PTSD and Hurricane Katrina

1097 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Stressors and the response to them

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 the memories of such a beautiful city float by them. Because of this one day, that umbrella of stress hanging over these people is present for a life time. The enormous amount of stress that hurricane Katrina victims have gone through have not only resulted in physical health issues, but a psychological sickness no other than post-traumatic stress disorder. But who is to blame for such an event? Some might say it is just natures course, but this blame should be put on no one other than the United States government. Due to the poorly planned evacuation process of the United States government, as well as post hurricane Katrina living conditions, the citizens of New Orleans who underwent intense psychological stress have a significantly increased likelihood of being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
The lifestyle of citizens previous to hurricane Katrina was simple and family oriented. To many of those whom lived in New Orleans, New Orleans was there home, is there only home; and ev...

... middle of paper ...

...mpiricalStudies/Symptoms%20of%20Posttraumatic%20Stress%20Disorder.pdf

Katrina victims struggle mentally http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-08-16-neworleans-illness_N.htm?csp=1 After Hurricane Katrina, Years of Post-Traumatic Stress http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2011/08/after-hurricane-katrina-years-of-post-traumatic-stress/244029/ 'Unacceptable': The Federal Government's Response to Hurricane Katrina

http://books.google.com/books?id=uQUK-SgVMzQC&printsec=frontcover&dq=hurricane+katrina+government&hl=en&sa=X&ei=ddA4U_-KDsOe0AG08YEw&ved=0CCsQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=failure&f=false

Government: Response to Katrina http://web.mit.edu/12.000/www/m2010/finalwebsite/katrina/government/government-response.html Post-traumatic stress disorder following disasters: a systematic review
http://114.255.48.34/dzzt/xlgy/wx/200806/P020080606453912025643.pdf

Show More
Related

  • Analysis of Dave Egger's Zeitoun

    874 Words  | 2 Pages

    Niman, Michael I. "KATRINA's AMERICA: Failure, Racism, And Profiteering." Humanist 65.6 (2005): 11. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 26 Nov. 2013.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of One Dead In Attic By Chris Rose

    1109 Words  | 3 Pages

    A storm such as Katrina undoubtedly ruined homes and lives with its destructive path. Chris Rose touches upon these instances of brokenness to elicit sympathy from his audience. Throughout the novel, mental illness rears its ugly head. Tales such as “Despair” reveal heart-wrenching stories emerging from a cycle of loss. This particular article is concerned with the pull of New Orleans, its whisper in your ear when you’ve departed that drags you home. Not home as a house, because everything physical associated with home has been swept away by the storm and is now gone. Rather, it is concerned with home as a feeling, that concept that there is none other than New Orleans. Even when there is nothing reminiscent of what you once knew, a true New Orleanian will seek a fresh start atop the foundation of rubbish. This is a foreign concept for those not native to New Orleans, and a New Orleanian girl married to a man from Atlanta found her relationship split as a result of flooding waters. She was adamant about staying, and he returned to where he was from. When he came back to New Orleans for her to try and make it work, they shared grim feelings and alcohol, the result of which was the emergence of a pact reminiscent of Romeo and Juliet. This couple decided they would kill themselves because they could see no light amongst the garbage and rot, and failure was draining them of any sense of optimism. She realized the fault in this agreement,

    Read More

  • 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

  • Hurricane Andrew Ptsd Case Study

    461 Words  | 1 Pages

    In 1992, hurricane Andrew was a category four hurricane and said to be one of the worst natural disasters to happen in the United States at the time. It’s winds surpassed 160 miles per hour and caused damage to over 125,000 homes within 400 square miles. Hurricane Andrew left approximately 175,000 families and children temporarily homeless.

    Read More

  • Cause of Destruction and Plans to Rebuild after Katrina

    3011 Words  | 7 Pages

    Ryan, Dave. “Bringing Them All Back Home: Six Months After Katrina, Homeless.” Dollars and Sense (2006): 46-50. Academic OneFile. Thomson Gale. Univ. of South Alabama, Mobile. 28 Nov. 2006.

    Read More

  • Fema's Role In Hurricane Katrina

    795 Words  | 2 Pages

    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,

    Read More

  • Hurricane Katrina: America's Costliest Storm

    967 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Coast Guard, for instance, rescued some 34,000 people in New Orleans alone, and many ordinary citizens commandeered boats, offered food and shelter, and did whatever else they could to help their neighbors. Yet the government–particularly the federal government–seemed unprepared for the disaster. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) took days to establish operations in New Orleans, and even then did not seem to have a sound plan of action. Officials, even including President George W. Bush, seemed unaware of just how bad things were in New Orleans and elsewhere: how many people were stranded or missing; how many homes and businesses had been damaged; how much food, water and aid was needed. Katrina had left in her wake what one reporter called a “total disaster zone” where people were “getting absolutely

    Read More

  • Hurricane Ike

    1406 Words  | 3 Pages

    “When I saw my house three weeks after the storm, I was glad it stood but I knew it was time for change. Now five years later, I have learned that for me to enjoy the beauty of this place, there is a cost to bear. I love this place and am here to stay, but I have to invest more than I had imagined. The hurricane has greatly affected our lives but not only in a bad way.”

    Read More

  • Impact Of Hurricane Katrina

    1195 Words  | 3 Pages

    The population of New Orleans was steadily decreasing, between the years of 2000 and 2005, 30,000 (6%) of the population left New Orleans in search for better lives (4). The declining population shows us that before Hurricane Katrina residence were already considering leaving the city, some push factors leading them away from the city include poverty and unemployment (5). Accord to the U.S 2005 Census Bureau around 23% of the residence lived in poverty, this can be a result of the nearly 12% unemployment rate (5). With an unemployment rate double the national standard and nearly one forth the population living in poverty, the city of New Orleans had many push factors against it resolution in a decline population prier to Hurricane Katrina. At the time of the storm nearly 400,000 residents were displaced from their homes too near by safe areas or other states. The population reming in the city as decreased to a few thousand (6). A month after the disaster when the levee breaches were repaired and the flood water was pumped out of the city, residence were allowed to return to what was left of their homes. The first reliable estimate of the New Orleans population after Hurricane Katrina was an ‘American Community survey’. The survey projected that by the start of 2006 around one third or 158,000 of the population returned. By the middle of f2006 the city

    Read More

  • The Perks Of Being A Wallflower: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

    1197 Words  | 3 Pages

    The movie, The Perks of Being A Wallflower, released in 2012, is based on the book written by Stephen Chbosky, which was originally published in 1999. The book is all about the main character, Charlie, as he deals with his first year in high school, after the tragic death of his Aunt Helen. The movie opens with Charlie writing in a journal, which is a part of his therapy for the mental illness he suffers from on account of his Aunt 's death. The past year or so before this, Charlie had been suffering from memories and flashbacks of the way his Aunt died in a car accident. He is hopeful that high school will bring new things for him, but after the first day, is disappointed after the bullying and neglect he finds from other students. Things

    Read More

  • The Feelings Of Hurricane Katrina

    1100 Words  | 3 Pages

    People express their feelings in various ways. Singers and rappers express their feelings through song, poets express their feelings through their poetry, and artist express their feelings through their art. Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr., better known by his stage name Lil Wayne, is a 33-year-old American hip hop recording artist from New Orleans, Louisiana. Lil Wayne produced a political and controversial rap song entitled “Georgia …Bush” An amazing seven and a half minutes of music as a tribute to New Orleans, and to criticize the way president George bush handled hurricane Katrina, the war in Iraq, and the way he was governing the country. The setting for this song takes place in New Orleans; right after hurricane Katrina destroyed most of

    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

  • How the Government Failed the Victims of Hurricane Katrina

    999 Words  | 2 Pages

    Even though it is the responsibility of the federal and state governments to aid citizens during times of disaster, the people devastated by Hurricane Katrina were not effectively facilitated as according to their rights as citizens of the United States. The government’s failures to deliver assistance to citizens stem from inadequate protection systems in place before the storm even struck. The Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Homeland Security were the two largest incumbents in the wake of the storm. The failure of these agencies rests on the shoulders of those chosen to head the agency. These directors, appointed by then president George W. Bush, were not capable of leading large government agencies through a crisis, let alone a disaster the magnitude of Hurricane Katrina. Along with the federal government, the state of Louisiana and the city of New Orleans did not do enough to lesseb the damage caused by the storm, and forced thousands of poorer citizens to remain in cramped and unsanitary conditions for extended periods of time. The culmination of federal, state, and local government’s failures in suppressing and repairing the damage of Hurricane Katrina to a level acceptable for citizens of the United States is a denial of the rights citizens of the United States hold.

    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

    Every year many natural disasters happen around the world. In New Orleans, and several other states, a devastating hurricane struck. High speed winds and major flooding caused many people to lose their homes and even their lives. Many people have heard of hurricane Katrina, but not everybody knows what caused it and the affect it had on the United States.

    Read More

More about PTSD and Hurricane Katrina

Open Document