This paper hopes to target all Americans including and especially those affected either directly or indirectly by Hurricane Katrina. The audience should also include the politicians and president. The main intent of this paper is rouse intellects on the issue of Katrina and reminds Americans that their fellow citizens have not yet fully coped with the disaster.
Irrespective of how well knowledgeable I am on this topic, there are still other more significant things to mull over if this presentation is to be successful. I have developed an instance of this audience analysis rooted in an in-person presentation concerning the person or institution to be blamed for the Hurricane Katrina calamity.
I have also analyzed features of representations of Hurricane Katrina, centring on the link between the disaster and curbing of the crisis.
Assessment of language use surveys the discussion neighbouring the terms “looting” versus “finding food” in light of the principally Black demographic of the survivors in New Orleans. Evaluation of the story angle points to an inconsistent propensity of associating Blacks with crime and violence, a tendency compatible with overstated and imprecise reports concerning criminal action in Katrina’s aftermath. A review of new sources that recognize stereotypical representations of storm survivors that both converge and diverge from effects of Hurricanes
Hurricane Katrina Aftermath: Who is to Blame?
The blame game is in full effect on the Hurricane Katrina catastrophe. Who really is to blame? Should it be the federal government, the state government, local government or the citizens? Many believe the levees should have been improved but financial support was cut, however, the fact is, the levees were still to protect category three hurricanes not Katrina. Others claim that the evacuation plan was inadequate but in reality, many people failed to follow it and ended up improvising make shift strategies that led to worsening of the situation. Experts claim that the emergency plan had gaping holes devoid of contingency plans for quelling riots and supplying food and other necessities into the city. Others claim that delayed responses from the federal government was a major factor in turning the Katrina disaster into a catastrophe.
Therefore, who is to blame?
Before this question is answered, it is wise to look at the gravity of the situation brought about Hurricane Katrina. Hurricane Katrina was the one of deadliest North Atlantic tropical hurricane ever witnessed. It struck the gulf coast area of United States on 28 August 2005. Numerous citizens died as several were left destitute. The ecological damage and harsh conditions affecting public health were other effects of hurricane Katrina. It was verified as the sixth worst hurricane to date. Amongst the distressed areas, most relentless destruction transpired in the states of Louisiana, Mississippi and New Orleans. The most ruthless distressing outcomes of hurricane Katrina were sustained generally owing to flooding. In addition, Consistent with Ambinakudige and Khanal, the general economic effect of hurricane Katrina was projected to be about $150 billion, making Katrina the most expensive natural tragedy in the United States record (14). Aside from economical impacts, Hurricane Katrina had devastating effects on education and the psychological well being of individuals (High School Journal 29).
Evidently, these effects are catastrophic and a great impediment to the economical, social, and psychological of all citizens and the entire nation in general. It is therefore, in its place to ask if this phenomenon was avoidable and if so who was to blame? It may be a natural disaster; however, it is not unpredictable. Therefore, the questions still stand: Who is to blame?
People believe the levees ought to have been improved but financial support was cut. However, those levees were still to be used against category 3 hurricanes. According to Bender 15-foot barriers do not defend against 22 foot waves (1765). Both New Orleans and Louisiana recognized the dilemma and they designed for it. The predicament is they principally did not execute their own design thus living loopholes.
Defense against category 5 hurricanes (Katrina) simply was unavailable, and the machinery was about 25 years off, if it was to work at all (Ambinakudige and Khanal 13). The plan evidently designated that evacuation was through it; however, perceptibly it was not carried out.
Consequently, people had to improvise including, improvising the Superdome as a shelter in spite of the deficiency of any working amenities or materials. The general approach for managing a catastrophic hurricane is to evacuate as many of the vulnerable populace as feasible from the course of a storm and reposition them to a position of comparative safety exterior to the predictable elevated “watermark of the hurricane surge flooding and hurricane force winds” (Bender 1766). In case of Katrina, evidence from the meteorological department showed, the locals knew of the problem they would have if a hurricane hit, and the city and state administration did nothing to assuage it. In its place, they formed a desperate impulsive resolution to utilize the Superdome (Thunder dome) as a "refuge of last chance"(Fenwick 43). The floodwalls or work on the floodwalls was not important nor was it a priority to them. The disaster plan considered the problem. Flooded structures are a problem; nevertheless, they can be mended. The disaster could not have happened if no one was in the city at the time.
The evacuation plan was to launch immediately the threat of a category 3 or higher hurricane was in the Gulf. Katrina reached the Gulf on August 27, the same day the then President (Bush) confirmed a state of emergency in Louisiana. Therefore, when was the compulsory evacuation ordered? According to Solnit, the order came after Hurricane Katrina matured to a category five at 10am on the 28th. It reached landfall as a category four at 6:15 am on the 29th offering individuals under 24 hours to evacuate (11). On Standard, the evacuation plan should have been initiated on the 27th, if not before, instead they ended up with approximately 60,000 citizens at the Superdome with no exit (Solnit 12). Besides, the emergency plan had two huge loopholes. It comprised no emergency for insurgences and no contingencies to transport food and provisions into the city. The plan was focused on evacuating people. However, owing to the damage, there was diminutive or no way to enter and the few modes rescuers were capable to entering the city were obstructed by the prowling and in surging that is, inhabitants were attempting to bootjack rescuers(Solnit 13). These two loopholes played into each other, with people inclining to the side of the unlawful constituent since there was no plan to assist them from outside in place. Individuals might articulate that they did not expect rioting. In this country, people riot when a home team triumphs at a championship. What did they anticipate would happen when 100,000 poor, hungry people were placed neck deep in sewage? Rescue processes had to be halted so that fundamental security could be established to offer a getaway passage.
On the hand, many people including experts put blame on the national government. Many state that the government was resolute more on the war in Iraq than on the disaster at that time. With the current proof displayed from a congress decision, that has been revealed, it is clear that the central government is responsible. The incapability of federal institutes for example the FEMA, the Department of Homeland Security, and the failure of the administration to deliver appropriate funds is the main basis why the New Orleans tragedy is a grave catastrophe, because large sums of funds were being channelled into the Middle East conflict that is the Iraq war (Fenwick 41). According to Fenwick (43), another basis for worsening of the situation was the lack of work force in New Orleans in the times of disaster was because of the high numbers troops deployed in Iraq.
Conversely, President Bush observed the crisis 24 hours prior to New Orleans and Louisiana reaction it. According to the constitution, stepping in and running individual states is not a role of the federal government, due to this, Louisiana has the Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. Therefore, the local governments either had a bad plan or did not adhere to it thus the catastrophe. As much as the Bush administration is to be blamed a hard insight on the state and local governments who prepared the plan, leaving loop holes, and failed to do what they could to impede this scenario from worsening.
To conclude, hurricanes are stifling storms, which are enormous and rotating and can cause gigantic amounts of damage. However, they are predictable since they begin with an area of heated air over the warm seas in the Tropics and moves to a larger more menace cyclonic state at about 230 MPH (Bender et.al 1766). As seen, the effects of Katrina were and still are devastating to not only the citizens but also the country as a whole. It is therefore important to accord such disasters the importance one can accord any other phenomenon including terrorism. In the case of Katrina, many believe that it was not accorded the much required importance as such it was left to accumulate to a catastrophe. The facts are clear and obvious. Everyone is to be blamed.
Work Cited
Ambinakudige, S., & Khanal, S. Assessment of Impacts of Hurricane Katrina on Net Primary Productivity in Mississippi, Earth Interactions, 14(14), 2010
Bender, L. C., Howden, S. D., Dodd, D. D., & Guinasso, N. L.. Wave Heights during Hurricane Katrina: An Evaluation of PPP and PPK Measurements of the Vertical Displacement of the GPS Antenna. Journal of Atmospheric & Oceanic Technology, 27(10), 1760-1768, 2010
Fenwick, A. All Eyes on New Orleans. U.S. News & World Report, 147(1), 42-46, 2010 Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Solnit, R.. RECONSTRUCTING THE STORY OF THE STORM. (Cover story). Nation, 291(11), 11-17, 2010. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
“I Had To Teach Hard": Traumatic Conditions and Teachers in Post-Katrina Classrooms. High School Journal, 94(1), 28-39, 2010 Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
