Hurricane Katrina - 10 years on...

August 29, 2005

A powerful hurricane known as Katrina brought havoc in New Orleans, Louisiana. Almost the entire city, with a population of half a million, was inundated. Nearby areas of the Louisiana and the Mississippi Gulf Coast were also hard hit by the catastrophic hurricane.

Even worse during Hurricane Katrina is the ineptitude evident from the local government to the White House. The mayor of New Orleans shown irresponsibility to evacuate most of the town's citizens because it would harm the city's tourism. Two years ago, the new Department of Homeland Security was made, gaining control of most intelligence agencies, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which is responsible for disaster planning and relief within the USA. 

Michael Brown, who once headed FEMA, showed poor performance in disaster management and even though the National Weather Service warned of imminent storms, the FEMA made almost no preparation.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, vast numbers of citizens remained abandoned and the government wasn't aware that thousands of people have gathered at the New Orleans Convention Center without food, water, or shelter. The damages caused by Hurricane Katrina were about 80 billion dollars, the death toll was over 1,800, and two-thirds over the city's population are missing,

Despite the terrible fate caused by Katrina, some individuals stood up and provide help to the victims as well as having neighboring states open their doors for the refugees. A year after the hurricane, the population of New Orleans has returned to pre-hurricane levels and reconstruction had barely begun in many neighborhoods.

Ten years have passed since Hurricane Katrina struck south and have we ever learned from such a tragic event like this? Well, some of them are but if we have learned something from the people who've experienced Hurricane Katrina ten years ago, we can be fully prepared in the event a bigger one approaches as long as we have faith and trust in each other's truth and ideals.