The Impact of Hurricane Katrina - Assignment Example

Hurricane Katrina Introduction Hurricane Katrina includes one of the dangerous hurricanes in the entire history of the US. It was the eleventh entitled storm and the fifth typhoon in the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. In terms of ranking, Hurricane Katrina is the third after the Labor Day hurricane that occurred in 1935 and the 1969 Hurricane Camille. The storm led to the death of many people close to about 1,833 thus making it be one of the deadliest after the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane. The total property damaged because of the Hurricane was projected to be about $108 billion USD dollars (Rodger, 2007). The loss estimates the project to four times the effect caused by Andrew Hurricane that occurred in 1992. Hurricane Katrina developed around Bahamas on 23 August due to the interaction of the remnants of Tropical Depression Ten and a tropical wave. The interaction between the duos led to the Tropical Storm Katrina. The cyclone that developed headed towards Florida to the west but two hours later, it made a landfall at Hallandale Beach. The hurricane weakened into a tropical storm for a few moment after which it appeared in the Gulf of Mexico and began to deepen faster. In the warm waters of Mexico, it became active and formed a category five hurricane before reaching Louisiana where it weakened to category 3. Owing to the squall gush, Katrina led to massive destruction along the Gulf coast from Texas to central Florida. The storm gush gives an explanation as to why there were many casualties in New Orleans and Louisiana as a result of the malfunction of the to the failure of the levee system. Close to 80% of the city was flooded for a long time. The failure of the government to curb Katrina led to a lawsuit against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers since they were the ones in charge of the failed levee system. In 2008, the judge of the US District court ruled that the Army Corps were responsible for the failures and the flooding that affected a large part of the country. The federal agency was not held financially liable based on the sovereign immunity as stipulated in the Flood Control Act of 1928. The disaster led to many government officials taking blames for the actions that they took in order to curb the menace. Some of the government officials include Kathleen Blanco, Governor for Louisiana, President Bush, and Orleans Mayor Nagin. The agencies commended for their good acts during the disaster include National Hurricane Center, National Weather Service, and the US Coast Guard. Impact Katrina led to environmental and economic effects including looting and violence. The government felt the economic effects of the disaster, as the Bush government had to search for close to $105 billion for the reconstruction of the region. The amount of money allocated for the repairs in the area never catered for the destruction of the oil supply, and goods such as grains and highway infrastructure. The disaster destroyed about 30 oil platforms that led to the closing of about nine refineries. Environmental effects were also observed after the disaster. The storm gush led to the erosion of the beach and led to the complete devastation of some coastal regions (Rodger, 2007). The Chandeleur Islands suffered considerable damage due to Hurricane Katrina being that Hurricane Ivan had previously affected them. Since the environment was destroyed, close to about 16 national wildlife refuges were destroyed. The oils that split from the 44 different facilities led to the loss of biodiversity. Looting was common as people searched for food and water that they could not find quickly during the disaster. Government-Private Response Based on the National Response Plan, it is the responsibility of the government to respond in case of disasters. The local government acts first and if they are defeated they request for help from the county government, which then passes it on to the federal government. Challenges that arise at each of the levels occur due to the failure to have a contingency plan that can be enacted in the case of the disaster. The government began disaster recovery even before the Katrina storm. The agency team known as Federal Emergency Management Agency started its preparations by deploying logistical supply of mortuary teams that had refrigerated vehicles. The Coastguard tried and rescued about 33,500 of the 60,000 individuals who were stuck in New Orleans. The good job done by the coast guards was recognized by the Congress after which they were given an award known as the Presidential Unit Citation. The Joint Task Force Katrina located at Camp Shelby by the US Northern Command acted as the military on-scene response under the control of General Russel as the commander. The formation of the base led to the activation of about 58,000 National Guard personnel who were to assist in the aftermath of the storm The Federal Emergency Management Agency assisted by providing housing to more than about 700,000 applicants. The agency also paid for the hotel costs of the individuals who were not able to secure housing. The public agencies and the law enforcement officials also provided mutual aid to New Orleans and Louisiana. After the storm had stopped for about two weeks, nearly all the states were engaged in issuing of shelters for the evacuees. A month after the storm had occurred close to 50 states had registered the evacuees. Recovery Efforts After the storm, the recovery process in Louisiana and New Orleans has faced many challenges. The storm led to the destruction of the Gulf coast making the citizens around that region lose lots of properties and their close ones. Such events exposed the residents to trauma However not much was done to establish the relationship between the effects that Katrina had on the mental health of the people. After Katrina, longitudinal surveys were done in low-income mothers, 4–19 months after, and 43–54 months after the storm. The federal government after the storm is grappling with the funds to be used for the construction of the decimated neighborhoods and levees. No amounts of funds have been set for the project, and the little they have is drying up. Organizations, for instance, Rebuilding Together New Orleans in collaboration with the government and the community leaders have strived to make sure that those who were displaced can return to their homes and rebuild their lives. FEMA is in the process of building schools that will help the public and strengthening the police resources to assist in case of insecurity. Through the American Red Cross society, the hurricane recovery program began in which people helped one another. Close to 4 million people needed help following Hurricane Rita, Katrina, and Wilma. Other corporations gave their support to the American Red Cross. The difficulties faced due to Hurricane Katrina include the massive flooding following the early period after the end of the storm. The recovery mission was also made difficult by the floods that made many places in the region inaccessible. The emotional factors led to problems amongst the people as they remembered their loved ones. Lessons Learned Based on the critical challenge on national preparedness that led to the death of many people, the white house learnt that the federal government should work together with other security partners in order to ensure an efficient structure (Hoffman, 2007). The federal government, in this case, has the mandate of implement the national preparedness goal. The federal government also has the mandate of ensuring that the executive branches get enough training in order to respond swiftly in case of anything. Based on the critical challenge of the integrated use of the military capabilities, the white house learnt that the Departments of Homeland Security and the Defense should work together in supporting the federal government response activities and those with are special and need the attention of the defense. Communication was also a critical challenge during the disaster as it had destroyed most of the infrastructure that support such activities (Palser, 2007).In the Gulf Coast region. The disaster interfered with the 911 emergency services thus disrupting the local emergency. Based on that, the white house learned that it should review some of the current laws that guide policies, plans and strategies that pertain to communication. The white house also realized the need for the Homeland Security Council to work in collaboration with Science and Technology Office Policy, in order to come up with a National Emergency Communications Strategy that has the ability to support communication in cases of emergency. The white house faced a challenge on the logistics and the evacuation of the people from the Katrina scene and learnt that its Department of Homeland Security in collaboration with other local and state governments should be united in order to come up with a transparent and modern logistical system. Analysis The analysis of other reports states that the disaster could have been curbed, and the number of causalities reduced if only the government had responded to the warnings. The fund allocated to prevent the floods was reduced by about 80% in order to fund the war. Due to the reduction of the resources used in the construction of the levees, the project stopped. The government stopped the construction of the dams for close to 37 years for the first time in history. The administration got the warning of a possible disaster but never acted. During the start of President Bush administration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency warned that a hurricane could hit New Orleans. The director of Federal Emergency Management Agency, Joe Allbaugh stated that the president knew about the warning but focused on security allocating a mass of resources to homeland security after the September 11 attacks (Hoffman, 2007). An emergency exercise done by the federal government found that there was a possibility of a hurricane occurring in Louisiana and New Orleans an act that the government took for granted. The warnings also stated that the levees were not able to prevent a storm gush thus making the city open for any natural disaster due to the inability of the natural defenses to protect it. Recommendations Department of Homeland Security (DHS) should formulate a program for training NRP personnel with emergency managerial skills. Training is essential for all the departments and agencies that are useful in cases of disaster. Adequate training will be a component of the NRP assessment. DHS should implement Homeland Security regions that have fully trained staff and equipped in order to manage and harmonize the emergency that need the federal response. Special consideration should also be given in order to develop an independent National Capital Region with unique requirements associated with the constitutional governments. The aims of the groups include preparing for disasters, planning. Conduct training, and respond to disasters. Strengthening of the public health response formulates one of the recommendations after the disaster. In the report addressed to the white house, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) should strengthen public health and the medical command in response to the federal government resources. The department should also formulate an emergency medical response plan in case of a catastrophic disaster that includes tracking and deployment of the medical response team within the federal government. The report also states that the National Disaster Medical System should be moved to the HHS where it was before it was taken to DHS. The transformation of the National Guard is also necessary in order to prevent another Hurricane from causing harm in the country the way Katrina did. The National Guard should modify the organization in order to make their mission to prepare and deploy support for collaboration of the homeland security missions. The federal agencies should also incorporate the National Guard into planning for the disasters. References Hoffman, M. A. (2007). Hurricane Katrina. New York: PowerKids Press. Palser, Barb. Hurricane Katrina: Aftermath of Disaster. Minneapolis, Minn: Compass Point Books, 2007. Print. Rodger, Ellen. Hurricane Katrina. New York: Crabtree Pub, 2007. Print. Read More