But after the levees broke, the city buses went underwater. National Geographic writes that the storm hit the coast of Louisiana on August 29 and ended up affecting up to 90,000 square miles of land and over 15 million people. Hours before three major levees were breached, President Bush announced that New Orleans had "dodged a bullet," despite the fact that Louisiana governor Kathleen Blanco had already requested federal assistance two days before the hurricane hit, according to The Society Pages. In New Orleans, the evacuation plan reportedly "fell apart even before the storm hit." Although Louisiana and Mississippi were most heavily affected, Alabama, Florida, and Georgia also suffered casualties due to the disaster. For detailed information on the effect on Tulane, see, Effect of Hurricane Katrina on the Louisiana Superdome, Effects of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, "Effect of Hurricane Katrina on the Louisiana Superdome", Learn how and when to remove this template message, Effect of Hurricane Katrina on the New Orleans Saints, Effect of Hurricane Katrina on Tulane University, Effect of Hurricane Katrina on the New Orleans Hornets, "How New Orleans' Evacuation Plan Fell Apart", "Hurricane Katrina as Seen Through the Eyes of the Saints' Biggest Fans", "At least 10,000 find refuge at the Superdome", "Governor: Evac Superdome, Rescue Centers", "Trapped in the Superdome: Refuge becomes a hellhole", "Photo in the News: Hurricane Shreds Superdome Roof", "NFL 2005: Homeless Saints face long road in 2005", "Almost 10 years after Katrina, Michael Brown's still out to lunch: Jarvis DeBerry", "Refuge of last resort: Five days inside the Superdome for Hurricane Katrina", "From Superdome to Astrodome: Katrina's refugees will be moved to Houston in bus convoy", "Superdome evacuation disrupted after shots fired", "10 Years Since Katrina: When The Astrodome Was A Mass Shelter", "Astrodome to become new home for storm refugees", "Astrodome at capacity, but buses with evacuees keep coming", "Neighbouring states struggle to cope with influx of people", "Dome closed for a year, could be scrapped", "NFL, at Saints' urging, kicks in $20 million for dome repairs", "Superdome returns with glitz, glamor and Monday night football", "Katrina Takes a Toll on Truth, News Accuracy", "Reports of anarchy at Superdome overstated", "Higher Death Toll Seen; Police Ordered to Stop Looters", "7 facts about Hurricane Katrina that show just how incompetent the government response was", "Four years on, Katrina remains cursed by rumour, cliche, lies and racism", "Saints' home games: 4 at LSU, 3 in Alamodome", "Errors cost Saints early, often in poor excuse for 'home' opener", "32nd annual Bayou Classic moved to Houston", "SOUTHERN JAGUARS FALL 50-35 TO GRAMBLING STATE IN BAYOU CLASSIC XXXII", Temporary home venues in 2005 due to Hurricane Katrina, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Effect_of_Hurricane_Katrina_on_the_Louisiana_Superdome&oldid=1113156691, Articles needing additional references from October 2014, All articles needing additional references, Wikipedia introduction cleanup from February 2022, Articles covered by WikiProject Wikify from February 2022, All articles covered by WikiProject Wikify, Articles with unsourced statements from January 2016, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 30 September 2022, at 02:13. He starts off the essay with his own personal account of the damage that Hurricane Katrina left. There wasnt much more he could do. And despite the fact that this was meant to be a temporary shelter, they ended up being stranded in the stadium for a week. And despite the fact that this was meant to be a temporary shelter, they ended up being stranded in the stadium for a week. The National Weather Service was revising its forecast again. He made two requests: Hed need a large contingent of National Guardsmen, and a few hours Sunday morning to prepare. With no relief in sight and in the absence of any organized effort to restore order, some neighbourhoods experienced substantial amounts of looting, and helicopters were used to rescue many people from rooftops in the flooded Ninth Ward. Some levees buttressing the Industrial Canal, the 17th Street Canal, and other areas were overtopped by the storm surge, and others were breached after these structures failed outright from the buildup of water pressure behind them. "[38] On that same day, 10 deaths were reported at the Superdome by CBS News. All they could do was try to protect the generator. Katrina caused over 1,800 deaths and $100 billion in . Feces covered the walls of bathrooms. Thornton and Mouton were walking away from the meeting when they heard a loud bang. From Morgan City, Louisiana, to Biloxi, Mississippi, to Mobile, Alabama, Hurricane Katrina's wind, rain, and . 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. This is a national emergency. Rumours spread in the press of reports of rapes, violent assaults, murders, drug abuse, and gang activity inside the Superdome, most of which were entirely unsubstantiated and without witnesses. Following the historical damage inflicted by Hurricane Katrina, the name Katrina was retired from the lists of names. Before Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana, there were roughly 2,000 foster children registered in the state. Over the next several days the Domewould sink into chaos. As some people tried to get supplies to survive, the media portrayed them as "looters," a term that the LA Times notes is more often applied to Black people than white people. We can't house people for five or six days. appreciated. The federal response to Hurricane Katrina was just as bad as state and local responses. Photo taken from the I-10-US 90 junction showing most of the white rubber protective membrane over the roof of the Superdome torn away by strong winds during Katrina. [8] Further damage included water damage to the electrical systems, and mold spread. What were Hurricane Katrinas wind speeds? She had heard a lot, from the National Guard, from her husband, from rumors among the employees. Severe flooding damage to cities along the Gulf Coast, from New Orleans to Biloxi, Mississippi. [6] By this time, the population of the dome had nearly doubled within two days to approximately 30,000, as helicopters and vehicles capable of cutting through the deep flood waters picked up stranded citizens from hard-hit areas and brought them to the dome. Insurance companies have paid an estimated $41.1 billion on 1.7 million different claims for damage to vehicles, homes, and businesses in six states. Please check your email for a confirmation. by Laura Butterbaugh Thanks to the Internet, the images of the victims of Hurricane Katrina were as vivid as they were shocking: A hysterical woman pleading to TV cameras that women and girls were being raped in the Superdome. Prior to Hurricane Katrina, the public school system of New Orleans was one of the lowest-performing districts in the state of Louisiana. Then, one of the mechanicshad an idea: Bypass the tank altogether. However, there weren't enough trucks for the patients, so they had to stay in the dome. Photo credit: AP Photo/Eric Gay. The chief of police had been given bad information. And according to Vox, when the Louisiana National Guard asked FEMA for 700 buses to help with the evacuation, only 100 were sent in response. However, there was no water purification equipment on site, nor any chemical toilets, antibiotics, or anti-diarrheals stored for a crisis. [33][40] It was confirmed that no one was murdered in the Superdome. Isaac Chipps contributed reporting to this story. They were acquitted in 2007. 2. They couldnt find any vehicles to transport the patients safely. In the United States, Louisiana has the "highest rate of beds per 1,000 persons ages 85 or more," but over half of the nursing homes in New Orleans decided against early evacuation. And as Vox writes, this wasn't necessarily by choice "but rather because they were too poor to afford a car or bus fare to leave." Water floods a cemetery outside St. Patrick's Church in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, on September 11, 2005. [4], On August 28, 2005, at 6 am, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin announced that the Superdome would be used as a public shelter. A group of Amish student volunteers tour the Lower Ninth Ward on February 24, 2006. Light was fading fast. Victims of Hurricane Katrina fight through the crowd as they line up for buses to evacuate the Superdome and New Orleans, Sept. 1, 2005. A refill was supposed to be on the way that day, but opening the door for the fuel truck would flood the room. I was able to see how bad it was, even though it was night. Later, approximately 114,000 households were housed in FEMA trailers. Finally. It would be impossible to drive there with the roads in their current state, so Mouton called inBlackhawk helicopters to get them. But its the only shot we got.. This story has been shared 177,659 times. There was a plan. Mahogany describes her actions before deciding to evacuate her home, her trip to the New Orleans Saints' Superdome, her horrific time at the Superdome, and finally her decision to leave New Orleans. On August 29, at about 6:20 AM EDT, the electricity supply to the dome failed. However, little to nothing was done by FEMA in response. Instead, its lethality was a direct result of people and the decisions that they made, in regards to the engineering of the levees as well as the poor evacuation plans. Despite the planned use of the Superdome as an evacuation center, government officials at the local, state and federal level were criticized for poor preparation and response, especially Mayor of New Orleans Ray Nagin, President George W. Bush, Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco, and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) director Michael D. Hurricane Katrina was a devastating Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that resulted in 1,392 fatalities and caused damage estimated between $97.4 billion to $145.5 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding areas. Do you think this is going to work? he asked. Residents of the B.W. The facility housed 15,000 refugees who fled the destruction of Hurricane Katrina. [25][26][27], On September 7, speculation arose that the Superdome was now in such a poor condition that it would have to be demolished. To see all these downtown buildings completely shut down, Thornton said. September 1, 2005. It was already known that the generators would not provide lights or air conditioning for the whole dome if the power failed, and also pumps providing water to second-level restrooms wouldn't function. Out of the at least 1,800 deaths caused by Hurricane Katrina, nearly half were elderly people. Crack vials littered the bathrooms. This also disproportionately affected people of color. Corrections? About850 patients with serious medical conditions some in hospice care would arrive to ride out the storm there; most of them from parts of the city not protected by the levee system. According to National Geographic, "some argue that indirect hurricane deaths, like being unable to access medical care, should be counted in official numbers.". The NOPD was gone. In contrast, over half the nursing homes in New Orleans decided against early evacuation. Meanwhile, in the Senate committee report, race isn't mentioned once in over 700 pages. Despite the strength of Hurricane Katrina, there was little about the storm that made it intrinsically deadly.