ABSTRACT
Hurricane Katrina proved to be one the largest natural disasters to occur in the United States. This storm devastated parts of the south, particularly Louisiana. High winds, rains and the breaking of levees left mass flooding and the drowning of entire neighborhoods. The emergency response from the government proved to be highly disorganized, inefficient and lacked the needed supplies to meet the needs of those requiring medical attention, food, water and shelter. In fact, some argue that the disaster lasted longer because of organizations like FEMA whose efforts many call a great failure. Since then many suggestions have been made as to how to improve the disaster response since Hurricane Katrina. While not all have been heeded and invested in, some have been made and have proven to have improved FEMA’s response to other disasters including Hurricane Sandy in 2012. Ultimately, changes and reforms were needed and efforts are being made to prevent another Hurricane Katrina disaster from ever happening again.
INTRODUCTION
There are many scenarios where the safety of the public is threatened. In the modern society these scenarios may include escaped prisoners, gas leaks, disease outbreaks, civil unrest leading to rioting and looting, terrorist attacks and any number of natural disasters. When these things occur it is for those whose job falls under the umbrella of “public safety” to come to the rescue, which includes first responders like police and fire department, as well as, aid and rescue organizations like the FEMA and the Red Cross. All of these individuals, groups, organizations and local and national government agencies ideally aim to benefit the victims during and in the aftermath of disasters of one kind or another. One of the most significant natural disasters, causing a huge loss of life and mass damages in the last 100 years, is Hurricane Katrina. This weather disaster began in the ocean near the Bahamas and devastated parts of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. One of the most effected was the city of New Orleans. The number of causalities, the drowning of whole neighborhoods and the people who survived the hurricane are still recovering today, a decade later (Graham, 2015). People, both, those immediately affected and other Americans across the country, have a very mixed opinion on the success of the public safety measures and procedures implemented regarding Hurricane Katrina. Some argue that public safety was handled as well as it could be amidst the devastation and chaos. The majority, however, see Katrina as an immense disaster and that public safety measures were failures. After reviewing an abundance of relevant sources, it becomes clear that the Hurricane Katrina disaster was lacking in organization, struggled with poor communication and was, in many ways, a complete and total failure; all the same these failures have led to some valuable lessons that can be applied in future disasters.
BACKGROUND
There are many kinds of natural disasters, including earthquakes, tornados, volcanic eruptions and, of course, hurricanes; each and every one leads to its own specific concerns and factors. In order to understand the immensity and the devastation caused by hurricanes, like Katrina, it is necessary to delve a bit deeper into exactly what a hurricane is and how it is ranked. Hurricanes start out as storm over the ocean. When high wind speeds meet with warm water it creates a hurricane, when they reach land they bring not only torrential rain, but a “storm surge,” which brings more water surging in leading to severe flooding. While the center of the hurricane, or the eye, is relatively calm the eye’s wall is a mass of thunderstorms and creates “rain bands” that can stretch for miles (Wall, 2015). Hurricanes are categorized based on the speeds of their winds, the faster they blow the more dangerous they become.
Category 1: Wind speeds of 74 to 95 miles per hour (Wall, 2015).
Category 2: Wind speeds of 96 to 110 miles per hour (Wall, 2015).
Category 3. Wind speeds of 111 to 129 miles per hour (Wall, 2015).
Category 4: Wind speeds of 130 to 156 miles per hour (Wall, 2015).
Category 5: Wind speeds of 157 miles per hour or more (Wall, 2015).
Hurricane Katrina began as a moderate tropical storm about 200 miles southeast of the Bahamas. When it reached Florida on August 25, 2005 it was labeled Category 1 hurricane that did minor damage and only claimed two lives. It was beginning to dissipate as it passed over Florida and had been reduced in severity back to a tropical storm. However, when it reached water again it joined with another storm of the Gulf of Mexico and was redirected toward the Louisiana coast. By August 28 Katrina had be re-categorized as a Category 5 with wind speeds as fast as 175 miles per hour. By the time it reached land it had slowed to a Category 3. Some of the strongest winds slammed into Biloxi and Gulfport Mississippi and sent storm surges up to 28 feet to the coasts of, both, Mississippi and Louisiana. The surges broke down the levees that protected the vulnerable city of New Orleans. These levees, also referred to as the “New Orleans Hurricane Protection System” are believed to have failed because they were not constructed as they should have been to begin with. This translates to many people that the public safety was disregarded long before Katrina reached shore (Andersen, Battjes & et. al., 2007). When the levees failed causing mass flooding it consumed whole city streets and submerged whole neighborhoods, more than 80% of New Orleans was flooded, over a matter of a few days. The death tolls were astounding, more than 200 lives were lost in Mississippi and nearly 2,000 were killed in Louisiana (Zimmermann, 2015). While emergency aid and rescue agencies did respond many question whether or not their failings could have improved the death toll and lessened the overall devastation.
DISCUSSION
Hurricane Katrina was incredibly severe and it caused loss of life and destruction on a huge scale; it also displaced hundreds of thousands of Americans from middle to low income status with nowhere to go (Pierre & Stephenson, 2008). However, even as the clouds moved on, the skies cleared and Katrina faded away a few days after it arrived; people were stranded, trapped on rooftops, in need of food and clean drinking water. These people were in immediate need of rescue, medical treatment and somewhere safe to relocate. These are the moment when public safety organizations, both at the local and federal levels, come together to make certain that the necessities above are received. The immediate government response was to call in the National Guard, employ rescue organizations, engage charitable donations and welcome volunteers from both the military and general public. The response may have been immediate but the efforts implemented did not provide the proactive results necessary in the face of a natural disaster (Sobel & Leeson, 2006). However, in the case of Katrina these policies, approaches and procedures did not function productively and was likely responsible for causing the rescue, aid and sheltering issues that slowed the recovery processes not expedite them. Again, there were a number of agencies involved in the efforts during and after Hurricane Katrina.
Communication Breakdowns
When people imagine rescue efforts during disasters they likely see these seamless coordinated efforts, where law enforcement, fire fighters, military personal, search and rescue, paramedics and all government agencies, where everyone communicates with one another and is perpetually working together to achieve a singular shared goal. Unfortunately, that is something that only exists in television in film. In many cases with such limited communication between agencies, it would be impossible for the efforts to be as successful as they could be (Mountjoy, 2005). This communication breakdown only made it harder for people to be identified, rescued, either by boat or helicopter. Getting people to shelter and medical attention took far longer that it needed to, as well. That being said this is one of the greatest complaints among researchers.
FEMA:
The Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, is an emergency organization that is intended to provide emergency housing for the victims of national disasters, as well as, other disaster supplied. Founded in 1979, they have had many years to improve and reform how to best meet the people’s needs in a disaster scenarios. They would aid in providing food and water, medical aid and offer coordinated search and rescue services to support the local government and emergency programs (Pierre & Stephenson, 2008).However, most historians, Katrina survivors and Americans across the nation argue that FEMA’s actions during Hurricane Katrina left much to be desired. In an effort to aid Katrina victims Congress allotted $62.3 billion dollars, most of which left to the discretion of FEMA. How FEMA used those funds has and continues to be questioned a great deal over the last decade.
FEMA as an organization should be aware of the potential of such disasters occurring and have been more prepared when one occurred. For example, FEMA and other environmental and government agencies had done multiple studies that inferred that the likelihood of a large hurricane was for all tense in purposes imminent at some point because it had happed before. Yet FEMA was not prepared at all to meet the housing needs of mass homelessness that a disaster like Katrina could bring (Pierre & Stephenson, 2008).
All of the facets of FEMA throughout the Hurricane Katrina disaster were extremely disorganized. The FEMA headquarters did not receive timely information; it did not coordinate search and rescue, with military intervention and the people in need of rescue and assistance.
Wasted funds have been argued, in that FEMA sent in search and rescue to do “house checks,” but more often than not, these houses had already been checked my local organizations or groups. This means that FEMA was paying for something and allocating bodies to check homes already checked which delayed people still stranded and in need of receiving rescue (The White House, 2016).
Supplies were not properly provided. Water, medical supplies and food are three incredibly essential items in a disaster scenario. However, FEMA was having a difficult time getting the things that they needed. There was little or no prepared coordination in order to make the gaining of such supplies more effective and efficient (The White House, 2016).
After 9/11 much of FEMAs responsibility turned towards preparing for the possibility of future terrorist acts, displacing Americans. However, with a focus on terrorism FEMA became lax in its efforts to train and prepare for natural disasters like Katrina (Moynihan, 2012). This means that when the call came regarding Katrina, FEMA’s leaders were not prepared to handle the disaster and the organization was wholly unprepared (Filisko, 2011).
The reality is that looking back at how Hurricane Katrina was addressed was lacking in many ways. People were left stranded, sick, injured and without proper shelter for far longer than they should have been. The most disturbing question that continues to circulate is if FEMA and the whole disaster recovery effort had been more effective, efficient and organized then would then death toll have been less? Did the people who were injured and sick die while awaiting help? The answer, sadly, would appear to be yes. Fortunately, all of these failures that occurred during Hurricane Katrina have led to the United States taking more critical measures that will lessen the likelihood that the mistakes that occurred during Katrina would never be repeated in the future.
Develop Communications Interoperability:
This concept is essentially arguing that when a disaster occurs there is a need for a way for all facets of the effort to communicate with one another on a single, dedicated radio frequency, which eliminates communications errors and failings to occur. This kind of communication would allow for emergency agencies, individuals and support services to have full communication, even over miles, in unfavorable weather and conditions. The technology and software exist to make this possible, but it can be rather costly, which may be why it has not been fully adopted and implemented (Mountjoy, 2005). However, after what happened with the communication breakdown that occurred during Katrina it is advisable and proactive reform that is needed, regardless of the cost.
Proactive Emergency Preparedness:
Katrina proved that there is need for more dedicated training, planning and practice in how they approach such emergencies when they occur, highlighting the different possible scenarios, whether it is a terrorist attack or a devastating Category 5 Hurricane (The White House, 2016).
Emergency Supplies at the Ready:
When Hurricane Katrina struck no one was genuinely prepared, including the government and emergency organizations like FEMA. Food banks, medical supplies, clean water and housing, whatever it may be, should be readily available and properly organized. At no time should an emergency situation occur where it becomes necessary to scramble to provide what is needed (Pierre & Stephenson, 2008).
Less Politics in Disaster Relief:
Much of what contributed to the failings in disaster relief regarding Hurricane Katrina can be traced back to the government’s involvement. Political aspects of budgeting has led to a mentality that it is wasteful to allocate funds for emergency needs that may not actually happen; this leads to too conservative perspectives on the importance of disaster relief. A number of non-government funded relief organizations stepped in after Katrina and their involvement was hugely beneficial in aid stricken areas in their recovery (Sobel & Leeson, 2006).
Relief Beyond Emergency:
The effects of Hurricane Katrina are still being felt ten years later. There are neighborhoods left abandoned and businesses closed for good. The loss of business, especially, in the areas most effected, which were socioeconomically disadvantage before the Hurricane, it devastated the Economy, particularly, in Louisiana (Graham, 2015). More time and energy needs to be directed and provided towards the recovery as a process and maintain aid until the people and states have truly recovered.
Over the last decade many have argued that while events like Hurricane Katrina led to the identification of many failings, the need for reform and suggested solutions to prevent the issues from occurring again. However, despite the importance of the issues, the government seems to be a very slow to act when it comes to making changes, even if the changes are inevitably positive for the American people in serious disaster situations. Many, again, fear that the realm of disaster relief has just been too politicized; it becomes another controversial battle among political representative between different parties, which is then never resolved (Sobel & Stephenson, 2006). In many ways, after Hurricane Katrina, people were disturbed by the images of people still unaided, in tent camps that look like something out of an apocalyptic film, and not receiving the aid, rescue and health needs that were clearly desperately needed. This made many Americans wonder if the same might happen if such a disaster came to their cities? The answer to this question is yes, at least not unless serious reforms are made.
Fortunately, however, slow to start, changes have been made within the FEMA infrastructure and those changes are guided to make certain the failures of Hurricane Katrina can never happen again. For many years, explained experts, FEMA was a submissive organization; they did not do anything at all until they were needed. However, after the relief disaster that only exacerbated the hurricane disasters during Katrina they have been reorganized into a much more proactive agency. They are now looking ahead to possible disasters instead of just waiting for one to occur. They have made points to improve training and preparedness measures. Most importantly they have millions of blankets, tents, temporary housing, gallons upon gallons of bottled water, along with a vast cache of food and medical supplies already stockpiled for when a disaster is suspected to arrive. In fact, a prime example of this new preparedness is how FEMA handled the Hurricane Sandy disaster in 2012, which caused mass damage in the Eastern United States, parts of Canada and the Bahamas (The White House, 2016). FEMA sent all of the needed supplies to the area before the devastation had actually occurred and were waiting to aid the people who were stranded, displaced and injured.
CONLUSIONS
The modern era is filled with the makings of disasters, be they natural or manmade, like rioting and terrorist attacks. All the same the reality is that there is no way to psychically know when and where a disaster may appear, but they will appear and the best measure to address the uncertainty is preparedness. Hurricane Katrina was one of the most devastating storms to ever come ashore in the United States. The people of the affected areas had no idea what kind destruction and danger was coming when the rains and winds broke down the levees of Louisiana and forced people onto the tops of their cars in some places and their rooftops in others. The government had no idea how destructive Katrina was going to be. However, if the government agencies had been more proactive at seeking the signs of hurricanes in an area known to have them, then perhaps people would have been more prepared and may even have been able to encourage earlier evacuation. The lack of emergency supplies, the lack of communication between rescue, relief and lack of preparedness as to how to proceed effectively and the politics of government funded groups like FEMA all contribute to the problems experienced during Hurricane Katrina. However, changes have been made. FEMA has changed its policies, training and perspectives on preparedness and made tangible efforts to prevent such failings from ever happening, again, as was evidence in the more recent Hurricane Sandy. In the end the best thing that can be gained from making mistakes are lessons learned that can be applied to the future. That appears to be happening within the governmental agencies, like FEMA, that respond in times of great disaster. If they combine their new proactive approaches and integrate the other suggested options to improve emergency response and relief then real beneficial change will be realized.
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