Hurricane Katrina: Disaster and Mismanagement

HURRICANE KATRINA – THE DISASTER AND ITS MISMANAGEMENT

HURRICANE KATRINA – THE DISASTER AND ITS MISMANAGEMENT
Introduction
One of the deadliest natural disasters to have occurred in recent times is Hurricane
Katrina, which struck the Gulf Coast of the US, and ravaged excessive damage for almost 10
days, in late August 2005 (Brinkley & Brewer, 2006). The damages caused by the hurricane
are said to be exacerbated by the failure of the federal structures in providing proper relief
measures. In this essay, a detailed analysis about the hurricane, the failures of planning and
disaster management, and the lessons ought to be learnt is made.
A brief timeline of Hurricane Katrina
August 23rd - Tropical depression formed over Bahamas
August 24th – Intensifies into Tropical storm Katrina, and then Hurricane Katrina
August 25th – Landfall at Florida
August 27th – Formation of Category 3 Hurricane
August 28th – Category 5 Hurricane
August 29th – Second Landfall at Louisiana after weakening
August 31st – Downgraded to tropical depression and moved to Canada
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Analysis of the disaster management preparations
Even as the depression was formed early on August 23rd, it was only two days later
that the local people were made aware of it and warnings were issued. The United States
Coast Guard had mandated evacuation of all the citizens around the impact zone. The
National Hurricane Centre and the Louisiana Weather Forecast office issued numerous
warnings of flood, cyclone by issuing bulletins. When the hurricane attained Stage 3 level,
the President announced Emergency in the affected states (President George W Bush, The
White House, 2006). Roadways and railways were gradually taken off service, to enable
minimal damage from the disaster. There has been wide criticism that the entities that were
responsible for emergency response in New Orleans and Gulf Coast were not deployed on
time, and that this delay and gross mismanagement leading to the cities being the worst hit by
the hurricane. Also, widespread damages occurred due to breaches of levees across New
Orleans due to the impact of the hurricane.
Prior to Hurricane Katrina, even though there were numerous natural disasters that
have hit the United States coast, there was no proper plan devised for hurricane management.
Thus, a flood relief plan was implemented, which failed, as its blueprint vastly differed from
the ground situation. Overhead helicopters were sparse, due to poor planning, thus affecting
rescue and rehabilitation measures (Brevard, Weintraub, Aiken, Halton, & Duchesne, 2008).
Warnings and alerts were issued by the National Hurricane Center (NHC) continuously, yet
many people did not receive any warning until after the cyclone hit Florida. Preparation of
levees were planned, but were allegedly not implemented. The general public was issued
several warnings to evacuate in three phases – 50, 40, and 30 hours before the start of the
cyclone. However, due to poor planning the evacuation process was not completely possible
before the cyclone ravaged the city.
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