Hurricane Katrina Disaster Essay

2499 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The second effects of Hurricane Katrina

Olivia Surita Elena Carter WRIT 1301 May 8th, 2014 The Analysis of Failures Made During Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina left a devastating scar on the citizens of the southern coast of the U.S., especially New Orleans, Louisiana. The category 5 hurricane was the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the most deadly. Katrina hit New Orleans on August 29th, 2005 and after that day, 66,000 people were displaced from their homes. Of those who decided to ride out the storm with hopes of success and survival as they had experienced with other storms, they were found on their rooftops, in their attics, hoping for boat or helicopter rescue, relying on others for help to survive. The storm had reached 28,000 square feet inward to Louisiana, which was 60 percent of the state. 1,100 Louisianans lost their lives, and 200,000 were displaced and/or lost their homes (Davis 8). It was a devastating time of despair and suffering. People were put through experiences that would scar them for a long time. While preparing for evacuation, people left most of their belongings at home to flee to a safer city or to find shelter in the Superdome and Convention Center. Some even decided to remain in their boarded up homes. After the hurricane had past, a few hours went by and a levee located near the Mississippi River canal broke leaving New Orleans flooded (Delisi). After the disaster, the state and federal governments were pointing fingers at each other as to who was to blame for the poorly planned evacuation and rescue efforts for the victims. The state government promised to help evacuate those who could not transport themselves. Citizens were told to go to the Superdome and convention center for evacuation, but the supplies needed for survi... ... middle of paper ... .... The rescue teams did not have good communication, which resulted of many not being able to trace where people needed to be saved. Many personnel of FEMA were said to have lacked knowledge of their duties and therefore were not able to do their job in assisting and planning relief. The Superdome was overcrowded and undersupplied. While it was shelter for many during the storm, it was a nightmare after. People were sleeping next to dead bodies, and were left for multiple days without food or water. When finally aided, they were forced to evacuate the city and go wherever the buses and planes would bring them. Families were separated. While it is expected during a catastrophe like Hurricane Katrina that there will be loss of life, there was a significant amount of lives that could have been saved if emergency procedures were better planned and carried out.

Show More
Related

  • The Bias and Suffering after Hurricane Katrina: Trouble The Water, and Zeitoun

    1460 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Superdome Hurricane Fail

    1676 Words  | 4 Pages

    During the two previous hurricanes that made their way onto the New Orleans coast, the Superdome was also used for a shelter during these times. The use of the building as a sanctuary then, even in the face of much lesser hurricanes, was nothing short of a disaster. In Hurricane Georges and Ivan, supplies and planning were not evident. Reports were made that during Georges, citizens were stealing items from the dome and damaged much of the Superdome which cost the city thousands. This shows the lack of attention to patterns in the Superdomes’ past and It was also very difficult during Georges to get the supplies they did have to citizens inside the dome. During this disaster, there were only an estimated number of 14,000 people in the dome compared to the over 20,000 during Katrina. If it was difficult to provide citizens with essential services inside the Superdome during a far less severe hurricane with approximately 6,000 less people involved, the idea to let the Superdome weather Katrina with little to no planning was a astronomical mistake and a scary decision coming from the mayor who is in charge of keeping his people safe.

    Read More

  • Essay About Houston

    645 Words  | 2 Pages

    Katrina is the costliest U.S hurricane, with estimated damage over $81 billion and costs over $160 billion.” The people that were affected the most was the poor people, children, the sick, and the elderly. Most of New Orleans was underwater; it was going to take a long time for the city to come back from this. “The The rescue and recovery efforts following Katrina became highly politicized, with federal, state and local officials pointing fingers at one another.” People didn’t get the proper warnings to evacuate. After the hurricane “Government officials have sought to learn from the tragedy and implement better environmental, communications and evacuation policies.” Ten years after the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina the city is still dealing with still trying to recover. The have lost a lot when the hurricane hit and it affected them financially, because of the popular areas that are in New Orleans. In all, almost everyone that evacuate from New Orleans fled to Houston which led to the population to grow, but also those that came to Houston had a different feeling about things. Houston has also had its fair shares has had 27 disasters- eight hurricanes, eight floods, six severe storms, three

    Read More

  • Hurricane Katrina Impact

    1498 Words  | 3 Pages

    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,

    Read More

  • Hurricane Harvey Essay

    1057 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hurricane Harvey was one of the most devastating hurricanes to strike the United States in several years. Harvey resulted in over eighty fatalities and over 150 billion dollars in damages. This proves to be one of the most destructive hurricanes to be recorded. The overwhelming damage was caused by many different aspects; however, three of the greatest aspects are: varying weather patterns throughout the storm, the city structure of Houston, Texas, and the lack of evacuation. Each of these factors affected the city in a different way, but all resulted in a common outcome, devastation.

    Read More

  • Impact Of Hurricane Katrina

    1195 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Racial Discrimination In Zeitoun By Dave Eggers

    1190 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hurricane Katrina roared through Louisiana demolishing everything in its path. It obliterated the city of New Orleans, inside and out leaving almost nothing untouched and intact. Homes, schools, office buildings, and almost all infrastructures were ravaged by the mighty storm. Thousands of people ...

    Read More

  • The Natural Causes Of Hurricane Katrina

    993 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • The History of Hurricane Katrina

    1811 Words  | 4 Pages

    On August 29, 2005, the third strongest and biggest hurricane ever recorded in American history hit the Gulf Coast at eight o’clock a.m. The interaction between a tropical depression and a tropical wave created a tropical storm later referred to as Hurricane Katrina (FAQS, 2013). Forming over the Bahamas, Hurricane Katrina gradually strengthened as it moved closer and closer to the Gulf of Mexico. Recorded on August 28th, 2005, Katrina jumped from a category three storm to a category five storm with maximum sustained winds up to 160 miles per hour. Although other hurricanes, such as Hurricane Rita and Hurricane Wilma, exceeded Katrina, this dominant storm was classified as the fourth most intense hurricane based its pressure capacity. Once Hurricane Katrina hit land, it was pronounced as a category four storm moving slowly. While people thought that the slow speed of this storm prevented trauma, records show that Katrina did more damage than any fast-moving storm could have ever achieved (Solanki, 2013). Katrina produced abundant debris. The debris was in such large quantity that if it was stacked together on a football field, the rubble would reach the elevation of ten and a half miles. The size of Katrina also caused 90,000 square miles to be affected. Once proclaimed a category three storm, Hurricane Katrina slowed to the speed of 155 miles per hour. At this point in time, Katrina proved to be the sixth most prevailing hurricane traced in history. (Solanki, 2013). Several different aspects of life were impacted by Hurricane Katrina such as availability of gasoline, economic issues, and the ability to have an adequate supply of drinking water (Solanki, 2013). Hurricane Katrina was a large storm ...

    Read More

  • Cause And Effects Of New Orleans

    1102 Words  | 3 Pages

    For one, response to help these victims was all around slow. Then when they were finally rescued, most people went to the convention center where food was scarce and they did not have any of the necessities that they needed including decent medical equipment. These people were told that buses would be there to get them, but buses never showed up. It took the Mayor making a very angry phone call to get buses there to get these victims and take them somewhere. Even then, though, everyone was just dispersed. Many people were separated from their families. It was extremely disorganized. Later, after New Orleans had reopened, college student Paris Ervin came to discover another way that the government had been neglectful. Before he had arrived, he had gotten in contact with the search and rescue who had told him that there were no bodies found in his house. This caused him to believe that maybe there was a chance his mother had made it out alive after all. However, when he arrived at his house, he found that all the doors were still locked which meant that no one had gone into his house to search for any bodies. Upon further searching, his mother’s body was found underneath the refrigerator in the kitchen. He was not the only one this happened to either. The people involved in the search and rescue, which included people from FEMA, a federal organization, had a system of markings

    Read More

  • When The Levees Broke Essay

    461 Words  | 1 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Hurricane Katrina

    1533 Words  | 4 Pages

    On August 29, 2005 Hurricane Katrina forced its way into New Orleans, Louisiana with winds of more than 140 mph. This storm was a strong category three when it hit New Orleans. Hurricane Katrina destroyed homes, businesses, and factories from the high winds and flooding. The devastation that the city suffered was terrible; many people lost family members young and old and also their most prized possessions. Most of all it displaced families and caused an abundance of damage to properties. Due to the costly destruction that the city of New Orleans faced after Katrina, they must now find a way to alleviate the blighted properties from their environment and also face the challenges.

    Read More

  • Hurricane Katrina

    1157 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...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.

    Read More

  • Effects of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans

    931 Words  | 2 Pages

    August 29, 2005 was one of the darkest days for the residents of the State of Louisiana. Katrina, a category 3 hurricane, ripped through New Orleans and the surrounding areas causing catastrophic loss of life and property. The federal government’s disaster response team, which was formed in 1978, titled the Federal Emergency Management Agency, (commonly referred to as FEMA) responded to the needs of the survivors. Unfortunately the Bush administration through FEMA showed gross ineptitude in its response to the disaster. Pre-Katrina the lack of response resulted in a largely unsuccessful evacuation. After the storm, aid to the citizens of New Orleans was slow and inadequate. When we look back at the federal government’s response to Hurricane Katrina, it appears that Bush’s FEMA botched much of the handling of the crisis and that overall, our “administration” could have responded to the situation much better.

    Read More

  • Hurricane Katrina: Causes, Effects, and Aftermath

    1428 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

More about Hurricane Katrina Disaster Essay

Open Document