Hurricane Katrina is undoubtedly one of the most overwhelming storms in United States history, going by the number of fatalities caused and damage in dollar terms (Rogers, Keating, & Minutaglio, 2015). A penetrating analysis provided in the videos and articles offers deep insights into how a natural disaster turned into one of the worst manmade disasters due to systemic failures by stakeholders. The present paper provides a narrative description of some of the issues that transpired to qualify Hurricane Katrina into a manmade disaster.
The evidence provided in the materials shows that New Orleans is vulnerable to flooding due to its low elevation, continuous human interference, haphazard construction of levees, and disappearance of natural wetlands and barrier islands. The innovation of draining swamplands to allow for the city’s expansion was counterproductive in terms of making New Orleans more susceptible to storm surges. Although wetlands serve as nature’s best natural defense against storms, the narratives provided in the videos show that manmade activities caused the wetlands to disappear at an incredible rate, leaving the city exposed to natural calamities.
Another factor relates to the planning failure and the inability by officials to put in place measures to deal with a storm even after information was availed about an impending hurricane. Here, evidence demonstrates that the huge investments made to divert the Mississippi River and build defensive levees actually hastened the sinking of whole neighborhoods below sea level, while poorly constructed levees served to worsen the flooding. Additionally, it is evident that city officials were unable to plan on how to prevent the tragic aftermath of the storm despite the accuracy of information provided by scientists about the harmful impact of the hurricane (Kasinitz, 2006). It is disturbing to note how officials ignored the warning despite having prior knowledge of Hurricane Ivan that ravaged Louisiana in 2004.
The engineering failures of the levees and canals aptly demonstrate how human mistakes, rather than nature, conspired to trigger the worst devastation in New Orleans history. Here, it is important to note that the Industrial Canal, 17th Street Canal levee, London Avenue Canal, and Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet Canal failed to contain the floods due to inadequate design and construction by the Corps of Engineers (Bergel, 2007). These breaches caused massive flooding in New Orleans City and other neighborhoods, such as St. Bernard, Tennessee Street, Lower Ninth Ward, and Jefferson.
Further evidence demonstrates that there was social strife in the days after Katrina hit New Orleans, whereby cases of looting, violence, and rape increased dramatically. Although these events may have informed the police to use ‘martial law’ and deadly force, it is clear from the evidence presented in the videos that the police went overboard in instigating what is now commonly referred to as premeditated homicide. The Henry Glover incident and the Danziger Bridge shootings are good examples that show New Orleans police officers lied in the handling of the disaster. Henry Glover’s badly burnt body was discovered with multiple bullet injuries to the head even after it was apparent that he had been taken to police officers for assistance with injuries to the chest. While some of the police officers involved in these incidents received reduced sentences for the capital offense of murder, others are yet to pay for their mistakes.
Drawing from the evidence presented in this paper, it is clear that Hurricane Katrina caused heavy devastation due to man-made systemic failures that could have been prevented. It is therefore important for the U.S. government and other relevant stakeholders to make heavy investments in erecting quality flood clearance channels and pump stations, educating the public on proper disaster response mechanisms, and building resilient healthcare systems for use in caring for the victims. The main learning point from the videos and articles is that it is important to address the human-related issues related to surveillance, law enforcement, flood management, and coordination of response activities if the country is to succeed in preventing the catastrophic effects associated with natural disasters.
References
Bergel, J. (2007). Investigating what went wrong and how. Nieman Reports, 61, 57-58.
Kasinitz, P. (2006). Katrina, the media and the American public sphere. Sociological Forum, 21(1), 141-146. Web.
Rogers, R., Keating, C., & Minutagrio, R. (2015). Hurricane Katrina 10 years later: New lives, new hope. People, 84, 72-78.