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Effect of disaster on human life
Describe the effect of disaster on human life
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The film “When the Levees Broke” of spike lee is a four part series covering the events that took place before and after the devastation of Katrina on New Orleans and its residents. In August 2005, New Orleans was struck by Hurricane Katrina. People were unprepared for the disaster. As the city was flooding, levees safeguard failed the city, which caused the city to go underwater. In the film, part 1 shows hurricane Katrina and it’s impact. The flooding, rescue efforts and people trying to survive the disaster. Part 2 shows the aftermath with people that were evacuated waiting for help to come to the city. It was a very slow response to help and everyone was just waiting. Part 3 shows how people started to recover. Many hoped to return to their …show more content…
It suggested that hurricane Katrina was not a natural disaster, but a disaster that was caused directly by our own government on both local and federal levels. The film wasn’t easy to watch because it showed how people’s lives were destroyed. I felt both anger and sadness while watching the film. There is no doubt that the people in New Orleans were mistreated during hurricane Katrina, and many of them are still living the consequences today. The film covered people from all races, backgrounds and income levels who spoke about the disaster through their own experiences and how it has personally affected them. There were profanity, racial slurs and many frustrations. There were also prayers and music.There was a lot of blame to go around with Hurricane Katrina, but the people of New Orleans showed strength in the face of the disaster. Throughout the film, people talk about the difficulties that they face after Katrina. It was surprising to see that people waited 4 months and longer in some areas for FEMA trailers. In this regard, the film was an eye opener of the lack of support of our own government in New Orleans. While watching the film, I learned about the spirit of New Orleans. It is such a unique place because of its people and culture.
Lastly, I do concur with most of the opinions presented in the film. Spike lee did an amazing work getting first-hand
Rather than working with nature through multi-tiered flood control with spillways and reservoirs, levees disallowed the river to naturally flood, deteriorated the natural ecosystem, and ultimately weakened the city’s defenses against the hurricane (Kelman). Culture and society further interacted, as beliefs in man’s power over nature and racial discrimination promoted levee expansion and racial segregation, creating a city of racially differentiated risk (Spreyer 4). As a result, inundation mostly impacted the lower land neighborhoods that housed poor people of color. Society and nature interfaced in the application of levees that contained nature’s forces. Ultimately, nature won out: the hurricane overpowered the levees and breached the Industrial Canal, disproportionally flooding the mostly black, low-elevation neighborhoods of New Orleans (Campanella
Dave Eggers events of looting are an accurate portrayal of Spike Lee’s documentary When the Levees Broke. Works Cited Eggers, Dave. Zeitoun. San Francisco: McSweeney's, 2009. Print.
I'm going to provide my own interpretation on the film, writing a detailed conclusion on what I
In the late summer of 2005, a terrible tragedy occurred that changed the lives of many in the south-east region of the United States. A Category 3, named storm, named Hurricane Katrina, hit the Gulf Coast on the 29th of August and led to the death of 1,836 and millions of dollars’ worth of damage (Waple 2005). The majority of the damage occurred in New Orleans, Louisiana. Waple writes in her article that winds “gusted over 100 mph in New Orleans, just west of the eye” (Waple 2005). Not only was the majority of the damage due to the direct catastrophes of the storm but also city’s levees could no longer hold thus breaking and releasing great masses of water. Approximately, 80% of the city was submerged at sea level. Despite the vast amount of damage and danger all throughout the city, officials claimed that there was work being done to restore the city of New Orleans as a whole but many parts, and even the people, of the city were overlooked while areas of the city with higher economic value, and more tourist traffic, were prioritized along with those individuals.
...they deserved something positive in return. These people in Rosewood suffered because of the color of their skin and not anything else. I have realized that I am lucky to have the choices I have in my education, and athletics, and I am grateful to be able to play basketball for my school—as back in the times that they lived, they were simply lucky to be alive and did not have any choice in sports to play or fun to have. They simply worked for white people, and tried to stay away from death. They were not given the chances that I have today. This movie gave me a new, grateful and thankful view on the society I live in today.
Van Heerden, Ivor Ll. "The Failure of the New Orleans Levee System Following Hurricane Katrina and the Pathway Forward." Public Administration Review, 67.6 (2007): 24-35.
Hurricane Katrina was considered as the worst hurricane in the history of United States. The winds and the rain were shattering people’s homes which collapsed and flooded. Thousands of people were suffering and dying. People were starving, and becoming dehydrated. Many people were left on the street and became homeless. After the hurricane, so many questions were left regarding the widespread damage and loss of loved ones. This devastating disaster destroyed the city of New Orleans and nearby cities and was estimated to cost $80 billion dollars in damage. State and local emergency in the affected area were struggling to perform urgent response missions such as emergency medical services, search and rescue, firefighting, giving food and water,
By August 28, evacuations were underway across the region. That day, the National Weather Service predicted that after the storm hit, “most of the [Gulf Coast] area will be uninhabitable for weeks…perhaps longer.” New Orleans was at particular risk. Though about half the city actually lies above sea level, its average elevation is about six feet below sea level–and it is completely surrounded by water. Over the course of the 20th century, the Army Corps of Engineers had built a system of levees and seawalls to keep the city from flooding. The levees along the Mississippi River were strong and sturdy, but the ones built to hold back Lake Pontchartrain, Lake Borgne and the waterlogged swamps and marshes to the city’s east and west were much less reliable. Even before the storm, officials worried that those levees, jerry-built atop sandy, porous, erodible soil, might not withstand a massive storm surge. Neighborhoods that sat below sea level, many of which housed the city’s poorest and most vulnerable people, were at great risk of
Hurricane Katrina was one of the most devastating natural disasters to happen in the United States. The storm resulted in more then US$100 billion in damage when the cities flood protection broke and 80% of the city was flooded (1). The protection failure was not the only cause for the massive flooding, the hurricanes clockwise rotation pulled water from north of New Orleans into the city. 330,000 homes were destroyed and 400,000 people from New Orleans were displaced, along with 13,00 killed (1). Although the population quickly recovered, the rate of recovery slowed down as the years went on leading us to believe not everyone
In summary, the events of Hurricane Katrina had left a lasting and devastating impact on not only the general public, but also those within public safety including local, state and federal agencies. The storm had affected nearly hundreds of square miles resulting in thousands of casualties, and people misplaced with no homes to go to as well. In addition, there were many contributing factors that had resulted in major life, including the geography of New Orleans, how the levees around New Orleans were built, as well as the lack of coordination between local, state and federal officials.
...he cry of New Orleans and a people in need. He modeled a humane and kindhearted quality that many celebrities are lacking these days. Even after all his hard work to get New Orleans back into shape, he asks for nothing in return. The happiness of the New Orleans citizens is all that he craves! “You have no idea,” Mr. Pitt says, “what a high it is for me to see the delight on people’s faces when they see these homes (Clarke).” Spoken like a true humanitarian!
...ef workers, police, and military personnel. Many felt as if the government cared less because New Orleans mostly consisted of low income African Americans. Looking at the whole situation, its very important to understand all the things that went wrong prior, during, and after the flood in order to create better protection to New Orleans and to any other place a situation like this can arise. The way the government handled the situation allows the people to learn from the consequences of the actions they did not take. This shows Hurricane Katrina was a source of change for everyone who cares enough to acknowledge it happened. The damage it caused was devastating for everything including the economy.
This movie is a wonderful production starting from 1960 and ending in 1969 covering all the different things that occurred during this unbelievable decade. The movie takes place in many different areas starring two main families; a very suburban, white family who were excepting of blacks, and a very positive black family trying to push black rights in Mississippi. The movie portrayed many historical events while also including the families and how the two were intertwined. These families were very different, yet so much alike, they both portrayed what to me the whole ‘message’ of the movie was. Although everyone was so different they all faced such drastic decisions and issues that affected everyone in so many different ways. It wasn’t like one person’s pain was easier to handle than another is that’s like saying Vietnam was harder on those men than on the men that stood for black rights or vice versa, everyone faced these equally hard issues. So it seemed everyone was very emotionally involved. In fact our whole country was very involved in president elections and campaigns against the war, it seemed everyone really cared.
Crime rates went up, no one had a place to stay and water was polluted. The damage done by Katrina affected New Orleans and the other areas hit years after it struck. Restoration for the areas hit would need support from all across America and support groups across the country. No one was ready for this tragedy, or could ever predict the horrible outcome. Hurricanes are powerful and destructive storms that involve great rain and wind.
Although I enjoyed the main portion of the movie, there were some obvious likes and dislikes in my opinion. I believe that I learned from this movie and it helped me understand more of what the people of that time were feeling.