C U P I D

1
CUPID
olumbianiversityartnership onnternationalevelo
pment

• Forum on Hurricane Katrina
• October 10, 2005

2
The Storm Gathers

• August 25
• Katrina hits South Florida as a Category 1
  hurricane.
• August 26
• Amid dire warnings by forecasters, Governors of
  Mississippi
• and Louisiana declare states of emergency.
• August 27
• With Katrina reaching Category 3 strength over
  the Gulf of
• Mexico, evacuees flee the Gulf Coast. Highways
  out of New
• Orleans are jammed.
• August 28
• Katrina reaches Category 5 strength, with 175 mph
  winds. New
• Orleans mayor Ray Nagin orders a mandatory
  evacuation of
• the city.

3
August 29th The Storm Hits

• 4am
• Katrina is downgraded to a Category 4 hurricane.
• 11am
• Hurricane Katrina hits the Gulf coast, wreaking
  havoc
• in the states of Louisiana, Mississippi and
  Alabama.
• Two levees breached in New Orleans
• Roof of the Superdome partially torn off
• National Weather Service reports total
  structural failure in parts of New Orleans
• 30-foot storm surge hits the Mississippi
  coastline
• 10pm
• Katrina is downgraded to a tropical storm.

4
The Damage Becomes Apparent

• August 30
• New Orleans suffers from no power, no drinking
  water, dwindling food supplies, widespread
  looting, and fires.
• 80 of the city is flooded, with water rising
  from major levee breaches, which DHS Chief
  Chertoff has only just learned of.
• Rescuers begin collecting stranded people from
  rooftops and sweeping through neighborhoods, with
  instructions to ignore dead bodies floating in
  the water.
• August 31
• Mayor Nagin warns of mass casualties and orders
  complete evacuation of New Orleans, where 100,000
  people remain.
• President Bush cuts short his Texas retreat,
  taking an aerial tour of the disaster zone.
• Public health emergency declared for the entire
  Gulf Coast.

5
Failure, Anarchy, Anger

• September 1
• A horrified nation and world digest scenes of
  forlorn refugees along with reports of deaths,
  looting, shootings, car-jackings, and rapes
  especially at the Superdome Convention Center.
• Rescuers and relief providers are met with
  violent protest.
• Local police abandon relief efforts to tackle
  lawlessness.
• Gasoline prices spike as high as 5 per gallon.
• Homeland Security chief announces the deployment
  of 4,200 National Guard troops. Louisiana
  governor requests 40,000.
• Three days after FEMA arrived, there still is
  no command and control This is a national
  emergency. This is a national disgrace... We can
  send massive amounts of aid to tsunami victims,
  but we can't bail out the city of New Orleans.
• - Terry Ebert, head of New Orleans
  emergency operations.
• Mayor Nagin issues a desperate SOS for
  assistance.

6
The Feds Finally Respond

• September 2
• President Bush (AM) Brownie, youre doing a
  heck of a job.
• President Bush (PM) On board Air Force One, Bush
  gets an earful from congressman and state and
  local officials. the president just shook his
  head, as if he couldn't believe what he was
  hearing. He signs a 10.5 billion relief
  package.
• 58,000 National Guard and 17,000 active duty
  troops pour into the Gulf Coast.
• Relief convoys reach the Convention Center.
• Under the command of Lt. Gen. Russell Honore,
  thousands of National Guard troops restore order
  to New Orleans.
• Texas officials report that 154,000 evacuees have
  arrived there.
• September 5
• The Army Corps of Engineers finishes patching
  the levees and begins draining New Orleans.

7
The Aftermath

• September 2
• Members of the Congressional Black Caucus charge
  that relief efforts are so sluggish because those
  most affected are poor.
• September 5
• And so many of the people in the arena here, you
  know, were underprivileged anyway, so this is
  working very well for them." Barbara Bush
• September 7
• Congress establishes a bipartisan committee to
  investigate the response to Katrina at all levels
  of government.
• September 8
• Congress approves 51.8 billion for relief
  efforts.
• FEMA starts handing out 2000 debit cards.
• 25,000 body bags sent to New Orleans.

8
The Aftermath

• September 10
• Army Corps of Engineers announces it expects to
  finish draining New Orleans in October.
• September 11
• Despite earlier declarations, New Orleans police
  say they will not forcibly remove residents who
  choose to stay in the city.
• Temporary restraining order blocks government
  agencies from interfering with news coverage of
  recovery efforts.
• September 12
• FEMA Chief Michael Brown resigns.
• September 13
• President Bush I take responsibility.

9
The Aftermath

• September 15
• President Bush makes a primetime address
  proposing a package of federal measures to
  rebuild the Gulf Coast
• September 24
• Hurricane Rita causes a levee breach in New
  Orleans, re-flooding the 9th Ward. The Army Corps
  of Engineers estimates a setback of 2-3 weeks in
  levee repair.
• September 27
• New Orleans police chief resigns.
• Testifying before Congress, Michael Brown blames
  local authorities for the botched disaster
  response.
• October 4
• Official search for bodies ends in Louisiana

10
Katrina by the Numbers

• 1215
• 976
• gt2500
• 1.5m
• 150b
• 90,000
• 7
• 5th
• 140mph

Official Katrina death toll Louisiana death
toll Reported missing persons Evacuees from
Louisiana Monetary damages (initially estimated
at gt200b) Square miles of federally declared
disaster areas States with deaths (LA, MS, FL,
AL, GA, TN, KY) Most intense Atlantic hurricane
ever recorded Wind-speed of Katrina when it hit
Louisiana
11
Katrina by the Numbers

• 38
• 66.6
• 150,000
• 134,000
• 30,000
• 46,400
• 1m
• 70
• 1.7b

Poverty rate in New Orleans before Katrina Black
population in New Orleans Damaged properties in
New Orleans People who couldnt afford
transportation Refugees in out-of-state
shelters Refugees in in-state shelters in
Louisiana Applicants for federal aid Countries
offering aid Donations for Katrina relief
12
CUPID
olumbianiversityartnership onnternationalevelo
pment

• Forum on Hurricane Katrina
• October 10, 2005