Preview

The Devastating Tragedy Of Hurricane Katrina

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
234 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Devastating Tragedy Of Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina was a devastating tragedy that changed the lives of many for worse. New Orleans was not prepared for the magnitude of such a disaster that would impact not only the city, but the people forever. The federal system was slow to evacuate people and did not emphasize the potential severity of the storm. In all “... Hurricane Katrina killed nearly 2,000 people and affected some 90,000 square miles of the United States”(Later). People did not expect for Katrina to be this deadly in thinking so they did not leave their homes and as a result many of them died. The Morial Convention Center was only capable of hosting a couple of thousands of people leaving the rest of the city to fend for themselves. Up to “tens of thousands of people
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Best Essays

    The Healthcare Infrastructure of Post-Katrina New Orleans
    • 3599 Words
    • 15 Pages

    The Healthcare Infrastructure of Post-Katrina New Orleans

    When Hurricane Katrina struck the city of New Orleans in August of 2005, the physical damage that the storm caused was easily seen. Mass flooding led to the destruction of many homes and famous landmarks. In an attempt to get out of the way of the storm’s path, many citizens fled the city in the days before the storm. Some, though, for various reasons, did not leave the city and decided to stay and take on the storm in their homes. Those citizens were the ones who were seen in the days, weeks, and months after the storm, struggling to regroup and rebuild from what the storm had done. The physical damage garnered most of the attention from media outlets, but a very critical underlying issue that was not as widely covered still remained. The healthcare infrastructure of New Orleans, which was already very poor, was very negatively affected by Hurricane Katrina. Many members of the media did not cover this, most likely because it was a type of disaster that could not be clearly observed and would not bring in as many viewers as other aspects of the aftermath. To me, though, it is a very important issue that should have gotten more attention at the time. That is why I decided to focus my research on how Hurricane Katrina affected the healthcare infrastructure in New Orleans, how other cities handled similar situations, and what could be done to better prepare the city’s healthcare infrastructure in the event that another storm of this magnitude strikes the city. I believe that the city should have distributed healthcare more evenly amongst citizens to give all a better chance at getting medical attention after the storm, that more federal and state aid should be applied to New Orleans area medical centers, and that city officials, state officials, and citizens alike should collaborate towards coming up with a structured plan…

    • 3599 Words
    • 15 Pages
    Best Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Hurricane Katrina Summary
    • 438 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Hurricane Katrina Summary

    William M. Smith, Senior Director of Emergency Preparedness at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), a nonprofit that operates 20 academic, community and specialty hospitals, says lives can be saved with a hospital’s emergency preparedness efforts.…

    • 438 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    hurricane katrina
    • 387 Words
    • 2 Pages

    hurricane katrina

    The social disorganization theory can be used to explain looting in New Orleans because all of the details of the theory play a part in some communities in New Orleans. A lot of those communities are near the central business district. Just like in Chicago, this zone was not a desirable location for residents and homes, but was close to work so the less fortunate lived their because of lack of transportation and jobs where easier to get being so close. As Shaw and Mckay stated in chapter 4, this was a zone of transition. The community changed a lot because people moved in and out constantly. When they were fortunate to be able to move to better areas, more of the less fortunate moved in. This began to trigger social conflict between the residences. With social conflict came a lot of other behaviors and with this process happening over and over a pattern starts. Cultural transmission theory comes in to play here. Adolescents grow up in and environment where drugs, violence, poverty, and broken homes are all they see. They are more likely to fall victim to the environment they live in because that is all they know. After this happens for decades and decades, perception sets in and we don’t view them as individuals but as a certain type of person. During hurricane Katrina all the people that lived in those areas of poverty had no means of transportation to leave. They stayed hoping and praying they could survive the storm. When it came they were flooded, trapped on the roofs of houses and buildings for days with no water or shelter and no signs that help was coming soon. They soon started to do what was already happening in their community. It was almost like instinct set in. For years and years they saw their peers commit crimes to survive. So they started to loot, taking the things they need to survive. They were also taking things they didn’t need like weapons. These weapons were used to protect themselves from each other and corrupt police officers. It…

    • 387 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    9/11 Impact On America
    • 1471 Words
    • 6 Pages

    9/11 Impact On America

    Approximately 1,800 people died, and millions were left homeless (2). In the Superdome and the New Orleans convention Center, thousands of people sought refuge. Hurricane Katrina caused the largest displacement of a population since the Great Depression with more than a million people being displaces (4). Causing $108 billion in damage, Katrina is the most costly storm in United States history (2). Ten years later, the region was still recovering from Katrina. The New Orleans metro population ended up dropping significantly from 1.386 million in 2005 to 1.04 million in 2006 (6). Government officials have had to learn from the tragedy and implement better environmental, communication and evacuation policies. The Army Corps of Engineers has rebuilt the levee, making the barriers higher and supporting them with steel beams (5). The affects of Hurricane Katrine truly changed the lives of millions of people…

    • 1471 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Levee and New Orleans
    • 3564 Words
    • 15 Pages

    Levee and New Orleans

    Although a considerable amount of the blame has been placed at the feet of FEMA, it should be understood that multiple factors contributed to the situation in New Orleans. Some sections of the levees had been poorly constructed, and were not properly maintained. Local agencies failed to adequately plan and prepare of such an event. Local officials waited too long to order an evacuation, and did not consider how to assist those citizens who lacked the financial resources evacuate on their own. (1,24)…

    • 3564 Words
    • 15 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Unpreparedness: The Three Main Causes Of Hurricane Katrina
    • 896 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Unpreparedness: The Three Main Causes Of Hurricane Katrina

    Prior to landfall, the doors to the Superdome opened and approximately 16,000 people sought refuge there, but 16,000 would not even make a dent in 70,000 people who sought shelter after the storm. After Katrina took her path through the south (dissipating near the Great Lakes), the damage continued. As the shelters arose, FEMA officials became aware with that fact that their accommodations would not be enough. “More than one million people in the Gulf region were displaced by the storm. At their peak hurricane relief shelters housed 273,000 people. Later, approximately 114,000 households were housed in FEMA trailers” (“Hurricane Katrina”). Even the Governor of Louisiana projected the downfall of the safety camps. “The shelters will end up probably without electricity or with minimum electricity from generators in the end (United States et al.). Consequently, countless numbers of people needed to look for help elsewhere, whether it meant to uproot and settle down within another state, fend for themselves in a harsh and dangerous time or even wait it out and hope for…

    • 896 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Katrina break down
    • 775 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Katrina break down

    Setting aside the philosophical and legal issues this case raises, what are the management or efficiency arguments for and against a more centralized response to large national disasters like Hurricane Katrina?…

    • 775 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Effects of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans
    • 1015 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Effects of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans

    As tropical storm Katrina formed into a category five hurricane, all gulf coast residents were warned. “By August 28, evacuations were underway across the region. That day, the National Weather Service predicted that after the storm hit, “most of the [Gulf Coast] area will be uninhabitable for weeks…perhaps longer.” After the evacuation plan was announced, those that were able to leave before the storm did. Poor and less fortunate residents had to stay put for the horrible storm brewing just miles away. There were also the stubborn elderly that insisted on staying just because they survived “Hurricane Betsy” in 1965, but what they would soon come to realize is they would be putting themselves and their families in danger.…

    • 1015 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Tragedy Of Katrina
    • 166 Words
    • 1 Page

    The Tragedy Of Katrina

    The film presents nearly 100 people of New Orleans of different nationalities, social branches and a wide range of opinions. It also presents a cast of co-conspirators criminals, among whom are George Bush and his gang, as well as racism, poverty and police brutality. This film is an important platform for the people of New Orleans to talk and denounce the many crimes perpetrated by this system. The stories, the horror, grief, frustration and anger reveal the magnitude and depth of the crimes that persist. A very important aspect that the film shows is that the tragedy of Katrina was not, in a fundamental sense, the product of the forces of nature, but of the Bush administration and the capitalist system in general. ¨When the Levees Broke¨…

    • 166 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Katrina Breakdown Essay
    • 862 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Katrina Breakdown Essay

    The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina may be remarked as a very important aspect to understand the relationship between federal, state, and local governments when it comes to major catastrophe. In Katrina’s case, federalism is seen as central to what was largely a government-created disaster. Numerous scientific articles are trying to offer various interpretations of what went wrong and why; however, out of all perspectives, I find Stephen Griffin’s argument most persuasive.…

    • 862 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Response To Hurricane Katrina
    • 1346 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Response To Hurricane Katrina

    There were multiple different systems involved in the response to Hurricane Katrina. The local, state, and federal governments certainly had a large impact on the amount of people left stranded and the…

    • 1346 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    New Orleans: Hurricane Katrina
    • 274 Words
    • 2 Pages

    New Orleans: Hurricane Katrina

    Hurricane Katrina was a horrific category five hurricane that stretched from Florida to New Orleans. However, the Hurricane didn’t start as an enormous hurricane that killed thousands of people originally, it was formed about 200 miles south-east of the Bahamas on August 23rd, 2005. On August 25th the hurricane hit Florida it was a small category 1 hurricane that was so small that after weakening slightly on land it was re-classified as only tropical storm; it had two victims in this period.…

    • 274 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    What Are The Traumas Associated With Hurricane Katrina
    • 2738 Words
    • 11 Pages

    What Are The Traumas Associated With Hurricane Katrina

    Costs associated with Katrina exceeded $100 billion; so did the leaders do a good job mitigating before the storm hit? This financial stress to the entire economy was felt for years after the storm. The fact that the levees around New Orleans were known that they could not sustain a category 3 hurricane or stronger shows that both the feds and state did not follow through with mitigation plans. Some may say that mitigation has not received the attention that is needed, but could there have been something done to help the people of New Orleans? The flooding of over 80% of New Orleans was do too the antiquated levees, old pumps, and no true evacuation plan. Although the storm was devastating; the response was worse. The stress created by all levels of our government with their inability to help with the evacuation, rescuing, and recovery efforts in New Orleans will have psychological affects for many years (Birkland,…

    • 2738 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Tragedy Of Hurricane Katrina
    • 109 Words
    • 1 Page

    The Tragedy Of Hurricane Katrina

    Following hurricane Katrina many people wonder whether the country’s worst natural disaster was due to a lack of preparation by the government or more with race or with class. The media showed nearly all those left behind to suffer and die were black Americans – basically looking like race. However, those families who had resources to afford homes in safer flood-protected area suffered less than poorer families, which seemed more of a class issue. There was no denying it that most of the death was that of poor and black Americans. As a result, the public believed that racism slowed the government response to Hurricane Katrina and its…

    • 109 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Hurricane Katrina In New Orleans
    • 215 Words
    • 1 Page

    Hurricane Katrina In New Orleans

    Hurricane Katrina was one of the deadliest hurricanes ever to hit to hit the United States. (Zimmerman, 2015). About 1,800 people died in the hurricane and the flooding that took place afterwards in late August 2005, and many people were left without a place…

    • 215 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More

Related Topics