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Hurricane Katrina and the consequences
Hurricane katrina in new orleans
Impacts of Katrina on New Orleans
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Recommended: Hurricane Katrina and the consequences
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.
New Orleans was, and is still, known for their diverse atmosphere due to African, Caribbean, and European influences. The city’s richness in culture and history is what attracts tourists, from all over the country, to New Orleans. There is not only diversity when comparing New Orleans to other cities but also diversity between the different areas of New Orleans as well. Some of these locations include the French Quarter, City Park, and the Aquarium of Americas. The French Quarter consists of the city’s best restaurants which features cuisines from all over the world, a European style marketplace, many museums and theaters to display art pieces of different cultures, and...
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... given the help that they deserved. One can only hope that the government learns from this past encounter with a natural disaster so destructive and hope that safety measures are properly taken in the future and that history will not repeat itself.
Works Cited
"Background on Hurricane Katrina." Do Something. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2013.
Edelstein, David. "'Trouble The Water' Captures Katrina On Camcorder." NPR. NPR, 29 Aug. 2008. Web. 30 Nov. 2013.
Eggers, Dave. Zeitoun. San Francisco: McSweeney's, 2009. Print.
Rudawsky, Gil. "Five Years After Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans Tourism Rebounds." DailyFinance.com. AOL Inc, 27 Aug. 2010. Web. 29 Nov. 2013.
Trouble the Water. Dir. Tia Lessin and Carl Deal. Prod. Tia Lessin and Carl Deal. Zeitgeist Films, 2008. DVD.
Waple, Anne; “Hurricane Katrina”; December 2005; NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center, Asheville, NC
Royer, Jordan. “Hurricane Sandy and the importance of being FEMA”, Crosscut.com, Crosscut.com, Web. 1 Nov 2012, 3 May 2014.
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
... Orleans. In Lee’s Documentary we see the death of a city, and a people lost emotionally, economically and in death. One may ascertain that his motivations for brining to light this enormous amount of pain and suffering in his documentary is to enlighten people, those responsible as well as bystanders to ensure that this kind of travesty is properly dealt with should it befall us again Sharon Keating is a life long resident of New Orleans, she has an immense appreciation for the culture, history, natural resources and beauty of the City of New Orleans. Every person has a fondness for home, every city was built to thrive, some have faltered but through the test of time New Orleans has remained steadfast and beautiful and we must all do our part to ensure that this magnificent history permeates our soul and continues to foster the beauty and diversity of New Orleans.
Thousands of people watched their homes, loved ones, memories and lives be washed away with nowhere to go. The state and local officials are supposed to by law, be responsible for the management of the first response to any disaster.(Williams) Governor Blanco and Mayor Nagin did not do their part. There was a plan in place, it just was not followed. "The actions and inactions of Governor Blanco and Mayor Nagin are a national disgrace due to their failure to apply the previously established evacuation plans of the state and city." (the heartland institution) Their lack of taking action was the cause of many peoples lives. Governor Blanco and Mayor Nagin cannot claim they were surprised by the extent of the damage and the need to evacuate so many people. There were detailed written plans in place and they were ready to evacuate more than a million people.(heartland) The thing that bothers me the most, is that lives could...
For example, Mardi Gras is celebrated heavily in New Orleans. It always has been. Everyone loves the parades and all the food that's available for tourists to try. After the parades are over, a lot of people like to just hang around on Bourbon St. and have fun and get drunk. Another event that's much known is Bayou Classic. Everyone goes to New Orleans for Bayou Classic. They go to watch the football game. They also go for the concerts. They have different singers that would go down there during the classics and perform. Even some of the celebrities will be there. These events really mean a lot to people all
According to Hurricane Katrina At Issue Disasters, economic damages from Hurricane Katrina have been estimated at more than $200 billion… More than a million people were displaced by the storm… An estimated 120,000 homes were abandoned and will probably be destroyed in Louisiana alone (At * Issue). For this perspective, “Hurricane Katrina change the Gulf Coast landscape and face of its culture when it hit in 2005” (Rushton). A disaster like Katrina is something the victims are always going to remember, for the ones the lost everything including their love ones. Katrina became a nightmare for all the people that were surround in the contaminated waters in the city of New Orleans. People were waiting to be rescue for days,
News of the devastating hurricane Katrina and its economic, political, social, and humanitarian consequences dominated global headlines in an unprecedented manner when this natural catastrophe struck the region of New Orleans in mid August 2005 (Katrinacoverage.com). As a tradition, large-scale disasters like Katrina, inevitably, bring out a combination of the best and the worst news media instincts. As such, during the height of Hurricane Katrina’s rage, many journalists for once located their gag reflex and refused to swallow shallow and misleading excuses and explanations from public officials. Nevertheless, the media’s eagerness to report thinly substantiated rumors may have played a key role in bringing about cultural wreckage that may take the American society years to clean up.
New Orleans by far felt the biggest effect of Hurricane Katrina. Many people were rescued but had nowhere to go and the government was not prepared for the disaster. There was no plan for recovery. Communication failures were one of the major problems which included power failures and broken telephone lines. Homes were destroyed and many were left stuck on the roof of their broken homes. Most of the city’s major roads and buildings suffered extensive damage. Countless people were left unemployed and homeless. Above all, the worst effect caused by Hurricane Katrina was the final death toll of 1,836 people with 705 still reported
The natural disaster in 2005 proved to be a major blow to many authoritative figures and organizations. Their failure to responsibly provide citizens’ safety at emergency situations left scars all around the world. The federal government had failed to completely step in when stae and local authorities exhibited minimal signs of motivation to support the city of New Orleans, Louisiana. In response to the film “When the Levees Broke” by director Spike Lee, the documentary clearly displayed the devastating situation that citizens were stuck in, but with few and late assistance from their own governmental representatives, citizens were fighting to survive. To make matters worse, the people were the first in sight to provide assistance to their
The average elevation of New Orleans is about six feet below sea level and is completely surrounded by water. As the 20th century progressed, the Army Corps of Engineers built a complex system of seawalls and levees to keep the city from flooding. Two significant event management failures of both the Galveston hurricane and Hurricane Katrina was how late mandatory evacuations were announced and the misjudgement of the how powerful each hurricane would be. Citizens of both cities were both told the day before to leave which is far too late for many. Coupled with late evacuation announcements, both events were mismanaged as both did not stress the potential impact of each hurricane. Contradictory forecasts led both these cities to doom as officials did not like to produce panic in its
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
Fink, Sheri. "Hurricane Katrina: after the flood." The Gaurdian. N.p., 7 Feb. 2014. Web. 17 Apr. 2014.
It's famous for it's beignets, a square-shaped donut minus the hole, dusted w/ powdered sugar, great w/ coffee. The culture of New Orleans is at its best during Mardi Gras. However, so are hotels, so if you're planning on making the trip and staying in downtown New Orleans, make reservations a few months in advance. Despite the French Quarters old historic appeal, there are many excellent hotels to stay at.
...he government of Louisiana soon came up with new criteria on how future structure should be built to withstand more natural disasters like these. Not only knowing basic information, knowing how to prepare, and seeing how Hurricane Katrina was so destructive should help the forty five million citizens that live on hurricane prone coastlines prepare for anything like this in the future.