The Pros And Cons Of Hurricane Katrina

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As my family and I were enjoying watching our family-friends continue to win in the Little League World Series, we were hearing news of a possible historical storm preparing to hit the gulf coast. The Ewa Beach team, with my Uncle Clint as a coach and his son Ty, continued to win and the Louisiana team stuck around. Even though they were out of the tournament, it was decided that it was not safe for them to go back yet. Ewa Beach went back to Hawaii as World Champions, while Louisiana eventually boarded the flight home unsure of what they would see. Damages and Description:
During the morning hours of August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast. Sustaining winds of 100-140 miles per hour and stretching some 400 miles, the storm …show more content…

In response, The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) took days to establish operations in New Orleans, and lacked a plan of action. Even President George W. Bush seemed oblivious to the severity of what happened, the amount of people stranded or missing, how many buildings were damaged, and how much help was needed. The people remained desperate in their desolated communities as the government seemed to take a relaxed approach to the emergency. In desperation, tens of thousands of people broke into the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center looking to discover a glimmer of hope in the form of food, water, and shelter. Meanwhile, it was nearly impossible to leave New Orleans despite the evacuation that was put in place. Poor people who wished to leave did not have anywhere to go, nor a car to transport them. Others who tried to escape by walking over the Crescent City Connector bridge were rudely met by police with shotguns forcing them to turn back ("Hurricane Katrina."). The controversial reaction was highly publicized, causing officials from federal, state, and local agencies to blame and state accusations. For example, critics blamed an aging and disregarded federal levee system and a slow state and local response following the disaster for the unreasonably high loss of life and damage. Also, residents ignoring initial warnings to leave, strained the effectiveness of the rescue operations (Zimmermann). In defense of the importance of efficient response and evacuation, strong levees will ultimately continue to break because water has no way of escaping the below sea level regions. Evacuation is better because damage will happen anyways, so continuing to build extensive levees is a waste of money and resources. In the event of a major storm, levees will help, but prioritizing evacuation will same more lives. A better evacuation procedure will benefit

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