Hurricane Katrina hit the golf coast on Monday August 29 2005, the eye of the storm hitting Sothern Louisiana, between New Orleans, and Gulfport Mississippi. This storm cause severer damage all along the cost, destroying homes, roads, and bridges as far as 12 miles in land ("Hurricane Katrina", 2013). This author lived in northern Mississippi, a five-hour drive from the gulf coast, and lost power for days, as well as severe damage to his home, and the loss of seven 100+ year old trees. The worst damage though was within New Orleans Louisiana, where most of the city is below sea level and protected by an intercut system of levees, and sea walls. These levees broke and flooded most of the city, mixing with raw sewage and underground gasoline stores making a lethal cocktail, not fit for human habitation. As a result of this and a lack of proper cooperation within our government many people died.…
It was mid-August on a hot summer day hurricane Katrina damaged a city, New Orleans, possibly for a lifetime. The novel: City of Refuge by Tom Piazza gives readers an omniscient point of view of two families lives during this tragic event. The Williams family from the Lower 9th Ward and the Donaldsons originally from the upper Midwest who had made their way to New Orleans share the same traumatic experience; in different ways of the levees breaking from hurricane Katrina changed both of their lives forever.…
flooded New Orleans is a savage, untamable beast; aloof and unappeasable, with no heart except for its…
Danny Glover once stated, “When Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf and the floodwaters rose and tore through New Orleans, it did not turn the region into a Third World country…it revealed one” (Glover). As the winds reached speeds of 100 to 140 miles per hour, water crashed against the levees, breaking them, and flooding 80% of Louisiana. Hurricane Katrina’s peaked at a category five, but disintegrated into a category three. The third deadliest hurricane is what Hurricane Katrina achieved. In the wake of a dark time, Hurricane Katrina proved to America how crucial preparedness is and three reasons Hurricane Katrina proved unpreparedness include; The New Orleans poorly built levee system, the prolonged displacement of hundreds of thousands…
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)…
Then the storm hit, what a disaster. The documentary showed the total devastation of the area. It then explained the perceived lack of governmental support after the storm. Based on reports from the news agencies that survived the storm, no help showed up for 5 days. This was supported by the number of people interviewed in this documentary and the pictures at the storm shelters set up throughout the city. The mayor, Ray Nagin, after 5 days of asking for help and finally bad mouthing the government, something finally got started to help the people. The Levees Broke (Lee, 2006) ended as showing that still, over 6 years later, the people of New Orleans are still struggling to survive every day with very little help from the government. Due to the total perceived action of how Hurricane Katrina was handled, the people in the movie are inferring that this occurred and is still occurring because they are poor black people, with no education, and the United States…
Why New Orleans is Vulnerable to Hurricanes? Since its founding in 1718, the city of New Orleans and its surrounding areas have been subject to numerous floods from the Mississippi River and hurricanes and other reasons are, its Location near Gulf of Mexico, Low elevation (below sea-level) Subsidence caused by compaction of river deposited sediments, erosion of inactive delta lobe, sea-level rise due to global warming . A series of levees and other flood control structures built over the years were expected to greatly reduce that threat. The greatest natural threat posed to the New Orleans and south Louisiana area continues to be from hurricane induced storm surges, which is caused by human with Coastal Erosion accelerated by the changes made to the river system. The coastline of Louisiana is eroding at an incredible rate, estimated at 25 square miles per year. (1 football field of area every 45 minutes)…
Considered as one of the top five deadliest storms in America, Hurricane Katrina was a tropical cyclone that engulfed the United States and killed close to 2000 people. It also destroyed property and goods worth billions of dollars. Though it began far in the Bahamas, the storm left a trail of devastation along the Gulf Coast, Florida, and Texas, but most of the damage occurred in Louisiana (Hartman and Gregory 24). Katrina traveled along the coastal region of Mississippi leading to massive flooding as a result of levee failures. Buildings collapsed and cars were carried away as the storm waters rushed towards the mainland.…
Mud City by Deborah Ellis has a person vs. self conflict. Throughout the book, the main character Shauzia is constantly battling with herself so she can make her way from Pakistan to France. At the age of fourteen and living in current Pakistan, she has many things to deal with each day including other people who make her doubt herself. But, she is determined to finish her journey and prove those people wrong.…
The mystery of the lost city of Atlantis is an island that is thought to have mysteriously sank in a night and a day, but nobody really knows where it is located and how it disappeared Atlantis is a mysterious island that has been talked about for over 2,000 years and most people say it is a legend. The Greek philosopher, Plato describes Atlantis as a strong and modern kingdom, that had mysteriously disappeared. Atlantis was mentioned in two of Plato’s dialogues, Timaeus and Critias. Both dialogues dated back to 360 BCE. Through this researched I have looked at where the city of Atlantis is thought to be located, how Plato describes the city of Atlantis in his two dialogues and why it is believed to have sank underwater.…
Hurricane Katrina." University of Colorado at Boulder, 2008. United States -- Colorado: ProQuest. Web. 15 Apr. 2013.…
Hurricane Katrina was a catastrophe that devastated the New Orleans area in 2005. The mass damage that hit various suburbs, such as the ninth ward passed a tipping point in which seemed nearly irreparable and is still feeling the devastation today. It left New Orleans choking in conditions portraying that of a third world country, in which was responsible for the many death of New Orleans natives and the stranding of hundreds of thousands. One subject matter that contributed to this devastation was the role the government played in the recovery of New Orleans. The insufficiency and corruption amongst the government was strongly displayed in the aftermath, which Dave Eggers’ Zeitoun depicted in Zeitoun’s experience with Hurricane Katrina.…
It is nearly impossible to imagine that one day you can be safe in your home and with all of your belongings and the next day a hurricane leaves you with nothing. Unfortunately, the 484,000 people who lived in New Orleans had to experience those unimaginable thoughts first hand in 2005 due to Hurricane Katrina. “An entire city was nearly wiped off the face of the earth” (Kellogg) and at least 1,833 people were killed during and after the storm. There are many theories and conspiracies of what happened with the levees and what could have been done better in order to help the residents of New Orleans. Director Spike Lee felt very strongly about the issue and decided to make a documentary in order to give the people of New Orleans justice. By directing When the Levees Broke, Spike Lee gives the audience his personal view on the entire situation dealing with Hurricane Katrina and her aftermath. With his use of video editing and choice of certain interviews, Lee gave not only emotional credibility to his movie but also a logical point of view.…
In late August 2006, Hurricane Katrina struck the New Orleans region, affecting an area of over 90,000 miles. It began with a hurricane which led to flooding, disrupting millions of lives across multiple jurisdictions, and damaging or destroying much of the local critical infrastruc- ture—21 refineries, miles of electricity transmission lines, and telecommunications equipment—within these regions. Over 100,000 patients received medical treatment; housing assistance or direct housing was provided to over 390,000 displaced individuals and families; and over 1.7 million victims registered for disaster assistance.…
When New Orleans was being constructed they ran out of good land. Engineers drained swamplands to make more room around the area so they could continue expansion. The drainage of the swamplands resulted in Subsidence which is sinking or settling to a lower level. In New Orleans case, it was the earth’s surface sinking below sea level. Because of this, present day New Orleans is on average, six feet below sea level. Following this problem is the construction and placement of levees. New Orleans sits between the levees along the Mississippi River, and those around Lake Pontchartrain. This predicament leaves New Orleans in a “bowl” effect. Due to this unfortunate effect, once water floods into the city, it is extremely difficult to get it…