Danny Glover once stated, “When Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf and the floodwaters rose and tore through New Orleans, it did not turn the region into a Third World country…it revealed one” (Glover). In the wake of this darkness, Hurricane Katrina proved to America that as a nation, there was no way to prepare for a cataclysmic natural event of this size. As the winds raged on and the waters crashed against the coast, ultimately drowning out around 80% of the state, Hurricane Katrina proved it was more than just a category five hurricane, but that it was a historical storm, holding a position of the third deadliest hurricane that has affected the United States of America. Hurricane Katrina not only proved the New Orleans levee system was
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Although New Orleans was and currently protected by approximately 350 miles of levee structure, around 170 miles of the structure took damage or ended up destroyed, this also includes the 53 breaches in which the levee system failed completely. Thus, one is left to imagine why the levee system failed. The article Understanding Katrina (Cover Story) mentions the under constructed system in their text by stating “The city's levees, many decades old, had been built to withstand only a Category 3 storm” (Gilgoff et al. 27). The article also mentions that scientists and even the Red Cross warned of potential flooding by saying “The Red Cross listed a direct hurricane hit on New Orleans as the nation's deadliest natural-disaster threat a few years ago. Everyone, it seemed, knew the risks. Scientists at Louisiana State University had warned that even a Category 3 storm could dump up to 27 feet of water in some neighborhoods” (Gilgoff et al. 27). Although, the reasoning for not upgrading the levees may be justified. “Decreases in funding for hurricane protection began four years ago and have come fast and furious since then. This year, representatives from Louisiana asked for $27.1 million for hurricane protection, saw the request slashed by the White House, but managed to nudge it back up to nearly $6 million.” (Gilgoff et al. 27). One can worry, that if the Government failed to give the money to upgrade the levees, what other infrastructure are they failing to keep up to
Although New Orleans was and currently protected by approximately 350 miles of levee structure, around 170 miles of the structure took damage or ended up destroyed, this also includes the 53 breaches in which the levee system failed completely. Thus, one is left to imagine why the levee system failed. The article Understanding Katrina (Cover Story) mentions the under constructed system in their text by stating “The city's levees, many decades old, had been built to withstand only a Category 3 storm” (Gilgoff et al. 27). The article also mentions that scientists and even the Red Cross warned of potential flooding by saying “The Red Cross listed a direct hurricane hit on New Orleans as the nation's deadliest natural-disaster threat a few years ago. Everyone, it seemed, knew the risks. Scientists at Louisiana State University had warned that even a Category 3 storm could dump up to 27 feet of water in some neighborhoods” (Gilgoff et al. 27). Although, the reasoning for not upgrading the levees may be justified. “Decreases in funding for hurricane protection began four years ago and have come fast and furious since then. This year, representatives from Louisiana asked for $27.1 million for hurricane protection, saw the request slashed by the White House, but managed to nudge it back up to nearly $6 million.” (Gilgoff et al. 27). One can worry, that if the Government failed to give the money to upgrade the levees, what other infrastructure are they failing to keep up to