Government Involvement During Hurricane Katrina

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Recommended: The consequences of hurricane Katrina

The storm many are aware of called Katrina was devastating to property, finances, and families and left many people clinging to life with only hope of assistance. No one seemed well prepared for a storm of this size and many people didn’t evacuate. The government had gotten something right by calling for a mandatory evacuation of New Orleans, Louisiana. FEMA, federal Emergency Management Association, was partially to blame for the slow reaction and help after the storm. Those elected to run our nation and protect the people were also delayed in their efforts to support the people caught in the storm. Overall, elected and appointed officials were slow in their necessary efforts and should have been quicker to help those struggling to survive after one of the most well known hurricanes to ever hit land.
There were many things destroyed and many people displaced from their homes and family. Studies show more than 400,000 people in the New Orleans and Mississippi Gulf area were forced to travel away from everything they knew (Katrina Displaced 400,000, Study Says). The emotional damage of the storm is not something easily communicated but the financial toll calculated is somewhere around $96-$125 billion, the insurance losses were looked at at around half that (Hurricane Katrina Damage Facts and Economic Effects). With so many people not where they should be and facing the financial hardships of the storm’s aftermath, the economy suffered. As well as the oil and gas pipelines damaged in the storm and unattainable through the debris. All these costs affected production, sales, and caused the Gross Domestic Product and economic growth to change from 3.8% to 1.3% by the October-December quarter. Total estimated costs to property was es...

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...Oct. 2014. Web. 14 Apr. 2014. .
"Hurricane Katrina." History.com. A&E Television Networks. Web. 22 Apr. 2014. .
"Hurricane Katrina Damage Facts and Economic Effects." About.com US Economy. Web. 05 May 2014. .
"Hurricane Katrina: Plans, Decisions and Lessons Learned." VOA. Web. 05 May 2014. .
"Katrina Displaced 400,000, Study Says." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 07 June 2006. Web. 02 May 2014. .
"Katrina: A Political Disaster." Katrina: A Political Disaster. Web. 22 Apr. 2014. .

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