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Hurricane katrina wittneses
Hurricane katrina wittneses
Hurricane katrina devastation
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America’s response to Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans was stress, heartache, and emptiness from the loss of everything that some of them owned. It caused devastation to the people who lived there, because they lost their homes, as well as family members on this terrible day. Some Americans felt like they were not treated fairly by several organizations and first responders. People were not prepared for the amount of disaster that struck on that day.
Some people decided not to evacuate prior to being told of the disaster heading their way. Other Americans chose to leave as early as a month in advance. Thousands of people had to be evacuated. You could see on the news reports of people on top of their rooftops, being swept away in the flooding of waters, sitting and waiting on help from responders or those that could help evacuate. Thousands of evacuees where African Americans who chose to hold on to faith beliefs, or riding out the storm, because they survived other hurricanes before. With these particular issues, some of the responses to Hurricane Katrina started to become racially motivated.The media focused on African-Americans and people in poverty. One proof that news medias were biased against African-Americans—one image showed a black person carrying supplies labelled as ‘looting’, while a white person in an identical situation was labelled as ‘finding’ supplies (Wiley & Sons 2007).
Contributing factors that caused the response to become such a disaster are as follows:
1. Breaking of the levees
2. City not prepared for the amount of damage done by the flooding
3. Blaming of the government & the president
4. The response by the military & first responders
5. FEMA and Red Cross
6. Governor of New Orleans
The breaki...
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...., Ompad, D. C., Menke, A., Tynes, L. L., & Muntner, P. (2007). Symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder in a New Orleans workforce following Hurricane Katrina. Journal of Urban Health, 84(2), 142-152.
Elliott, J. R., & Pais, J. (2006). Race, class, and Hurricane Katrina: Social differences in human responses to disaster. Social Science Research, 35(2), 295-321.
Malhotra, N., & Kuo, A. G. (2008). Attributing blame: The public's response to Hurricane Katrina. The Journal of Politics, 70(01), 120-135.
Schneider, S. K. (2005). Administrative breakdowns in the governmental response to Hurricane Katrina. Public Administration Review, 65(5), 515-516.
Stephens, N. M., Hamedani, M. G., Markus, H. R., Bergsieker, H. B., & Eloul, L. (2009). Why did they “choose” to stay? Perspectives of Hurricane Katrina observers and survivors. Psychological Science, 20(7), 878-886.
Sobel, Russell S., and Peter T. Leeson. "Government's Response to Hurricane Katrina: A Public Choice Analysis." Public Choice 127.1-2 (2006): 55-73. ProQuest. Web. 3 May 2014.
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.
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,
Nearly 10 years after hurricane Katrina ravaged through the city of New Orleans and surrounding areas in southern Louisiana, the city is still struggling to recover from the $108 billion caused by damage. Nominated for Academy and Emmy awards, the captivating documentary Trouble The Water analyzes the consequences played both during and following the disastrous events during hurricane Katrina. Such events are displayed using the sociological perspective —the perspective on human behavior and how it connects to society— to understand how poverty, social class, and racial issues are valued in different areas of the United States, especially in these troubled areas. Trouble the Water explores these issues of race, class, and the relationship of
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
Racism and classism are very big issues in the world today. The state, local and federal government's slow response to assist and evacuate the left behind poor, mostly Black people of Katrina is an example of racism and classism today. As explained by reporter Mike Davis (2005), "the ultimate revelation of Katrina was how the promise of equal rights for poor African Americans has been dishonored and betrayed by every level of government."(Johnson) I feel the response of the local, state and federal authorities to the Katrina disaster was inadequate and it demonstrated the continuing relevance of race and class for many reasons. They had a plan in place for an evacuation, there were resources to help people they just weren't used, and if the circumstances were different it wouldn't have happened the way it did.
middle of paper ... ... The. “Hurricane Andrew: The Human Side of Recovery.” Disaster Recovery Journal, System Support Inc. 1 Sept. 2001. Web.
Media Coverage on Hurricane Katrina 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 seized 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. To begin with, anybody privy to the events in New Orleans that ensued after Hurricane Katrina struck knows that horrible things that had nothing to do with natural causes happened: there were murders, gunfire directed at a rescue helicopter, assaults and, courtesy of New Orleans’ city police department, a myriad other crimes that most probably went unreported (Katrinacoverage.com).
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
6:10 am August 29th 2005. Similar to December 7th 1941 and September 11th 2001, this is a day that will be remembered as a day of fear and uncertainty and a horrific aftermath. August 29th is the day that Hurricane Katrina made its second and most deadly landfall on the Southern United States. Released on September 5th 2005 an estimated 11.9 million Americans were affected by Katrina between Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama (U.S. Census Bureau). With only a few days to gather all that they could, thousands if not hundreds of thousands Americans had to evacuate their homes and leave the life they knew. Sadly for all of the ones that could not pick up and leave had to ride out the deadly power of Katrina and hope of emergency aid. With some areas flooded to almost 25 feet of water there was many health ( sewage and waste flooding streets, no food, no water, etc) and public safety issues( high floods, collapsing homes, etc) that would have to be handled immediately for those that were needing rescued and for everyone to come home and rebuild. Right away there were several public emergency groups dispatched to help with the aid and recovery. Once the government got involved more appeared. Being that it is almost the 5 year anniversary of Katrina the question is how effective were these efforts?
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.
The relationship between inefficiency and ethical behavior for the decision makers during Hurricane Katrina was none other than a down right fiasco. There were clearly cooperation and communication problems from all levels of government. For example, it was not until 24 hours after the levees broke before the incident was considered a national disaster. By then, communication efforts from the local, state, and federal government authorities were behind the eight ball in a delayed attempt to save hundreds of lives, and minimize millions of dollars in damages. Sufficient warnings as early as two days ahead time gave the decision-makers noticed that Louisiana was in the direct path of Hurricane Katrina. Yet, the Governor and Mayor delayed ordering
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.
Fink, Sheri. "Hurricane Katrina: after the flood." The Gaurdian. N.p., 7 Feb. 2014. Web. 17 Apr. 2014.