Katrina;_Aftermath

Hurricane Katrina: The Road to Recovery Sean Armstrong WRA 110, Section 19 Professor Durding March 27th, 2009 Abstract In August 2005, hundreds of thousands of people were forced to alter their lifestyles due to one of the most costly hurricanes in United States history. New Orleans is a vital part to the United States of America’s economy, life-style, and overall persona. New Orleans has always been a renowned United States city, popular to tourists, famous for music, entertainment, education and food. In August of 2005 however a giant storm was creating out in the Gulf of Mexico and was on a direct path leading directly towards New Orleans. It is hard to comprehend how much damage hurricane Katrina really caused in New Orleans. With the majority of the Gulf coast in shambles and with hundreds of thousands now homeless, action needed to be taken as soon as possible. In an immediate response, president Bush signed a 10.5 billion dollar disaster relief bill to help the thousands of people who were affected by the storm. Today New Orleans is finally starting to build back up to hopefully one day become the city it once was. The population just recently peaked above 300,000, yet this is not the 500,000 that it once was.   Hurricanes and natural disasters are a phenomenon that everybody knows very well could happen; yet very few people actually are around to witness and experience first hand. In August 2005, hundreds of thousands of people were forced to alter their lifestyles due to one of the most costly hurricanes in United States history. Hurricane Katrina was a disaster that we as a country are still trying to rebuild and recover from. The death toll, catastrophic damage caused, and overall economy of the Gulf coast, specifically New Orleans, resulted in a multi billion-dollar city to almost to fall. With our country being at times of war with the Middle East, as well just recovering from the September, 11th world trade center attacks, as well as facng economic hardships, how would we as a country handle this multi-billion dollar natural disaster' This review of the August 29th, 2005 hurricane Katrina will focus on addressing and answering the following questions: 1. Why is New Orleans an important asset to the United States' What was life in New Orleans like Pre-Katrina' 2. What was life in New Orleans like Pre-Katrina' 3. What were the results of the hurricane and the damage it caused' 4. What actions were taken to rebuild New Orleans and by whom' 5. What is the present day life like in New Orleans and what needs to happen to make it the city it once was' Why is New Orleans an Important Asset To the United States' New Orleans is a vital part to the United States of America’s economy, life-style, and overall persona. New Orleans is in prime location for shipping, being right off the Gulf coast and is a vital contributor to our country’s trading routes. Annually, about 6000 ships stop at the New Orleans docks, which in turn create 380,000 United States jobs throughout the country (New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation {NOTMC}, 2008). New Orleans is also a lead contributor in mining for natural resources. In fact, New Orleans represents 11 percent of America’s petroleum (NOTMC, 2008). This is a huge asset for the United States, being a country at war with the Middle East. New Orleans also is a vital cash crop grower ranking in the top 10 for cotton, sugarcane, and rice in the United States (NOTMC, 2008). New Orleans is such a vital part of the United States economy that if the city were to face hardships it would affect not only the locals but also the country as a whole. What was life in New Orleans like Pre-Katrina' New Orleans has always been a renowned United States city, popular to tourists, famous for music, entertainment, education, culture and food. With the last accurate United States census conducted in 2000, New Orleans had a population just below 500,000 making it a very influential in the United States overall economy. Tourism and tourist’s spending is what drove the local economy’s in greater New Orleans. In a 2006-2007 marketing plan drawn up by the New Orleans government, they stated that tourism and tourist spending is what drove local parish’s economies (Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation, and tourism, 2007). Tourism drew in more then 5 billion dollars in annual spending each year, allowing local businesses to thrive. These local businesses provided approximately 85,000 jobs at the time, which is a very high number of jobs considering the population (Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation, and tourism, 2007). The only thing the city that hurt these local businesses and the overall economy was hurricane season. New Orleans is in prime hurricane location, being just off the Gulf coast. Tourism and Mardi Gras is not the only thing New Orleans is notably famous for. The ports of New Orleans channel in over 6,000 ships annually, coming from more than 60 countries (Dolfman, Wasser, & Bergman, 2007). These ships in turn export thousands of dollars in good each year as well to countries all over the world. New Orleans leading exports include chemicals and petroleum, which are mined right in the Gulf of Mexico (Dolfman et al, 2007). If anything were to ever happen to these ports, not only would the New Orleans economy take a huge step back, but the United States entire economy as a whole would take a massive hit as well. What Were the Results of the Hurricane And the Damage it caused' By living in New Orleans, you are well aware of the possibility of a Hurricane striking and causing damage. In August of 2005 however a giant storm was creating out in the Gulf of Mexico and was on a direct path leading directly towards New Orleans. As the storm continued to grow, the anticipation of thousands grew day by day. Thousands fled the city to go to safer areas as the others stayed and awaited the arrival of Katrina, hoping it would not affect them. On August 29th, the much-anticipated Katrina hit land, resulting in the costliest hurricane in United States history (Knabb, Rhome, & Brown, 2005). Hurricane Katrina also registered as one of the five most deadly hurricanes in United States history, causing deaths in New Orleans Mississippi, Florida, Alabama and Georgia with a total death toll of about 1,800 people. (Colby, 2006). When the hurricane made its strongest strike, in New Orleans, Katrina registered as a category 3 hurricane on a scale that is out of 5 with gusts of wind over 100 miles per hour. It is hard to comprehend how much damage hurricane Katrina really caused in New Orleans. A year later Fox News with Jamie Colby reported breathe taking facts. Katrina overall path of destruction caused damage in over 93,000 square miles of land and caused approximately 777,000 people to move until the storm and the aftermath settled down (2006). Over 300,000 homes were either completely destroyed or so damaged they were no longer livable (2006). Not to mention the thousands of businesses and factories that were also ruined. An overall estimated 96 billion dollars worth of damage. With our president at the time, George W. Bush, already having to cope with the September 11th attacks, how will he unite our country and put in a plan to fix the billions of dollars in damage that Katrina caused. What actions were taken to rebuild New Orleans and by whom' With the majority of the Gulf coast in shambles and with hundreds of thousands now homeless, action needed to be taken as soon as possible. The United States government already had some of their armed forces down in south doing search and rescue missions. Yet, once these people are rescued where will they go' In an immediate response, president Bush signed a 10.5 billion dollar disaster relief bill to help the thousands of people who were affected by the storm (Feyerick & Barret, 2005). This money was directed to help feed, transport, rescue, house, and provide any other assistance that the evacuees and now homeless needed. This money was also available to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, who had been spending approximately 500 million dollars a day in disaster relief (Feyerick & Barret, 2005). Hurricane Katrina demonstrated first hand how important it is to have government run relief programs such as FEMA to handle such natural disasters. The American Red Cross was there through thick and thin in supporting the thousands of people who were now homeless in the south and were in dire need of help. The American Red Cross is a non-profit organization who helps prepare and aid communities around the world that are facing hardships from disasters. This organization is made up by a majority of volunteers around the country who take time out of their own lives to help out other. Red cross gave thousands of people hope during the post Katrina times. They provided food, shelter, clothes, and goods to thousands upon thousands. American Red Cross opened up about 1,400 various shelters during these times providing a total of 3.8 million overnight stays (American Red Cross, 2006). They also served an astonishing 68 million meals and snacks during this time American Red Cross, 2006). Without the help from the American Red Cross, the overall recovery process of Katrina would have been severally slowed down and the results would not have been nearly as successful. What is the Present Day Life Like in New Orleans and What Needs to Happen to Make it the City it Once Was' With hurricane Katrina striking only a mere 3.5 years ago, how would New Orleans recover and return to its original renowned state' Today, New Orleans population is on a slow but steady incline just recently reaching back to 300,000 people compared to the 500,000 before the levees failed and 80 percent of the city was flooded (Burdeau, 2009). Steve Villavaso, a New Orleans urban planner said, "I’m seeing cranes in the sky all over the city and cones in the street. I always said it would take 10 years, a 10-year cycle, to get us back to recovery, where we were before Katrina”. Thus indicating that the city is making positive strides in the right direction and now it will be only a matter of time and money until New Orleans will be able to fully recover. Many are taking Katrina as an opportunity to capitalize on. With population taking about a 35 percent decrease and numerous vacant buildings and homes, some are taking this opportunity as a chance to re-start their lives. Something that could inspire the rest of the New Orleans population and give the city as a whole a boost to recovery. The New Orleans economy is one that was run mainly by tourism and shipping. In order to remain a United States renowned city they would need to quickly rebuild not only the tangible objects in the city such as housing and buildings but also their reputation and image. In a study was conducted by the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation, and Tourism found that 50 percent of people replied that New Orleans is no longer a good place to visit due to all the damage the city faced and 62 percent of the people are no longer interested in the area because attractions are no longer available (2007). These cold hard facts are something that the local government and marketing firms need to change if the city ever would like to return to their prior tourism status. The status that once brought in 5.8 billion dollars a year in tourism and provided 85,000 jobs pre-Katrina, not the status that brought in 1.2 billion dollars and 25,000 jobs post-Katrina (Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation, and Tourism, 2007). Numbers indicate that New Orleans is growing and evolving back to the city it once was and maybe one day we will see a better than ever New Orleans city. Hurricane Katrina was a devastating disaster that caused a massive death toll as well as billions of dollars in damage that even today, 3.5 years later we are still recovering from. A city that is known for music, culture, food, tourism, and entertainment needs to keep that reputation in order to one day be fully recuperated and become better than ever. New Orleans should take Katrina and the hardships they have faced in the past couple years as a learning experience. To figure out new ways to protect the city from massive storms and hurricanes, to develop new levee systems, better city drainage, and better evacuation plans to save lives. References American Red Cross. (2006, August). A year of healing. Retrieved March 15th, 2009 from, http://www.redcross.org/images/pdfs/Katrina_OneYearReport.pdf Burdeau, C. (2009). New Orleans' population rises above 300,000. Retrieved March 18, 2009 from, http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hnBJ5appHsjSYi81jMBZoq57HdDgD970RCVO0 Colby, J. (2006). FOX Facts: Hurricane Katrina Damage. Fox News. Retrieved March 15th, 2009 from, http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,210970,00.html Dolfman, M. L., Wasser, S. F., & Bergman, B. (2007). The effects of Hurricane Katrina on the New Orleans Economy. Monthly Labor Review Online, 130 (6). Retrieved March 18, 2009 from, http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2007/06/art1exc.htm#related%20articles Feyerick, D., & Barrett, T. (2005). Bush signs $10.5 billion disaster aid bill. Retrieved March18, 2009 from, http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/09/02/katrina.congress/index.html. Knabb, R. D., Rhome, J. R, Brown, D. P. (2005). Tropical Cyclone Report Hurricane Katrina. Retrieved March 18th,2009 from, http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/pdf/TCR-AL122005_Katrina.pdf Louisana Department of Culture, Recreation, and Tourism. (2007). Marketing Plan. Retrieved March 18th, 2009 from, http://www.crt.state.la.us/downloads/Appendix_E.pdf New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation. (2008). The Crescent City is One of America’s Most Significant Cities With A History Unlike Any Other. Why New Orleans is important to America. Retrieved March 24th, 2009 from, http://www.neworleansonline.com/pr/releases/releases/Why%20New%20Orleans%20is%20Important%20to%20America.pdf