Hurricane Katrina

            The most catastrophic hurricane, Hurricane Katrina, shaped in August 2005 over Bahamas and then crossed Florida. Many people died even before the strengthening of the storm. It was the most deadliest and destructive natural disaster since the Okeechobee hurricane. It was an Atlantic hurricane formed from the ocean; and was seen to be the most costly natural disaster of the United States of America. Approximately1833 people died and 81 billion$ property loss was observed. Every thing seems to be a part of destruction. The emergency planning made was also not workable. Every plan and prediction failed. The hurricane was formed in August 23, 2005 over Bahamas. Several cities which were affected include New Orleans, Florida,  Alabama, Gulf of Mexico, Cuba, Louisiana, and Mississippi. It was a tropical storm formed. 80 % of cities were covered with floods. The hurricane was seen to go up to category 5. The strengthening of the hurricane was very strong. Florida suffered from category 1, Louisiana from category 3 and the most catastrophic damage occurred in the Gulf of Mexico which strengthens up to category 5. (Richard, Daniel, 2005)

            The preparedness of the hurricane Katrina was a major issue because of the location of New Orleans. The city was present at the delta marsh surrounded by Mississippi river, lake Borgne and Lake Pontchatrain. The city existed below the sea level. Same was the case with Gulf of Mexico; it was surrounded by Island of Cuba and North American Continent. It was a large oceanic basin. The destruction was so enormous that the recovery will take years. The impact of the storm was so wide and prolonged that many things will be taken into consider to recover the loss. (U.S House of Representatives, 2006)The people of U.S and companies or organizations were not at all prepared for such a big loss. The loss of all their personal and financial assets; all the records either medical or any business asset were destroyed because of this natural disaster. It was seen to be the most expensive disaster. It was viewed as expensive and costly as the things which were lost was a big loss and the money which was to be invested to recover the destruction also seems to be very much costly. Just 5 days before the hurricane hit, it was predicted that the storm has taken a turn and was now on a way to Florida which meant that New Orleans will face a major hit; it was recorded that the strike rate will be around 17%. Computer aided models were prepared to see the places that were to be the victim of the storm. These models showed the path of the storm. Many cities were destructed in this hurricane. (Swenson, Bob, 2005)

            The Department of Defense began its alert programs before the landfall of Katrina, although they failed to reach some places. National response plan was made for the emergency in Katrina. DOD’s emergency response plan was for providing military assistance to civil authorities. The tasks were divided between the National Guard and Federal people. All the plans made were not successful; this can be because the plans were not exercised and lack of understanding was present between the people. All the departments misunderstood and lack the ability to train themselves for Katrina. People were not trained and mentally prepared for the destruction. The organizations were not expecting this much catastrophic disaster as was observed until last 3 to 4 days. The military was not that much involved in the protection as they should have been.

            The lessons learned from the disasters of hurricane Katrina were very much enhanced. Due to lack of communication between the people many people lost their lives. Many industrial and commercial buildings were destroyed by this tropical storm. One should always be ready for this type of natural catastrophic event.  The state should always have security measures so that the people could easily be migrated to other safe places at the time of other natural disasters. (Government Printing Office, 2006) The people of New Orleans blames the federal government for all the destruction while some people say that it was the duty of state and local government for controlling the cities. It was decided before the storm that people will be transferred to secure places by busses that do not have their conveyance.  Instead of sending the busses to people, they were ordered to go to Superdome and Convention center. There was no security available to people in those areas.

            Some people say that if the government had not taken the responsibility of controlling the people and saving their lives and their assets, FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) should have shown leadership. Everybody is blaming the government because of inadequate measures by which many people lost their lives and industries as well. Hurricane Katrina was found to be the most deadly, destructive, costly and harsh to the people. The protection which was made, failed due to lack of understanding between the government and civil authorities.

References

Richard D. Knabb, Jamie R. Rhome, and Daniel P. Brown (2005), Tropical Cyclone report, National Hurricane Center, retrieved from, http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/pdf/TCR-AL122005_Katrina.pdf

 Swenson, Dan D; Marshall, Bob (May 14, 2005), Flash Flood: Hurricane Katrina's Inundation of New Orleans (SWF), Times-Picayune.

U.S. House of Representatives (2006), A failure of initiative: Final report of the select bipartisan committee to investigate the preparation for the response to Hurricane Katrina. 109th Cong., 2nd Sess. Washington, DC

U.S. Government Printing Office, The White House (2006), The federal response to Hurricane Katrina: Lessons learned. (H. Rpt. 109-377). Retrieved May 6, 2010, from http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/reports/katrina-lessons-learned/

Perry, R, W., & M. K. Lindell, (2007) Emergency planning, Hoboken

Posted by: Jahanzaib