The national hurricane center director warned everyone that the pending strong might be one of the strongest to ever hit the Unites States. They warned everyone that most of the area would be inhabitable for weeks, but many ignored the warnings. The US Army Corp of Civil Engineers were the ones responsible for building the levees and they believed that it can withstand the surge of hurricane Katrina. They were concerns from government officials about the durability of the levees post Katrina. Many emergency personnel and government officials believed that the unpredictability of the storm called for immediate structural controls with the levees. They were many problems before the storm had initially hit the shoreline. Before the idea could have developed into a workable plan of action Katrina had already landed leaving 80% of New Orleans under water.
In the early morning of August 29th, 2005 hurricane Katrina slammed into the southeastern shore of the United States causing disastrous destruction through the gulf coast towns of Mississippi and Louisiana. The damage was so severe that the President declared both state a major disaster. Katrina ended up being one of the deadliest hurricanes to ever hit the U.S. “The storm caused 1,833 deaths, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The rain itself isn’t what caused the damage in New Orleans, it was the storm surge that made the sea level rise and then breach the levees. In all there were 53 levees that were breached due to the storm, according to NOAA.” (Godlewski, 2018.)
“The rising floodwaters sent people who had stayed in their homes during the storm racing to their attics and rooftops, where they waited for rescue while some went out in the flooded streets in search of shelter. Many did not respond swiftly to the evacuation calls by local and state officials.” (Howitt, 2009 p.43) The crowded highways made many people incapable of driving to safer communities. Those who took heed to the warnings but was unable to evacuate decided to flock to the superdome, a state- owned sports facility. It was reported that at least 15000 people ended up there to seek shelter from hurricane Katrina fury.
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Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin came under severe scrutiny for not ordering mandatory evacuations sooner. The underestimated the severity of hurricane Katrina after being warn it could be disastrous. They expected some strong surge but overlooked the possibility that the impact would be so widespread. They could have disseminated information about the severity as warned by the national hurricane center through various channels but fail to do so. Federal and state officials could have used the assets they had available to them through FEMA to warn communities to adhere to evacuation instructions but fail to carry out such duties.
“The widespread flooding and accompanying loss of communication were devastating to the city government. The police department headquarters and six of its eight district stations was flooded. The city leaders found themselves stuck in a hotel with almost no way of communicating with the outside world.” (Howitt, 2009 p. 48) The bureaucracy within the government created confusion as to who should take charge of the response operations. The lack of communication and coordination within local, federal and state agencies was evident as soon as Katrina hit landfall. They necessary supplies that was in place could not reach the people in time and hence many turned to looting. There were no police to enforce the law and hence people took what was needed. Local officers were occupied is search and rescue operations and could not respond to such affairs. The few that was on duty was busy trying to secure their own families from harm.
The national response plan was strained by disorganization as officials contemplate what measures should be implemented and by which agency. It took the National Guard approximately 96 hours to send troops to aid victims and help in search and rescue operations. FEMA executives was confused as to which approach to take because many were not trained in emergency management and disaster response. This created a delay in response efforts with a lack of coordination amongst federal and state officials. “The government has more tools at its disposal than it is currently using, and it needs to shift its emphasis from the evaluation of paper plans to a broader assessment of emergency management capability that addresses issues of staffing, training, equipment, facilities, and intergovernmental coordination” (Tierney, 2001 p. 252)
Defenders of FEMA pointed out that because of the destruction of communications systems many personnel was unable to carry out their respective duties. They were prepositioned awaiting orders that never came and hence the city was pushed further into chaos. Agencies could not communicate with each other due to equipment failure and lack of system interoperability. It was becoming abundantly clear that the entire response efforts from local, state and federal agencies was failing in their respective objectives.
The devastating flooding made many roads impassable and hence it was hard for rescue operations to be carried out effectively. The lack of resources from FEMA was widespread because they did not cater for such a catastrophic disaster. The prepositioned resources of food, water and medical supplies were not enough to cater for the victims of the hurricane. The transportation to remove patients from hospitals were tied up in rescue operations leaving medical facilities struggling to maintain normal functioning.
As Ester Scott noted, “public outrage grew, fed by TV footage of distraught storm victims, emergency response officials and political leaders, all the way up to President George W. Bush, found themselves scrambling to cope with the ‘ultra-catastrophe’ that Katrina had visited on New Orleans.” FEMA director had to turn to the Department of Defense for help because the devastation was too widespread for them to contain. The looting had become widespread due to lack of law enforcement within the state as the national guard was also becoming overwhelmed. FEMA director Brown decided to turn to the Army for help with commodities, supplies and logistics. Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco was distraught with FEMA disorganization and the realization that the national guard alone could not provide the necessary duties of law and order and hence also invoked the help of the military.
The top priority for the new joint initiative with the National Guard and Department of Defense was to evacuate the approximately 15000 people stuck in the superdome. President Bush announced that 7,200 U.S Army and Marine troops would be sent to Louisiana to aid in response and recovery efforts. The superdome was finally evacuated after enduring several days of miserable conditions where food, water and medical supplies was in dire need.
