Spring Break
Remembering Katrina
Just one year ago Americans watched on as their fellow citizens struggled in a disaster zone because they were let down by their own government
Neil G. White
Issue date: 9/6/06 Section: Campus Life
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Although, time has undoubtedly given us all more of an opportunity to process the degree of what transpired on that fateful day; it certainly doesn't ease the pain of the piercing reality that this occurrence revealed about class, race and the priorities of the United States government.
On August 28, 2005, hurricane Katrina at its peak, an official category 5 hurricane made history as one of the costliest and deadliest natural disasters in the history of the United States. The impact of Katrina's destruction reached over 100 miles away from its center. Cities like Mobile, Ala., Biloxi, Miss,. and 80% of New Orleans were demolished by the effects of the storm. Katrina's destruction is estimated to exceed 150 billion dollars. Hard work, dedication, loyalty and a vision befitting the Gulfs circumstances will ensure the rebuilding of the landscape of the Gulf region. The over 1,800 lives that were taken in this horrific disaster are of incalculable measure. Not since Hurricane Okeechobee in 1928 that struck Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, and Florida in September of the hurricane season has there been such a destructive and deadly natural disaster. Okeechobee also a category 5 is reported to have killed over 4,000 people and caused approximately 100 million dollars in damage.
The socially conscious ramifications of the inevitable eclipsed the economic result of Katrina. It was widely known by the government and the inhabitants of the region that the structure of the levees could barely contain a category 3 let alone the category 5 hurricane that Katrina grew to. The whole world looked and frowned as a city was left abandoned by their government. Many questions were left unanswered as the contingency plan for New Orleans appeared to be non existent.
The result of this abandonment created more problems than the hurricane itself. The ethics and morals of what needed to be done were smothered by the ever growing racial implications. In no time looting of businesses and homes exacerbated an already overwhelming situation. People from all over the country out of empathy were compelled to offer their efforts to fill the void that the governments' untimely arrival caused.
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