¶ … Hurricane Katrina
In late August of 2005, a giant tropical storm ravaged the southeastern area of the United States. This hurricane, also known as Hurricane Katrina was an incredibly strong and violent storm that took the lives of nearly 1900 people and displaced hundreds of thousands more in an experience not seen in modern America.
Here in America, we are used to seeing these types of storms and natural disasters affect others in far off places. Tsunamis, earthquakes and mudslides are often presented in other countries as playing a major and devastating impact on the lives of those people who were confronted with such disasters. Here in America, however, Hurricane Katrina exposed the true meddle and resolve of a nation that exposed our vulnerability and gave new credence and power to Mother Nature.
Hurricane Katrina was the most destructive storm to ever hit the United States and those who felt the brunt of this storm have a new understanding of the power and force that hurricanes cane bring. Katrina itself was unpreventable, the forces of nature are just not controllable. The political and social aftermath of this storm, however raised a red flag warning over the nature of this country's security regarding weather and natural disasters. Just 4 short years since the terrorist attacks on 9-11, when Katrina swept through, a new added layer of vulnerability was created amongst the American psyche, exposing the infrastructure weaknesses and the lack of leadership that was present during the rescue and cleanup efforts.
Much of the disaster that this storm caused occurred in New Orleans as precious flood walls and infrastructure barriers failed miserably in protecting against a rising sea tide which would eventually place most of New Orleans underwater in a surreal scene of primal survival and epic rescue efforts. The confusing and desperate scene captured at the New Orleans Superdome shortly after the flood evacuation clearly showed how unprepared and disastrous this storm had become.
Long-Term Effects
The long-term effects and impacts of Hurricane Katrina are most noticeable when viewing them from a psychological and sociological viewpoint. Weems et al. (2007) suggested that "in terms of social relatedness, the Katrina disaster seriously disrupted social ties and one's ability to access not only his or her extended community, but family members as well. Because many Katrina survivors were relocated, supporting relationships at the family, neighborhood, church, and school levels of organization were interrupted." This was a very traumatic and deep event that profoundly impacted the psyches of millions of people who lost trust in their Government, their community and themselves as a sense of…
This fact has made recovery and preparation for the next disaster all the more difficult. The critical infrastructures in the world, and in the U.S. In particular, have become increasingly dependent on one another. Disasters that singly affect one critical infrastructure will have cascading negative effects for all of the other interdependent infrastructures. In those cases in which energy infrastructures are damaged from the outset, the impacts on the rest
Natural Disasters Disaster preparedness education program Disasters take varied forms and they are bound to happen when lest expected. These are events that are not confined to any given location or region nor confined to given periods. This unpredictability of disaster makes them lethal and hard to contain or stay 100% safe from. It is however possible to take into account the mitigation measures that are appropriate in ensuring the best precaution
Economic Systems Over the years, there has been continuing debate surrounding the best economic system for dealing with a host of issues. In emergency situations, this will play a vital role in ensuring that there is adequate support and resources for meeting the needs of stakeholders. To fully understand which one works the best requires looking at how the socialist ideology is best suited for dealing with these kinds of situations,
Psychological Distress in a Natural Disaster Among the many problems that humans encounter following a natural disaster is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). PTSD can result from natural disasters like floods, earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, tornados among other frightening natural events that cause damage and result in serious injuries and loss of life. When humans are exposed to horrific natural disasters they may continue to carry the fearful events in their memories;
This is mostly experienced in case where the trauma caused psychological disorders, phobias, and depression, and this may go as far as inhibiting the maturation process of the child and even interacting with the emerging personality. According to Newman (1976) three factors can be used to predict the psychological effects of disasters on children, these are; the child's developmental level, the child's perception about the family's response to the
damage of the most important natural disaster in the United States in the last hundred years, an article referring to Hurricane Katrina and, most significantly, to the extent of the damage, to the reconstruction possibilities and to the bearing these will carry on the U.S. fiscal policy and the U.S. fiscal deficit, the article Hurricane Katrina upends American fiscal policy is appropriate to explain relationships between governmental spending and
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