 12.2% , is astonishing. Uncovering the sociological issue tied to these numbers assess much more than the city itself. Racism is clearly an ongoing issue in the US when one of its poorest cities holds such a high population of blacks.

Author Kristina Kay Robinson wrote in her short story 10 Years Since: A Mediation on New Orleans, “I don’t know how long my city has for me, but every day that I remain, I am working, searching for a newer, truer meaning for the concept of forward.” To this day, this sentiment remains authentic for those devastated by the August 2005 Hurricane Katrina. Accordingly, the aftermath and trauma that victims of Katrina faced in New Orleans, Louisiana, left countless amounts of people homeless and with psychological issues. Levees in New Orleans failed as enormous waves flooded the city that was already below sea level. Consequently, Hurricane Katrina’s course of major annihilation was detrimental and left various southern states, including Louisiana, with billions of dollars in damage and destruction and a

With nearly everyone driven out of their homes and little more than what was on their backs, people lost their power and their voice. On the other hand, some people, generally those with more wealth, had more power than others with a safe and dry house, means of transportation, and guns for self-defense gave them the power of shelter, security, and safety. The days following the hurricane was a game of taking power and having power taken from your. The police gained power by taking guns and forcing people out of their homes, some people took power by looting unattended stores, and power was taken when people were forced onto the streets to fend for themselves, and when they were forced into the Superdome with no control over their future. Ultimately, Hurricane Katrina revealed that when society collapses, people will go to extremes to gain back power, even if it means stripping others of their

Unfortunately, the city and whole state was extremely unprepared for the catastrophic impact. This was one uncontrollable factor to cause detrimental impacts to New Orleans. With that being said, we have the issue of poverty at hand and it is an

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

In times of emergency, life and death, and tragic despair, people often are reminded of the umbrella of stress that hangs over us. With such a world people live in today, at times its common to be caught up in the minor details of life; rather than enjoying the beauty of it all. Almost everyday, we live in a sheltered life, hidden away in our communities, just trying to skate by. But there are sometimes moments that occur in a lifetime, where that sheltered routine, that is so ingrained in our minds, is taken upon differently. August 29, 2005, day one of hurricane Katrina; this date, is one that is permanently ingrained in thousands of citizens of New Orleans. On this day, people have seen family members drown, houses destroyed, as well as

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 opinion of New Orleans residents regarding how Hurricane Katrina was handled by the government also depends on the resident’s race, class, and gender. Many of the poor urban residents in New Orleans that were the most devastated by Hurricane Katrina were African American (Pardee, 2014). These residents felt that they were forgotten by their government and left to die because they did