Hurricane Katrina

2005 is the year of the hurricanes. In USA, all previous records are broken and there have already been more than 23 hurricanes and tropical storms this year. Mother Nature has thrown several powerful storms at us. The most severe so far have been hurricanes Wilma and Rita, which are first and second on the list of most powerful hurricanes.
But the most disastrous storm is without a doubt hurricane Katrina. Even though it was only the third most powerful storm of the year, it is Katrina one that people will remember forever.
Why? Well, Katrina simply trashed large parts of America, and especially Mississippi and Louisiana, and in particular New Orleans.
New Orleans, which is one of the largest cities in USA, was completely overwhelmed and devastated by Katrina’s fierce force. The hurricane put much of the world famous metropolis under water, leaving thousands of people homeless.
What’s worse is that at least 1302 people lost their lives in connection with the storm. On top of that, hurricane Katrina caused damages for between $70 billions and $130 billions!
But Katrina also exposed great flaws which raised some serious questions. For instance, is it worth spending billions of dollars on overseas wars when you can’t even protect and take care of its own people, on home grounds, when in need?
There are as I see it, three serious flaws that made Katrina’s devastation even worse. First, New Orleans. The classic city was far from protected. It has been revealed after the disaster that the city’s defense barriers against flooding and waves were insufficient. Budget constrains are to be blamed. However the cost of rebuilding the city will be much higher than what stronger barriers would’ve cost.
Second, relief efforts were too slow and initially not available. Apparently there was no plan of emergency – it took almost an entire week for help to arrive to affected areas.
Third, politics were unfortunately involved. While people were dying on New Orleans’s streets, politicians couldn’t decide on who should do what. There were questions whether federal or local authorities should be in control. In addition, bureaucracy slowed things down.
The hurricane literary speaking took the US by storm, leaving the powerful nation to its knees. It’s interesting that in these terror frenzy times USA, of all countries, were so unprepared for what turned out to be a complete disaster. After the storm have a lot of people have criticized both local and federal authorities. They feel that not enough efforts and preparations were taken even though Katrina was expected to be a powerful storm. Even though the hurricane was closely monitored several days before reaching US shores, no safety measures were taken. For instance, people weren’t evacuated until the very last moment, and there wasn’t any mandatory evacuation until it was too late.
But more importantly, there didn’t seem to be any plan for relief efforts and after the storm had passed no help came to the many thousands people in need. Why is that? With the facts as we now have them, it’s apparent no such plan existed.
People who had the power to help did nothing. For instance, US President Bush was away partying on Holliday during the storm. For that he has been extremely criticized. Another heavily criticized party is the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which is supposed to take care of disasters in America but failed miserably with Katrina. As a direct consequence, FEMA boss Michael D. Brown was stripped of power.
So, is the whole thing really the Government’s fault? Well, who could have expected such a terrible storm? After all, stormy whether are common in the region.
Maybe no precautions were taken by authorities because people expected to ride out the storm. Maybe that’s why so many decided to stay in their homes. Authorities probably assumed that it would be just another storm and hence underestimated the power of Katrina.
But it’s not the authorities’ job to assume things. One of the main functions is to assure citizens safety. It’s authorities’ job to be on top of things and have the facts. And in this case, they had information and facts. The cards were on the table, they knew well in advance that Katrina was a strong category 5 hurricane (the highest level). They knew it was going to reach land as one of the most powerful hurricanes ever. Yet, they did nothing. Not until it wad too late, anyway.
There was also a power-struggle between federal authorities and Louisiana Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco which slowed things down. What happened was that federal officials wanted control over Louisiana and New Orleans but Blanco refused. The Government wanted to bring in the US army and restore law and order but Blanco probably assumed that it would be negative for her political career to loose control.
There were also rows between Blanco and New Orleans Mayor Ray Naggin about who was charge of things. Apparently it was Blanco, because Naggin wanted a mandatory evacuation but the Governor refused.
Even though the Naggin early grasped the situation and issued an official warning, telling people to get out of the city, no mass scale evacuation was put in force. As a result, people defied what was going to be one of the most devastating storms ever and parties could be heard in the famous French Quarters the very night that hurricane Katrina surrounded the city.
Even though the Mayor’s hands were tied, he managed to play a big role in the chaos that Katrina left. In the article, “Mayor to feds: 'Get off your asses',” Naggin bashed both President Bush and the Federal authorities in very colorful words.
The aftermaths of the hurricane took an interesting twist: President Bush slammed the world and said that it let America down. As a consequence, countries, organizations, and individuals responded with all kinds of help including cash, equipment, and human resources and more.
In conjunction with this, Bush declared that bureaucracy should not hinder Americans in need from receiving help. But USA didn't accept help from political foe Cuba. Fidel Castro said that no (political) strings were attached and that he had doctors and nurses standing by, ready if needed. Whether or not the Cuban president had ulterior political motives, he offered help. Even though it’s clear that these resources were needed, USA turned the offer down. Apparently, there was no formal offer sent to the US Government. It’s interesting that Bush first explicitly declares that no bureaucracy should hinder Americans in need and then refuse Cuba's help.
It’s also interesting that as the world watched in amazement how New Orleans was totally flooded by dirty seawater, no help came. The world saw how devastated people fought for their lives against polluted water but also against other people. As the chaos deepened, hoodlums and gangsters took control over the city when the local under forced police gave up. We saw all this live on news channels such as CNN. Why didn’t the US authorities see the same thing?
CNN by the way was in New Orleans before Katrina arrived, during the disastrous storm, and was around even when the hurricane eventually left. Only when people were dieing of sickness and starvation help arrived. The US Army came after a week or so and declared Martial Law. Finally then were people a little bit safer.
Even Bush dropped by, however safely watching from the sky. A lot of people blame Bush for not sending help faster and some even call him racist (as the majority in New Orleans is blacks). I shall not discuss whether or not he’s a racist but just an interesting note: When Bush was Governor of Texas he was notoriously known to turn down appeals from death sentenced. The majority of deaths sentenced in Texas are Blacks.
Bush antagonist and filmmaker Michael Moore asked the President in an open letter where the National Guard Troops and military helicopters were as they were obviously needed in New Orleans and other devastated areas. I don’t think he got an answer.
But why wasn’t help offered to USA before Bush explicitly asked for it? Well, probably because most people expected the US to take of itself. USA is without a doubt the richest country in the world and has more recourses than any other country. But it hasn’t got enough resources to help needing citizens?
In conclusion, Hurricane Katrina’s put America to its very knees. Even though its strength was known in advance, no necessary precautions were taken. Apparently there were some confusion between the state and local authorities on what was supposed to do what. So while politicians argued, people died in New Orleans and other places. The city’s protection against flooding weren’t enough, and the cost to rebuild New Orleans will be far more than sufficient protection would’ve cost.
The scandal and tragedy was further increased when USA first asked the world for help but then refused Cuba’s offer. There was no reason for USA not to accept Cuba’s help, whether or not there was a formal offer. In crisis like these, it doesn’t make sense to involve politics.
So, to my question: Is it worth spending billions of dollars on overseas wars when you can’t even protect and take care of its own people, on home grounds, when in need?
Obviously not. Isn’t it reasonable to believe that a country that sends people all over the world to engage in various conflicts and wars also has the resources to protect and help its own people on home grounds when a disaster such as this emerge?
Katrina exposed the worst sides of USA; first, they ignored the obvious (powerful category 5 hurricane); second, they sent no help to Americans in need; three, they asked others for help. Maybe Bush expected the rest of the world to take care of America’s problem.
No, sir. The world didn’t let America down, but maybe it should’ve.