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How did Hurricane Katrina affect the community of New Orleans - Coggle…
How did Hurricane Katrina affect the community of New Orleans
Social
Before the storm the city was one of the poorest in America
30% of the population lived in poverty
left the poorest citizens living in New Orleans even more vulnerable before
67% of the population were black, causing increased tension with police
Basic Stats
1.800 Deaths
1,577 in Louisiana
drowning 40%
inhury and trauma 25%
heart conditions 11%
half of victims were over the age of 74
15,000,000 people affected
displaced more than 1,000,000 people
shelters housed 273,000 people
FEMA trailers housed 114,000
Political
FEMA
The Federal Emergency Management Agency
took days to establish operations
did not seem to have a gameplan, had no response to the Hurricane
Director of FEMA Michael D. Brown was backed intially by the President yet he was forced to resign, as was the Superintendent of the Police, the governor of Louisiana decided to not go for re-election, and Mayor Nagin left office in 2010, In 2014 he was later charged for bribery, fraud and money laundering during the time of Hurricane Katrina and the aftermath
Response
Set up Superdome in New Orleans
Superdome has a capacity of 75,000 yet the officials closed door after only 15,000 refugees were let in
George W.Bush
Seemed ignorant and unaware of the situation
Police
People tried to flee the storm over the Crescent City Connection bridge but police with shotguns forced them back
Federal local and state governement received heavy criticism for their slow and inadequate response to the disaster
'we wanted soldiers, helicopters, food and water but they wanted to negotiate an organizational chart' Denise bottcher who was the press secretary for the then governement of New Orleans
official were quick to divert the blame others including other government branches
New Orleans mayor at the time Ray Nagin argued that there was no clear destination of who was in charge, telling reporters 'the state and federal government are doing a two step dance' however this can be seen as further blalimg of others even from high up officials such as the mayor
Congress
decided to publish highly critical report in February of 2006 titled 'a failure of initative'
Economic
affected 90,000 square miles of New Orleans
business district and main tourist centres were left mainly undamaged
161$ billion in damage
Katrina was the largest residential disaster in U.S History
Left a lasting impact on one of the biggest citiies in America left in ruins and never got back to what it was before the Hurricane
population deecrease 484,000 to 230,000
loss of half the cities population
only increased after this to 76% of the original number
Housing damage
damaged more 100,000 housing units 70% of all occupied housing units sufferedd damage from Katrina
Msc
affecting 90,000 square miles of land affecting
Levee Failures
when the levees did fail it left 80% of the city flooded
in response to the failures of Katrina the Army Corps of engineers built a $14 billion network of levees and floodwalls around New Orleans
Civil disturbances
Over exageration
snipers taking potshots against rescue helicopters
turned out to be a valve of gas popping every two minutes
gangs roaming the city shooting police officers
What actually happned
'looting' was in fact stranded survivors scavenging for necessary supplies such as food and water clothing and shelter
vastly overexaggerated by the media
police incidents
tourist asked a police officer for help and was simply told go to hell its everyman for himself out here
one third of police officers deserted the city driving away in their patrol cars
several NOPD officers were arrested weeks after Katrina for suspicion of vehicle theft
Gretna Controversy
Survivors tried to escape over the Crescent City Connection bridge
turned back by police at gunpoint
police set up a roadblock on the bridge in the days following the hurricane
Re-establishing governance
6,500 National Guard troops arrived in New Orleans
several states aided by sheltering refugees
a study by Congress stated it was the impassable roads and flooded areas were the major factors impeding the Guardsmen
before the Katrina the murder rate in Katrina was ten times higher than the US average. this significantly dropped after the hurricane
temporary prisons were set up for short periods of time
camp greyhound housed more than 200 suspected looters
awful condiitions for prisoners forced to sleep on floor with no bedding fed half portion military meals and no toilet