Residents of Saucier, Mississippi, line up to get gas on August 31, 2005. The Data Center, a New Orleans-based research organization, estimated that the storm and subsequent flooding displaced more than 1 million people, leaving hundreds of thousands of people homeless. And as Rob Nixon notes in "Slow Violence, Neoliberalism, and Environmental Picaresque," "Discrimination predates disaster: in failures to maintain protective structures, failures at pre-emergency hazard mitigation, failures to maintain infrastructure, failures to organize evacuation plans for those who lack private transport, all of which make the poor and racial minorities disproportionately vulnerable to catastrophe." But its the only shot we got.. June 2006 - The Government Accountability Office releases a report that concludes at least $1 billion in disaster relief payments made by FEMA were improper and potentially fraudulent. No electricity in New Orleans meant no air conditioning in the dome, filling it with a horrible, muggy heat. Severe flooding damage to cities along the Gulf Coast, from New Orleans to Biloxi, Mississippi. The New Orleans Saints played four of their scheduled home games at LSU's Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, three at the Alamodome in San Antonio, and one at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. It hit land as a Category 3 storm with winds reaching speeds as high as 120 miles per hour. Engineers also didn't consider sinking land and soil quality, which led to a misjudgment of soil stability. Daylight could be seen from inside the dome, and rain was pouring in. There was a plan. As the already strained levee system continued to give way, the remaining residents of New Orleans were faced with a city that by August 30 was 80 percent underwater. Families torn apart by the storm wouldnt re-connect for months in some cases. Outside, there was anarchy. And although hurricanes are usually only 300 miles wide at most, Hurricane Katrina's winds stretched out over 400 miles, with wind speeds well in excess of 100 mph. When the hurricane made landfall in southeast Louisiana on Aug. 29, 2005, its intensity had diminished but was still a major Category 3 storm. Hurricane Katrina, 10 years later: The myths that persist, debunked. By some estimates, between 80 and 90 percent of New Orleans population was able to evacuate the city prior to Katrina. Miller told a reporter. Every sink was broken. SMG opened up the club rooms in the arena, and the citys health department would send staff to take care of the patients. [33][40] It was confirmed that no one was murdered in the Superdome. At noon, he boarded a helicopter. The Washington Post reports that not only did the Corps cut costs and pinch pennies in order to save money in the short term, but the engineering of the levees was "a disjointed fashion based on outdated data" (via Vox). At noon, they opened the doors and thousands of New Orleanians started shuffling in, carrying ice chests, kids toys, clothes, and whatever belongings they could carry. . The roof was estimated to be able to withstand winds with speeds of up to 200mph (320km/h) and flood waters weren't expected to reach the second level 35 feet (11m) from the ground. 25% were caused by injury and trauma and 11% were caused by heart conditions. They drove four hours from Bossier City where Doug, an executive with SMG, managed a facility back to New Orleans, a lone car on the inbound side of the highway as thousands upon thousands of cars sat in traffic on the outbound lanes. Residents of the B.W. 2008 Dec;2(4):215-23. doi: 10.1097/DMP.0b013e31818aaf55. The heavy death toll of the hurricane and the subsequent flooding it caused drew international attention, along with widespread and lasting criticism of how local, state and federal authorities handled the storm and its aftermath. Although New Orleans levees and flood walls had been designed to withstand a category 3 hurricane, half of the network gave way to the waters. Although Louisiana and Mississippi were most heavily affected, Alabama, Florida, and Georgia also suffered casualties due to the disaster. Fights broke out. After it made landfall in Louisiana on August 29, Hurricane Katrina produced widespread flooding in southeastern Louisiana because the levee system that held back the waters of Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Borgne was completely overwhelmed by 10 inches of rain and Katrinas storm surge. Tempers began to flare as hunger and thirst deepened. [32] New Orleans Police Department chief Eddie Compass appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show and reported seeing "little babies getting raped" and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin also said he saw hooligans raping and killing people. That would be sorted out soon, Thornton thought, or maybe never at all. The Thorntons woke early to the sound of the wind. I would rather have been in jail, Janice Jones said while being taken out of the dome. The air conditioning ducts would have mold in them by now. When Hurricane Katrina forced New Orleans poet Shelton Alexander to evacuate his home, he took his truck and video camera to the Superdome. In contrast, over half the nursing homes in New Orleans decided against early evacuation. 11:09. Sign up for the For The Win newsletter to get our top stories in your inbox every morning. With limited power, no plumbing, a shredded roof and not nearly enough supplies to deal with 30,000 evacuees, it became a symbol of how unprepared the city and country had been for a storm experts knew could arrive. As general manager of the facility since 1997, he had been through this several times before. [13], On August 31, it was announced that the Superdome evacuees would be moved to the Astrodome in Houston. Who Is Pamela Mahogany Really Happened At The Superdome? And as the media portrayed New Orleans as a lawless place filled with violence with overblown and unverified reports, police and rescue efforts were redirected against the imaginary violence. We took him inside.. Thornton felt the seconds ticking, each one more dangerous than the last. FEMA photo/Andrea Booher. It took two days for 1,000 more FEMA officials to arrive, but once they did, FEMA "slowed the evacuation with unworkable paperwork and certification requirements." There was water pouring in every crevice, Thornton said. This is a national emergency. We pee on the floor. At 7 am Katrina is a Category 5 with 160 mph maximum sustained winds. [15] Evacuees began to break into the luxury suites, concession stands, vending machines, and offices to look for food and other supplies. It ran into the reserve tank. [8] Further damage included water damage to the electrical systems, and mold spread. This story has been shared 120,685 times. Discovery Company. Out of 60 nursing homes in New Orleans, 21 had evacuated their residents in advance of Katrina. It is 250 miles south-southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River. That night a National Guardsmangot jumped as he walked through a dark, flooded locker room. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, Canadian teacher with size-Z prosthetic breasts placed on paid leave, What's next for Buster Murdaugh after dad's murder conviction, life sentence, US home prices just did something they haven't done since 2012, Tom Sandoval drops out of interview amid backlash from Raquel Leviss scandal, Rebel Wilson says Meghan Markle isnt as naturally warm as Prince Harry, Kristen Doute supports Ariana Madix amid mutual ex Tom Sandovals scandal, March 4, 1984: Martina Navratilova defeats Chris Evert at MSG, Tom Sizemore And The Dangerous Burden of Desperation, Tom Sandoval breaks silence on Ariana Madix split amid cheating claims. We had to chase him down, said Sgt. One of the worst disasters in U.S. history, Katrina caused an estimated $161 billion in damage. So they hoofed it. Michael Appleton/NY Daily News Archive/Getty Images. But it worked. The National Guards headquarters had flooded, so the entire operation had moved to the Superdome. Hurricane Katrina reached Category 5 strength in the Gulf Coast, and although it was a Category 3 when it made landfall, it was still one of the "worst disasters in U.S. history," according to World Vision. Katrinas death toll is the fourth highest of any hurricane in U.S. history, after the Galveston Hurricane of 1900, which killed between 8,000 and 12,000 people; Hurricane Maria, which killed more than 4,600 people in Puerto Rico in 2017; and the Okeechobee Hurricane, which hit Florida in 1928 and killed as many as 3,000. This is a national disgrace, he said. My instincts as a building manager are to evacuate, he said. FEMA infamously brought in trailers, "hastily built and steeped in toxic resins," that were used to house people after the hurricane. Hurricane Katrina had intruded on the last safe space. We are like animals, Taffany Smith, 25, told the Los Angeles Times, while she gripped her 3-week-old son in her arms. As of August 31, there had been three deaths in the Superdome: two elderly medical patients who were suffering from existing illness, and a man who committed suicide by jumping from the upper level seats. Hurricane Katrina was an extremely destructive 2005 storm that caused more than 1,800 deaths along the U.S. Gulf Coast. On May 16, 2015, new homes stand in a development, built by the Make It Right Foundation, for residents whose homes were destroyed. That night SMG sent a private helicopter to evacuate the staff and their families. 70% of New Orleans occupied housing, 134,000 units, were damaged in the storm. Twenty-five thousand miserable people - many of whom lost their homes to Hurricane Katrina - hunkered down with little food and little water, overflowing toilets, stifling heat and the. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Thousands of survivors are at the Astrodome after the Superdome became unsafe following the levee breaks in New Orleans. They couldnt find any vehicles to transport the patients safely. Finally. But now, in the moonlight, she finally understood what had happened. Local residents gathering outside of the Superdome on September 2, 2005. FEMA had sent the trucks to act as a makeshift morgue. WATCH:I Was There: Hurricane Katrina: Rescue Swimmer. Supplies were running low, and as the National Guard began to ration things like water and diapers the crowd grew incensed and accused them of hoarding goods for their own use. If we had evacuated who knows what wouldve happened Thornton said. If we let everybody go into the parking garage then were going to lose control of the situation and it could be worse. They found a 50-foot fuel line and screwed it into the reserve tank of the generator, then ran it out to the truck, which was parked in several feet of water outside the exterior door. The men hooked up the line, fuel started flowing. After Hurricane Katrina, which damaged more than 100 school buildings, the state seized control of almost all urban schools and turned them over to independent charter groups. The New Orleans Superdome: a great American comeback story Many local agencies found themselves unable to respond to the increasingly desperate situation, as their own headquarters and control centres were under 20 feet (6 metres) of water. Many of them boarded without having any idea of where they were headed. In some areas, floodwaters reached depths of 10 to 15 feet, and didnt recede for weeks. The tiny jail cell down in the bowels of the Dome, which they kept for game-day security, was filling up. More than one million people in the Gulf region were displaced by the storm. He made two requests: Hed need a large contingent of National Guardsmen, and a few hours Sunday morning to prepare. It was used as an emergency shelter although it was neither designed nor tested for the task. Inside the Superdome, things were descending further into hell. Nagin left office in 2010, and was later convicted on charges of bribery, fraud and money laundering committed while in office. [45] However, the Saints announced that they would be returning to New Orleans, with the first home game taking place on September 25, 2006 against the Atlanta Falcons on Monday Night Football. ", Ultimately, it's unknown exactly what the death toll of Hurricane Katrina was. When buses finally arrived yesterday, a desperate group of refugees broke loose from a cordon of National Guardsmen, but were stopped by heavily armed police toting machine guns. They were taken to the Lamar Dixon Expo Center in Baton Rouge. Nagin had no solution. After levees and flood walls protecting New Orleans failed, much of the city was underwater. In 2004, the federal government sponsored a "planning exercise" involving local, state, and federal officials that resembled the eventual impact of Hurricane Katrina. A refill was supposed to be on the way that day, but opening the door for the fuel truck would flood the room. A bustling black market has also emerged, with cigarettes, at $10 a pack, and anti-diuretics, which help forestall going to the bathroom, hot items. You have to fight for your life. On top of that, since most of the department's staff was sent to assist at state shelters, there was even a challenge of tracking down "missing workers.". ", Socialist Alternative writes the budget of the Crops was slashed after 2003, largely to pay for the Iraq War and tax cuts for the wealthy: "A refusal to invest tens of millions of dollars into strengthening levees has led to a catastrophe that will cost hundreds of billions of dollars." At 10 a.m., the Thorntons headed together to the Superdome. As Talk Poverty notes, it was directly due to "racially discriminatory housing practices," which meant that"the high-ground was taken by the time banks started loaning money to African Americans who wanted to buy a home.". [39] However, that number also counted four bodies that were near the dome. https://www.britannica.com/event/Hurricane-Katrina, LiveScience - Hurricane Katrina: Facts, Damage and Aftermath, Hurricane Katrina - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). Gunfire has ricocheted down the corridors. Thousands were looking for a place to go after leaving the Superdome shelter. They would later learnwhat had happened: Levees at various locations in and around the city had failed, and the pumping stations, overwhelmed with water and damaged by the storm, werent working. According to NBC News, the average age of victims was 69, and "just under half of all victims were 75 or older." We've received your submission. The groups went in shifts, sneaking down over to the garage, up the stairs and to the helipad. It wasnt until midnight that things started to settle down. The Louisiana Superdome, once a mighty testament to architecture and ingenuity, became the biggest storm shelter in New Orleans the day before Katrina's arrival Monday. Even though the dome never lost power, air conditioning, and running water during any of those storms, Superdome manager Doug Thornton recommended after Hurricane Georges for the dome to not be used as a shelter for anybody but special-needs evacuees. As far as natural disasters go, Hurricane Katrina was a bad one. After levees and flood walls protecting New Orleans failed, much of the city was underwater. [29] However, the eventual cost to renovate and repair the dome was roughly $185 million and it was reopened for the Saints' first home game in the city in September 2006. . Messed Up Things That Happened During Hurricane Katrina - Grunge.com [49][50] Grambling State University beat Southern University, 5035.[51]. Doug dropped his wife off at their home in the affluent Lakewood South neighborhood of New Orleans, right near the levee at the 17th Street Canal, and drove to the Louisiana Superdome. There were two reports of rape, one involving a child. Lets think about that very carefully, he said. Caleb Wells. The line to get in was already a quarter-mile long. Blood and feces covered the walls of the facility. [41], After the events surrounding Katrina, the Superdome was not used during the 2005 NFL season. I thought it would be two days at most and wed be out, said Thornton. The final official death toll in the Superdome came to six people inside (4 of natural causes, one overdose, and an apparent suicide) and a few more in the general area outside the stadium. 99% of the 1.2 million personal property claims, The National Flood Insurance Program paid out $16 billion in claims, The majority of all federal aid, approximately $75 billion of $120.5 billion. [42] Their first "home" game was played on September 19, 2005 against the New York Giants at Giants Stadium, which resulted in a 2710 loss. Up to a month after Hurricane Katrina, over 100 children were still unaccounted for, and it took until November to find everyone. Mayor of New Orleans Ray Nagin had stated that as a "refuge of last resort," only limited food, water, and supplies would be provided. The office asked him if he could open up the Superdome as a refuge of last resort for the city of New Orleans. The hurricane and its aftermath claimed more than 1,800 lives, and it ranked as the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history. appreciated. [32] While numerous people told the Times-Picayune that they had witnessed the rape of two girls in the ladies' restroom and the killing of one of them, police and military officials said they knew nothing about the incidents. In addition to two unarmed civilians killed at Danziger Bridge, at least ten other people were shot by police in the first week after Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana. The owners, Salvador and Mabel Mangano, ended up facing the only criminal charges directly related to Hurricane Katrina, as they were charged with negligent homicide due to their refusal to evacuate their residents. Hurricane Katrina: Timeline and Impact - among.net-freaks.com [10][11] On August 28, the Louisiana National Guard delivered three truckloads of water and seven truckloads of MREs (meals ready to eat), enough to supply 15,000 people for three days. He needed to start getting people out. The bullet went through his own leg. "Flooded offices meant records were underwater," and although there were some computerized records, according to then-Assistant Secretary of Children Welfare for Louisiana's Department of Social Services Marketa Walters, "New Orleans was notorious for not doing good data entry." All Rights Reserved. FEMA has been here three days, yet there is no command and control. It took 17 men several hours to do the job. So that means youre going to have to be here probably another 5 or 6 days., Mr.
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