Zeitoun: The Cause Of Hurricane Katrina
Hurricanes are not abnormal for the people of Louisiana. Thus, there are plans and precautions made by the government in case a hurricane, such as Hurricane Katrina, is to happen. So why is Hurricane Katrina so disastrous? In his book Zeitoun, Dave Eggers asserts that Congress, the Bush Administration and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and are neglectful and incompetent before, during, and following Hurricane Katrina. Due to Zeitoun’s family experiences, outside cases and broadcasts, this assertion is proven to be true.
In the case of a natural disaster, we rely on our government to inform us about the severity of the disaster. Without this guidance, chaos and death may become prevalent. Kathy Zeitoun is one of the many people …show more content…
However, due to FEMA and the government’s neglect, the people of New Orleans are left without enough supplies. Especially in critical shelters such as the New Orleans Superdome, limited supplies causes chaos among all of the people. Regarding previous hurricanes, Zeitoun remembers that the Superdome has been ill-supplied and caused nothing but disaster. Even though a destructive hurricane is approaching and there were past failures, the government did not provide a better shelter. For the people in need of medical care, the one place that is deemed to be safe throughout the storm is becoming a death trap, “because they had lost power…many of the machines being used to keep the medical patients safe and alive were failing” (Scott 1). This causes many deaths and many people to panic because they realized that not much is being done to help them. The most dreadful detail of the government’s response to Hurricane Katrina is that they cut off private relief efforts, where “FEMA repeatedly blocked the delivery of emergency supplies ordered by the Methodist Hospital in New Orleans from its out-of-state headquarters” (Edwards 1). FEMA turns away volunteer doctors at emergency facilities, as well as basic medical supplies (Edwards 1). Hurricane Katrina did not have to be one of the deadliest natural disasters the United States has faced. Hundreds of lives could have been saved. Due to the government’s neglect and incompetence, many of those who could have been saved were
In the case of a natural disaster, we rely on our government to inform us about the severity of the disaster. Without this guidance, chaos and death may become prevalent. Kathy Zeitoun is one of the many people …show more content…
However, due to FEMA and the government’s neglect, the people of New Orleans are left without enough supplies. Especially in critical shelters such as the New Orleans Superdome, limited supplies causes chaos among all of the people. Regarding previous hurricanes, Zeitoun remembers that the Superdome has been ill-supplied and caused nothing but disaster. Even though a destructive hurricane is approaching and there were past failures, the government did not provide a better shelter. For the people in need of medical care, the one place that is deemed to be safe throughout the storm is becoming a death trap, “because they had lost power…many of the machines being used to keep the medical patients safe and alive were failing” (Scott 1). This causes many deaths and many people to panic because they realized that not much is being done to help them. The most dreadful detail of the government’s response to Hurricane Katrina is that they cut off private relief efforts, where “FEMA repeatedly blocked the delivery of emergency supplies ordered by the Methodist Hospital in New Orleans from its out-of-state headquarters” (Edwards 1). FEMA turns away volunteer doctors at emergency facilities, as well as basic medical supplies (Edwards 1). Hurricane Katrina did not have to be one of the deadliest natural disasters the United States has faced. Hundreds of lives could have been saved. Due to the government’s neglect and incompetence, many of those who could have been saved were