Hurricane Katrina Essay
Hurricane Katrina
On the early morning of August 29th, 2005 on the Gulf Shore near New Orleans a treacherous hurricane struck with one hundred and forty mph winds. Hundreds of thousands of residents near the area evacuated days before the storm was supposed to hit. Katrina was one of the most powerful storms to ever form in the Atlantic Ocean and affected the Bahamas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and many other areas. Nearly six months after the hurricane, more than 1,300 bodies were found and hundreds are still unaccounted for. This hurricane was a level five and affected many lives in the south. Once this all happened reporters were quick on the scene. There were many false stories being told and it turned the attention from the sadness of the victims and natural damage done to unrealistic, wild tales giving New Orleans a bad name.
The report “They Shoot Helicopters, Don’t They?” by Matt Welch, talks about the miscommunication of the news about what was going on after hurricane Katrina. Welch talks about how rumors were started all across the nation and led people to believe false unseen things. Welch states that the media blew the events that were happening in the superdome up, and out of proportion. Welch presented in his report some of the rumors such as, multiple rapes, carjacking, gang violence, and shooting at helicopters. Welch reports that after all of the false information spread worldwide, New Orleans reputation was damaged.
The report “Myth-Making in New Orleans” by Brian Thevenot, talks about how Thevenot wrote about the things he heard when in New Orleans during the disaster. Thevenot later finds out that nothing he wrote about was true. Thevenot talked about how no soldier had actually seen the dead bodies in the freezers, it was just a story going down the grape vine. Thevenot stated that not only did he realize that the stories were not all true, but the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, and the Washington Post did as well. Thevenot as
On the early morning of August 29th, 2005 on the Gulf Shore near New Orleans a treacherous hurricane struck with one hundred and forty mph winds. Hundreds of thousands of residents near the area evacuated days before the storm was supposed to hit. Katrina was one of the most powerful storms to ever form in the Atlantic Ocean and affected the Bahamas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and many other areas. Nearly six months after the hurricane, more than 1,300 bodies were found and hundreds are still unaccounted for. This hurricane was a level five and affected many lives in the south. Once this all happened reporters were quick on the scene. There were many false stories being told and it turned the attention from the sadness of the victims and natural damage done to unrealistic, wild tales giving New Orleans a bad name.
The report “They Shoot Helicopters, Don’t They?” by Matt Welch, talks about the miscommunication of the news about what was going on after hurricane Katrina. Welch talks about how rumors were started all across the nation and led people to believe false unseen things. Welch states that the media blew the events that were happening in the superdome up, and out of proportion. Welch presented in his report some of the rumors such as, multiple rapes, carjacking, gang violence, and shooting at helicopters. Welch reports that after all of the false information spread worldwide, New Orleans reputation was damaged.
The report “Myth-Making in New Orleans” by Brian Thevenot, talks about how Thevenot wrote about the things he heard when in New Orleans during the disaster. Thevenot later finds out that nothing he wrote about was true. Thevenot talked about how no soldier had actually seen the dead bodies in the freezers, it was just a story going down the grape vine. Thevenot stated that not only did he realize that the stories were not all true, but the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, and the Washington Post did as well. Thevenot as