The Levees Broke

On August 25th at six thirty P.M, one of the most devastating natural disasters the U.S had ever seen touched ground in Florida. Hurricane Katrina was a category five hurricane that had made its way to New Orleans by August 29th. This storm was so destructive that not only did it leave a mark in the gulf coast, but it put the whole country into complete turmoil. Spike Lee was one of the first people to try to start a movement and show the country what really happened during this brutal storm. In the film When the Levees Broke, Spike Lee does a fantastic job at using the people of New Orleans to back up his argument that the United

New Orleans suffered a large number of casualties, a lack of drinkable water, severe property damage, electrical outages and many more difficulties as a result of hurricane Katrina. After the disaster, thousands of people who had lost their homes were forced to seek shelter at the New Orleans Superdome. Many others broke in to the Convention Center to find safety there. These structures were large enough to hold huge numbers of people, but did not have the proper facilities, supplies or law enforcement that was needed to sustain the amount of individuals who were forced to temporarily move in. People stayed there for several days until they were able to make other living arrangements, often in far away cities and even other states. Both of the buildings may be condemned due to the extremely

In the late summer of 2005, a terrible tragedy occurred that changed the lives of many in the south-east region of the United States. A Category 3, named storm, named Hurricane Katrina, hit the Gulf Coast on the 29th of August and led to the death of 1,836 and millions of dollars’ worth of damage (Waple 2005). The majority of the damage occurred in New Orleans, Louisiana. Waple writes in her article that winds “gusted over 100 mph in New Orleans, just west of the eye” (Waple 2005). Not only was the majority of the damage due to the direct catastrophes of the storm but also city’s levees could no longer hold thus breaking and releasing great masses of water. Approximately, 80% of the city was submerged at sea level. Despite the vast amount

Hurricane Katrina was a big threat to the coastal areas of Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana, and the governor declared a state of emergency in reaction towards potential destruction the hurricane may fall in New Orleans, a major city in Louisiana. To prepare for the threat of Hurricane Katrina, FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency), was sent to Louisiana to help aid the state. Later, a big disaster befalls in the state of Louisiana, and the governor declared a national evacuation. New Orleans, the heavily populated city, ordered its citizen to evacuate in the Superdome, with food, shelter, and rations being distributed. After the state evacuation was made, there was a shortage of food, water, and operable toilet facilities, thus creating

Packing 145-mile-an-hour winds as it made landfall, the category 3 storm left more than a million people in three states without power and submerged highways even hundreds of miles from its center. The hurricane’s storm surge — a 29-foot wall of water pushed ashore when the hurricane struck the Gulf Coast — was the highest ever measured in the United States. Levees failed in New Orleans, resulting in political and social upheavals that continued a half decade later. (Laforet, New York Times)

The failure of the local government to respond to Hurricane Katrina that the emergencies plan of the government were lacking. The city official responsibility for evacuation of its citizens and the intent was to assist those who needed transportation for the incoming storm but had no actual plan to implement that intent. When the hurricane Katrina made a landfall in New Orleans on 29 August 2005, heavy rain battered the area and the storm surge measuring as high as 30 feet and moving toward inland and breached several levees intended to protect New Orleans from the water of the lake. The water poured through the breaks in the days following the storm, covering approximately 80% of the city with water as deep as three meters. The flooding, wind, and waves it caused the city major damage to building and infrastructure. There is a lot of people stranded on the rooftops of their houses and people wading through the water. The communities suffered from the disaster, particularly the city of New Orleans. Most of their first responders like

In the year 2005, New Orleans was famously hit a major natural disaster that took lives and destroyed the homes and civilians. This wrath of Mother Nature became to be known as Hurricane Katrina, a category 5 hurricane with gusts peaking at 174/mph according to the Safir- Simpson wind scale (SSHS). With this Hurricane having its path directly on a city only being on average 1-2 feet below sea level, it created conditions for serious havoc (NOAA, 2012). The aftermath left a serious physical imprint on the city, which has the potential to never be removed. This imprint left by Hurricane Katrina caused extensive damage to 134,000 housing units, destroying multiple bridges along the Gulf Coast, as well as various buildings across the city, which led to harmful chemicals leaking into the water system, such as petroleum and natural gas. Finally, Hurricane Katrina also caused the main power grid to be disoriented for a number of weeks. As a result, the damage costs from the storm added up to be about $108 billion (2005 USD), which according to Eric Blake was the costliest storm ever to hit the United States (Blake et al. 2011). Hurricane Katrina perpetuated all of these tribulations, as it drastically altered the lives of the many inhabitants of New Orleans and they continue to face the repercussions of the storm in their day-to-day lives.

When many of us hear about New Orleans we think about Mardi Gras, casinos, and the French heritage. Tourists drive right by the deprived and less fortunate areas of Louisiana without even realizing it. Many people go visit New Orleans and doing so for a vacation without realizing how bad the poverty in this city is. Once realized how dramatic the poverty level is in New Orleans, these dismal areas are difficult to endure. It was August 29, 2005 when Hurricane Katrina hit the city of New Orleans.

Hurricane Katrina was one of the deadliest and costliest hurricanes to hit the United States in decades. The economic losses were extraordinary; however, it was the human losses that stuck Americans at their core. The media brought into our homes graphic images of the destruction of New Orleans. Its mayor had ordered a mandatory evacuation of the city and yet 150,000 citizens are said to have stayed. Like most of the nation I asked myself, “Well why did they stay? If a mandatory evacuation is issued, it stands to reason that state officials considered the situation to be precarious.” It is only recently, when I’ve seen reports of New Orleans slow rebuilding, that I have really given thought to the undisclosed factors that lead to such

Hurricane Katrina was not New Orleans’ first time being hit with devastating effects from a hurricane. New Orleans has been struck by hurricanes six times over the past century. In 1915 was a category 4 hurricane, it killed 275 people and caused millions of dollars’ worth of damage. 1940, 1947, 1965, 1969 and again in 2005. The Mayor of New Orleans issued a first ever mandatory evacuation. With New Orleans being hit multiple times over the past decade surprised me that serious precautions weren’t taken previously, such as better levees or seawalls. Living in a place below sea level, one would think that the levees and seawalls would be stronger, but the levees collapsed below design height during the Katrina storm .

The levees are giant concrete walls covered by a layer of topsoil to ensure flood waters to not enter the general populous of a large establishment or city, the storm that tested this system was called Katrina. This was the storm that killed 1,836, and was able to harm anyone do to the failure of the levee system and the lack of preparation to the levee system and the sudden change of the storm’s category. The United states Geological survey scientists have walked on levee ruins in the aftermath of the hurricane. What they saw shocked all of New Orleans; There was a flaw towards the design and the Army Corps of engineers were discovered to be way behind schedule in the completion of the levee system in New Orleans. The flooding caused major damage to 80% of the great city. It is believed that The failure was expected, regardless. Not everyone believed the levees would break, thus there was controversy upon the topic. New Orleans’ sea level was considerably low and next to the Gulf of Mexico. To fix this they inserted them in every major canal and river, but this project was not completed before

After Katrina hit the city of New Orleans, it turns the city into a hopeless place to be. Eighty percent of the city was flooded and some parts of the city were fifteen under water. During the aftermath of the hurricane, there were tons of looting, shootings, murders, and rapes. Some of those events took place in the Superdome where people live before and after the hurricane hit the city since they were not able to leave the city beforehand. A lot of people lost their homes. Also, local business was destroyed. There were people sitting on their rooftops since their homes were under water and they were

While the city did not take a direct hit, New Orleans also felt the impact of Katrina as she came ashore. The wind and rain from the storm put enormous stress on the levees protecting the city. Unfortunately, the levees could not withstand the forces applied to them and they eventually gave way flooding large portions of the city of New Orleans and surrounding areas. Large public places began to become places of refuge for those still in the

On August 29, 2005, disaster struck New Orleans, Louisiana in the form of Hurricane Katrina. Since the city is 10 feet below sea level, it is susceptible to large amounts of flooding (Bunch, 2005).

Before we discuss disaster management, it is important to briefly sum up the events of the events that began on August 25, 2005 to fully understand the brevity of the situation. Meteorologists began warning inhabitants of the regions that were hit by Katrina on August 23, 2005. By the 28th, evacuations were under way, that day, the National Weather Service predicted that after the storm hit, “most of the [Gulf Coast] area will be uninhabitable for weeks…perhaps longer.” (Spowart, 2015) New Orleans was particularly vulnerable. More than half of the city was built below sea level, and the levees protecting it were built on porous sand. The poorest parts of the city were completely unprepared for a storm surge. Many of these citizens lacked transportation and could not evacuate, and were left to wait out Katrina in their