The streets were still flooded, perhaps even worse than before. We had to chase him down, said Sgt. Terry Ebbert, head of the citys emergency operations, warned that the slow evacuation at the Superdome had become an incredibly explosive situation, and he bitterly complained that the Federal Emergency Management Agency was not offering enough help. At noon, they opened the doors and thousands of New Orleanians started shuffling in, carrying ice chests, kids toys, clothes, and whatever belongings they could carry. The line to get in was already a quarter-mile long. For the remainder of that night, it was just Doug Thornton and a few remaining members of his management and security teams. At St. Rita's Nursing Home, residents were reportedly abandoned by the staff, and 35 people drowned as a result. A neighborhood east of downtown New Orleans remains flooded on August 30, 2005. Thornton and Mouton just needed to find a way to keep things under control for 20 hours before it could be enacted. Hurricane Katrina survivors arrive at the Houston Astrodome Red Cross Shelter after being evacuated from New Orleans. Thousands were looking for a place to go after leaving the Superdome shelter. No electricity in New Orleans meant no air conditioning in the dome, filling it with a horrible, muggy heat. A FEMA employee told Thornton and Mouton they expected to find lots ofdead bodies, and had decided to bring them here, next to the place where those left in the city were fighting to live. The heavy death toll of the hurricane and the subsequent flooding it caused drew international attention, along with widespread and lasting criticism of how local, state and federal authorities handled the storm and its aftermath. Hurricane Katrina - Wikipedia They found a 50-foot fuel line and screwed it into the reserve tank of the generator, then ran it out to the truck, which was parked in several feet of water outside the exterior door. The 2005 hurricane and subsequent levee failures led to death and destructionand dealt a lasting blow to leadership and the Gulf region. Several hundredof Thorntons part-time employees had shown up as well, unable to evacuate, and hed placed them in one of the club lounges along with the families of some New Orleans Police Department officers. Thornton, whod been cooped up in the Superdome for going on five days, looked down on her city, at the soft waves lapping against the houses in the moonlight. "[2], Despite these previous periods of emergency use, as Katrina approached the city, officials had not stockpiled enough generator fuel, food, and other supplies to handle the needs of the thousands of people seeking refuge there. We wont be able to feed these folks. Hurricane Katrina was the deadliest hurricane to strike the US Gulf Coast since 1928. Authors . Thornton held a status meeting at 5 p.m. with Lt. Col. Doug Mouton, an old friend who had arrived to take command of the 370 National Guard troops at the Superdome. The storm spent less than eight hours over land. He needed to start getting people out. New homes stand along the rebuilt Industrial Canal levee on May 16, 2015. Mouton was there, walking quickly toward him. Effect of Hurricane Katrina on the Louisiana Superdome By the following afternoon Katrina had become one of the most powerful Atlantic storms on record, with winds in excess of 170 miles (275 km) per hour. 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. The storm initially formed as a tropical depression southeast of the Bahamas on August 23. A bustling black market has also emerged, with cigarettes, at $10 a pack, and anti-diuretics, which help forestall going to the bathroom, hot items. The arrival of 13,000 U.S. National Guard troops and 7,000 U.S. military troops deployed by President George W. Bush helped with evacuations and resupplying food and water to those stranded at the Superdome and convention center, all of whom were finally evacuated on September 3. They got it to the city and waited for their supplies. Three people died in the Superdome; one apparently jumped off a 50-foot high walkway. He escaped the chaotic shelter a few days . Between 20,000 and 30,000 people in New Orleans were evacuated to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. It was used as an emergency shelter although it was neither designed nor tested for the task. The tiny jail cell down in the bowels of the Dome, which they kept for game-day security, was filling up. Mayor, youve got to get these people out of here, he said. According to FiveThirtyEight, the Black middle class in particular was all but wiped out, and Black household incomes have fallen. Winds of 125 mph and storm surges of 28 feet devastated much of Biloxi and Gulfport, Mississippi. The fact that Black homeowners were more likely to face flooding than white homeowners wasn't an accident or bad luck. Preparations by location South Florida. Though downgraded to a category 3, the storms relatively slow forward movement (around 12 mph) covered the region with far more rain than a fast-moving storm would have. It had barely risen at all maybe an inch. The Social Science Research Council writes that this disparity occurred because elderly people were neither evacuated nor protected effectively. More women are coming forward with stories of sexual. Upon making landfall, it had 120-140 mph winds and stretched 400 miles across the coast. By 7 p.m. everyone was inside and had been checked. 99% of the 1.2 million personal property claims, The National Flood Insurance Program paid out $16 billion in claims, The majority of all federal aid, approximately $75 billion of $120.5 billion. He made two requests: Hed need a large contingent of National Guardsmen, and a few hours Sunday morning to prepare. Those without cars were in theory going to be picked up by city buses at stops throughout the city and taken two hours north of New Orleans. [16], At midnight that same day, a private helicopter arrived to evacuate some members of the National Guard and their families. Blanco declined to seek reelection in 2007, and died in 2019. The hurricane and its aftermath claimed more than 1,800 lives, and it ranked as the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history. This is 40 or 50 feet up in the air. The men found a weak spot in the wall, a metal panel around head height, and punched a hole through it. Hurricane Ivan it was less than that. Thorntons staff opened up the concourses, allowing people to walk around the arena, stretch their legs, find neighbors and friends who were there as well. They had to find out if they could move these people. The area east of the Industrial Canal was the first part of the city to flood; by the afternoon of August 29, some 20 percent of the city was underwater. First went the disabled and the elderly. Parishioners gather during Sunday services in the rebuilt church on May 10, 2015. The outer ends of the hurricane also produced tornados, although they only damaged power lines and trees. . He flew on to Gonzales, where his wife was waiting for him. Thornton and Mouton were walking away from the meeting when they heard a loud bang. 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. Despite the strength of Hurricane Katrina, there was little about the storm that made it intrinsically deadly. Thornton and his skeleton crew he only had 18 management staff and security officers there, along with the National Guard had to figure out how to best prepare the building to serve as a shelter. It would be impossible to drive there with the roads in their current state, so Mouton called inBlackhawk helicopters to get them. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, Canadian teacher with size-Z prosthetic breasts placed on paid leave, What's next for Buster Murdaugh after dad's murder conviction, life sentence, US home prices just did something they haven't done since 2012, Tom Sandoval drops out of interview amid backlash from Raquel Leviss scandal, Rebel Wilson says Meghan Markle isnt as naturally warm as Prince Harry, Kristen Doute supports Ariana Madix amid mutual ex Tom Sandovals scandal, March 4, 1984: Martina Navratilova defeats Chris Evert at MSG, Tom Sizemore And The Dangerous Burden of Desperation, Tom Sandoval breaks silence on Ariana Madix split amid cheating claims. 14 Days - A Timeline | The Storm | FRONTLINE | PBS And food was running short. Only after Katrina passed were people going to be bussed to shelters. Though leaving in the light of day would be easier, it could also cause hysteria from those left behind in the Dome. The water was still rising. Duette Sims stands in the heavily damaged Christian Community Baptist Church in New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward on August 28, 2007. Hurricane Katrina facts and information - Environment The massive hurricane exposed major issues with the citys infrastructure, left thousands upon thousands of people without any place to stay, destroying their homes and leaving their neighborhoods in ruins. A FEMA medical team at the Superdome on August 31, 2005. The Superdome was, as far as Thornton was concerned, completely destroyed. FEMA had sent the trucks to act as a makeshift morgue. As far as natural disasters go, Hurricane Katrina was a bad one. [33][40] It was confirmed that no one was murdered in the Superdome. However, "many of its admonitory lessons were either ignored or inadequately applied." That night SMG sent a private helicopter to evacuate the staff and their families. And although President Bush said on September 1, "I don't think anyone anticipated the breach of the levees," days before Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, the White House was informed that the levees were likely to overtop and breach. Most deaths were caused by acute and chronic diseases (47%), and drowning (33%). In addition, many of the underlying systemic inequalities and problems that resulted in the severity of the disaster still have not been addressed. The Superdome with the newly repaired roof, August 15, 2006. Food rotted inside of hundreds of refrigerators and freezers spread throughout the building; the smell was inescapable. The Industrial Canal was later breached as well, flooding the neighborhood known as the Lower Ninth Ward. Finally, Mouton spoke. Back in 2005, Nagin went on the Today Show and said, "it wouldn't be unreasonable to have 10,000" deaths from Hurricane Katrina. In contrast, over half the nursing homes in New Orleans decided against early evacuation. No one knew what would happen. But subsequent investigations revealed that not only was there prior knowledge that the storm was going to hit but that "long-term warnings went unheeded and government officials neglected their duties to prepare for a forewarned catastrophe," according to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. [49][50] Grambling State University beat Southern University, 5035.[51]. Evacuees crowd the floor of the Astrodome in Houston on September 2, 2005. [33] False reports of gunshots also disrupted medical evacuations at the dome. At its height as a category 5 hurricane over the Gulf of Mexico, Katrinas wind speeds exceeded 170 miles per hour. [22][23][24] The last large group from the Superdome was evacuated on September 3. Many of them boarded without having any idea of where they were headed. Nearly half the fatalities in Louisiana were people over the age of 74. [48] Overall, the team used six different stadiums for their six home games, including Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Cajun Field in Lafayette, Joe Aillet Stadium in Ruston, Malone Stadium in Monroe, and LaddPeebles Stadium in Mobile, Alabama. The air smelled toxic. They had no good options. Doug and Denise Thornton woke early to drive back to New Orleans. They treated us like animals. On June 4, 2006, Pamela Mahogany was interviewed for her personal experience involving the events following Hurricane Katrina. We can't house people for five or six days. She had heard a lot, from the National Guard, from her husband, from rumors among the employees. ", Socialist Alternative writes the budget of the Crops was slashed after 2003, largely to pay for the Iraq War and tax cuts for the wealthy: "A refusal to invest tens of millions of dollars into strengthening levees has led to a catastrophe that will cost hundreds of billions of dollars." However, this didn't happen because the storm was too strong it happened due to the failures of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. After levees and flood walls protecting New Orleans failed, much of the city was underwater. On May 16, 2015, new homes stand in a development, built by the Make It Right Foundation, for residents whose homes were destroyed. Some 1.2 million Louisianans were displaced for months or even years, and thousands never returned. WATCH:I Was There: Hurricane Katrina: Rescue Swimmer. More Stories Emerge of Rapes in Post-Katrina Chaos : NPR A few blocks away, the strobes inside Charity Hospital flashed. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. It was a good option, but one never used. [14] With no power or clean water supply, sanitary conditions within the Superdome had rapidly deteriorated. In 2004, the federal government sponsored a "planning exercise" involving local, state, and federal officials that resembled the eventual impact of Hurricane Katrina. In the hours before the storm hit and thenafter it left when the levees failedand everything changed the people who remained in New Orleans streamed toward a place where usually they would go to watch football, the massive structure at the citys heart, the Superdome. Katrina victim who died in wheelchair honored - NBC News It took 17 men several hours to do the job. Taking them in through the exterior door would have been quicker, but Thorntoncouldnt risk the flood of water if they opened the back door. Ive been in there seven days, and I havent had a bath. estimated population had increased to 376,971. Inside the Superdome, things were descending further into hell. Heres a look at some statistics from Hurricane Katrina. After a traffic jam kept buses from arriving at the Superdome for nearly four hours, a near-riot broke out in the scramble to get on the buses that finally did show up. FEMA infamously brought in trailers, "hastily built and steeped in toxic resins," that were used to house people after the hurricane. A refill was supposed to be on the way that day, but opening the door for the fuel truck would flood the room. Soon after they arrived, officialsenacted contraflow, shutting down all roads leading in and opening up every lane out of the city. FEMA photo/Andrea Booher. [45] However, the Saints announced that they would be returning to New Orleans, with the first home game taking place on September 25, 2006 against the Atlanta Falcons on Monday Night Football. And since the hurricane evacuation plan stipulated that "the primary means of hurricane evacuation will be personal vehicles," according to "Hurricane Katrina: A Nation Still Unprepared" (the Senate committee's report), this left the state's most impoverished and vulnerable families, the large majority of whom were people of color, without anywhere to go as Hurricane Katrina hit. Meanwhile, flooding continued to worsen in New Orleans. Rather, the hurricane was named in accordance with the World Meteorological Organizations lists of hurricane names, which rotate every six years. Up to a month after Hurricane Katrina, over 100 children were still unaccounted for, and it took until November to find everyone. Governor Blanco's comment regarding M-16s was likely in response to the reports of snipers shooting at police and rescue workers. [41], After the events surrounding Katrina, the Superdome was not used during the 2005 NFL season. In death, she became a symbol of government failure an anonymous woman slumped in a wheelchair, abandoned outside one of the city's . 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. It continued on a course to the northeast, crossing the Mississippi Sound and making a second landfall later that morning near the mouth of the Pearl River. Thornton and Mouton went to work, spending a hour writing up a two-page, handwritten list of everything they needed. I Was There: Hurricane Katrina Superdome Survivor - HISTORY No one had a better plan, so they agreed to go with Moutons recommendation. Robert Fontaine walks past a burning house fire in New Orleans' Seventh Ward on September 6, 2005. for victims from Orleans and St. Bernard Parish, where 86% of Katrina deaths occurred. Water poured onto the field. He just broke down. Out of the at least 1,800 deaths caused by Hurricane Katrina, nearly half were elderly people. In New Orleans, where much of the greater metropolitan area is below sea level, federal officials initially believed that the city had dodged the bullet. While New Orleans had been spared a direct hit by the intense winds of the storm, the true threat was soon apparent. The levee system that held back the waters of Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Borgne had been completely overwhelmed by 10 inches (25 cm) of rain and Katrinas storm surge. With limited power, no plumbing, a shredded roof and not nearly enough supplies to deal with 30,000 evacuees, it became a symbol of how unprepared the city and country had been for a storm experts knew could arrive. Hurricane Katrina itself was a natural phenomenon, but most of the flooding in and around New Orleans was the result of the poor construction and design of the city's flood-protection system by. Gunfire has ricocheted down the corridors. As the already strained levee system continued to give way, the remaining residents of New Orleans were faced with a city that by August 30 was 80 percent underwater. After it made landfall in Louisiana on August 29, Hurricane Katrina produced widespread flooding in southeastern Louisiana because the levee system that held back the waters of Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Borgne was completely overwhelmed by 10 inches of rain and Katrinas storm surge. A school bus drops off a student in front of the Claiborne Bridge on May 12, 2015. By the following afternoon Katrina had become one of the most powerful Atlantic storms on record, with winds in excess of 170 miles (275 km) per hour. The moonlight was shining on the water., She paused. The New Orleans Saints played four of their scheduled home games at LSU's Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, three at the Alamodome in San Antonio, and one at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The federal response to Hurricane Katrina was just as bad as state and local responses. [10][11] On August 28, the Louisiana National Guard delivered three truckloads of water and seven truckloads of MREs (meals ready to eat), enough to supply 15,000 people for three days. Brown. Twice a week we compile our most fascinating features and deliver them straight to you. This place wont be here in six days.. Why did Hurricane Katrina lead to widespread flooding? A few of these groups wandered the concourse, stealing food and attacking anyone who stood up to them. Cooper housing project. This was it. At 1:30 in the morning, Denise Thornton walked with her group up to the helipad, out in the open air, and there it was. The buildings air conditioning system would no longer run, nor would the refrigeration system keeping massive amounts of food from spoiling.
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