FEDERALISM AND HURRICANE KATRINA
Federal, State and Local government all failed to communicate with each other in dealing with Hurrican Katrina. Hundreds lost their lives in the aftermath. Politicians spent a great deal of time blaming each other. The babies of Katrina are now attending high school. We will be talking to the kids in this video via Skype in class.a) Please watch the above video and please offer a comment based on your reaction and your familiarity with government agancies dealing with crisis management. Was Sandy easier for New Yorkers because of the lessons earned from Katrina?
b) What should have been done that was not done, in your opinion? Please answer in the context of vocabulary from chapter 3.
a) New Yorkers whom experienced Hurricane Sandy definitely had an easier time dealing with the situation because not only was the natural damage substantially less severe, but the government had mobilized troops to relieve local citizens as early as 5 am the following morning, from my own personal experience. After dealing with Hurricane Katrina, and especially the negative light in which it painted the federal government, it is safe to assume that the government re-evaluated their emergency plans and were much more willing to mobilize forces immediately.
ReplyDeleteb) Despite the plethora of excuses made by both the state and federal government, it is completely unreasonable to believe that the governments did not know what was going on during and following the hurricane: news teams covered the city's struggles and the government undoubtedly has the technology and intelligence to obtain the facts of the situation. The government should have mobilized forces such as buses, food and water, military directors and rescue teams as soon as they could safely do so. Even if the preliminary supplies were limited, the government was completely capable and should have acted on emergency procedures in order to at least provide immediate relief and gauge what needed to be done next.
Which government (Federal, State or local) are you referring to in answer B?
DeleteAll three governments should have done more. The local government, while they could not have done too much during or after the storm in terms of contacting higher levels for help could have done more in requesting help prior to the storm, putting stricter programs in place & ensuring that public officials/ police officers reported for duty in the days following the storm. The state government should have declared a state of emergency earlier, got in contact with the national government to request supplies/manpower and mobilized whatever forces they had. The national government should have mobilized any forces they could have (as I said above) or at least sent in representatives to gauge the necessary actions to be taken, instead of waiting for the state governments to give them specifics of the situation.
Deletea. Hurricane Sandy was much smaller of a storm than Hurricane Katrina. During Sandy much less damage was done. But the United States government once again failed to immediately respond and be there for the endurers of the storm. While it was taken care of comparatively in a more timely manner, people still had to wait months until recieving any relief from their state governments or FEMA. This is unacceptable because history is repeating itself. Once again, the United States must reavaluate its emergency plans.
ReplyDeleteb. The state and federal government claimed to be caught off guard and not understand what's going on. This is unacceptable.Our government should have no excuse and never be caught off guard. With all the technology and advancements that we have, the fact that troops were not imediately in Louisiana to give relief is crazy. The state and federal governments should have immdediately mobilized troops, even being ready to deploy before the storm began. State governments are given the right to control public health and safety, but they didn't. The didn't do their job, so why do they deserve this power if they can not effectively use it? The federal government controls the national military and they failed to use it effectively. This should never happen in America. Hopefully, if America experiences another natural disaster in the future, the federal government will have learned from its previous mistakes.
Try to qualify some of the extreme statements you offer with facts (Unacceptable, never get caught off guard, ecetera) Be clear as to which level of government you are referring..
DeleteThe national government was caught off guard with Hurricane Katrina, that is unacceptable. Instead of immediately declaring a state of emergency, the state government waited until 2 days before the actual hurricane. This cost the lives of many in Louisiana. The local government even failed to communicate throughout its police force, as many of the cops who should have been there to help were gone. This is an example of a failure by the local, state, and national governments. In Hurricane Sandy, New York state attempted to make a much better effort at helping citizens, but still came up short. The amount of time it took for some response was unacceptable. The federal government messed up with its FEMA awards, as some who lost their houses were not entitled to any federal compensation.
Deletea) Hurricane Sandy’s damage made an impact on New York communities, but paled in comparison to the almost permanent destruction in Louisiana caused by the disaster of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Victims of Hurricane Katrina were not given any relief from the national government when it came to basic human needs: food, water, shelter, and clothing. Housing and treatment given by the state of Louisiana was only expected to be effective for a temporary amount of time, but was needed for more time than it should have due to the federal government’s absence in responding to the communities’ needs. It took nearly a week for President Bush to denounce the poor response to the needs of the people by the government. The Hurricane caused a disaster in both the society and the government and forced the federal government to adapt its strategies if a disaster were to strike again. When it did in 2012, the government response was much faster and definitely helped people and communities recover, but it was still disorganized and left questions of how the government can further improve its disaster response strategies.
ReplyDeleteb) The very fact that the first responders to give relief were Canadians is disheartening considering the U.S. was built as a country run by the people, for the people. I agree with Jake and Danni’s opinions in that the state and federal governments should have mobilized troops and rescue teams in advance in order to provide immediate help. Doing a lot of preparation in advance is a risk if the severity is low, but based on all of the storm signals and weather readings, meteorologists were able to tell Hurricane Katrina was going to make a serious impact. The state governments were not able to effectively provide and maintain public health and safety after resources were destroyed. Virtually no other states provided necessary resources for Louisiana to keep people in healthy conditions, considering they were using facilities with minimal electricity and unsanitary living quarters. In times of crisis, the states have to become more united and respond to one another even if only one region of the country is in peril. This interstate help was given during the recovery from Hurricane Sandy, which allowed more people to recover faster.
"Virtually no other states provided necessary resources for Louisiana to keep people in healthy conditions, considering they were using facilities with minimal electricity and unsanitary living quarters"....double check this statement and consider what Texas did? (You can look it up with a quick google search)
DeleteRelief given to the victims of Louisiana from other states started with the movement of evacuees into Texas’ Astrodome. After the Astrodome reached its capacity of 25,000 people, buildings adjacent to the Dome were opened to house additional evacuees. All events were cancelled at these arenas to provide lasting shelter for the evacuees. Texas Governor Rick Perry activated an emergency plan that sent more people across the state into cities such as San Antonio and Dallas. When the number of evacuees reached 230,000, Governor Perry ordered buses to take evacuees to other states such as Oklahoma and Arkansas. Eventually, Governor Perry declared a state of emergency and made more attempts to relocate more evacuees into other states. The Texas communities opened up their school districts, health services, food –stamp programs, and state parks to the Louisiana evacuees’ use. The actions of the state government of Texas sparked a movement for other states to begin helping the victims of Hurricane Katrina, a process that, although slow, was able to provide people with more equitable services and turned them toward the direction of recovery.
Deletea) I'm actually rather speechless after watching the devastating effects that Hurricane Katrina had on the thousands of people and families living in the communities in New Orleans. Days upon weeks without aid or assistance, the people living in the area must have felt helpless and or abandoned. and in the end the first ones to offer aid were non-other than the Canadians, not even their own government, disappointing. Hurricane ("Super Storm") Sandy, without a doubt, was less severe to both the Long Island, Newyork, and New Jersey communities, and the government surely had a more immediate and planned out response in comparison. Based on the events that conspired durin g Katrina it is understandable that the government reevaluated their plan of action when dealing gwith Storm disasters
ReplyDeleteb) Completely unforgivable, even if the government did underestimate the devastation effects and damages caused by Katrina does not excuse the fact that they could have done so much more to assist and aid those who needed it. instead of sending in rescue teams or emergency supplies, these resources were held untill they could get their head together and reevaluate their plan of action. After-all, it mush have taken a while to read theough and enforce a 500 page "plan-of-action"
Be clear as to which level of government you are referring..
Deletea) The federal government learned how to protect its citizens more efficiently and effectively during times of emergency due to Hurricane Katrina. Knowing that Obama was running for re-election during Sandy, he need to keep the victims of Sandy on the East Coast in his corner by ensuring that food and shelter were brought to those who needed it immediately. Sandy was thus easier for New Yorkers to handle not only because Sandy was not nearly as server of a storm as Katrina was, but because the federal government planned ahead. The morning after Sandy, FEMA was trying to get areas up and running again, whether it was by providing food, transportation or shelter.
ReplyDeleteb) The federal, local and state governments should have planned more accordingly for technological issues that were to occur due to the loss of power, so that communication with Katrina's victims would not suffer. In addition, FEMA and the feral government should've done a better job with supplying the Baton Rouge dome of helpless citizens with food and water. It also should not have taken the government over five days to provide means of transportation for evacuating victims who were trapped in New Orleans since Katrina first struck. Thus, the three levels of governments should have worked together to organize a more efficient way for evacuation and should've thought of many different plans incase one did in fact prove ineffective. For the protection of the infants and children who were too young to master the art of adaptation to unfamiliar situations, the government should have perhaps established a place for families with young kids to go to keep safe.
A. While watching the videos on Hurricane Katrina, I was horrified by the destruction it caused to New Orleans. The fact that thousands of people were stranded in/on their own house for days without any assistance from the government is appalling. People were living without food, water and shelter and the Federal/National Government seemed to be almost oblivious to the hardships many people had to go through. Immediate aid was not given to Americans in need. However, after going through Katrina,it is clear the federal government learned important lessons on how to react quicker and more efficiently when put in a similar situation like Hurricane Sandy. Although Sandy was definitely not as devastating as Katrina, it still took a toll on many people. The actions of the government were more prepared following Hurricane Sandy and more people got the help they needed more readily. As a result the disaster was cleaned up in a timely and effective matter.
ReplyDeleteB. I believe that the Federal government should have taken better action when it came to further enforcing the protection of the people of the community that were struck with Katrina. It is unacceptable that the people were being told that help was on its way from the national guard and military when there wasn't. They should have sent much more people to enforce the law when the population started building up in the small quarters such as the mega dome etc. They also should have been more prepared to send in important resources such as food and medical supplies to help the survivors in need.
What role do yo believe the state should have played?...The local government?
DeleteA. Hurricane Katrina was a storm of greater magnitude than Hurricane Sandy, and the costliest Atlantic hurricane in history. It is upsetting to know after watching that footage that the U.S. government did not respond immediately to the victims of Katrina who were left abandoned on rooftops without food and water. It is even worse that the first group to send help was Canadian. That goes to show our government is inefficient when dealing with crisis management. Though that was 2005, the government failed to prepare better for the next big storm. While Hurricane Sandy in 2012 was a much smaller storm, government agencies still did not act quick enough to respond and aid the victims. Personally, my house recieved substantial damage and I was displaced till February. Three and a half weeks after the storm a government official came down my block to ask if there were any known injuries to people from the storm. Even if someone had been hurt after the storm, three and a half weeks is a long period of time for someone to be sent to check out the situation in certain neighborhoods. Thus I feel that our government is still inefficient when it comes to dealing with crisis management. However, I would still say Sandy was a little easier for New Yorkers than Katrina was to the people of New Orleans because as of now everything is pretty much back to normal. Hurricane Katrina was in 2005 and they still are not done rebuilding their community.
ReplyDeleteB. Federal government, as well as the state governments, could have organized rescue teams and troops to send food, water, and aid to New Orleans. If that had been done the victims would not have suffered as badly as they did because they would have potential shelter, resources, and food available to them. Next time a major storm is predicted to make landfall in the United States, the federal government should take precautions such as preparing vehicles and troops with essential resources for living. In addition the state governments should help out other states in time of crisis; a reserved power is to take measure for public health, safety and morals, thus state governments can take initiative too in assiting victims of natural disasters like Hurricane Sandy and Hurricane Katrina.
Thus I feel that our government is still inefficient when it comes to dealing with crisis management. ( Consider this statement in the context of the vocabulary term: GOVERNMENT EFFICACY)
DeleteA) Hurricane Katrina is a completely different situation than Sandy. Hurricane Katrina had a much bigger impact on people and their lives. It caused destruction that I could not even imagine and left people suffering for many weeks without food and water. There was nowhere else to go for these people, they were trapped, and it is a shame that the Federal Government did not put in more of an effort to help quicker. Something should have been done to help the people who were suffering through this. This was way different than Sandy because although Sandy caused destruction it was nowhere near as bad as Hurricane Katrina. Also, after Sandy, there were houses to go to and get shelter, food water, and electricity that were not flooded. Also, people were not concentrated in one area with out basic needs such as food and water. The government should have been quicker to help after Hurricane Katrina and I believe that since they realized that they were quicker to help with a storm that was not nearly as detrimental.
ReplyDeleteB) Almost everything should have been done differently the people were suffering and the government was doing very little to help. The government’s job is to protect the people so when there is a natural disaster they should pay more attention to the human beings that are suffering from the damage. More should have been done to get people out of the superdome, but more importantly more should have been done to get food and supplies to these people so that they could survive. More should have been done by the government to rescue people off the rooftops and from drowning because these are human lives that could have been saved that were being ignored. Overall, more action should have been taken by the government to help these Americans and they should not have tried to act like the destruction was not that bad. They should have sent way more buses, food, water and supplies, because I am sure whatever else they were using it for was not as important.
a.) Hurricane Katrina was a much more severe hurricane than Hurricane Sandy. Many more lives were lost during Hurricane Katrina compared to the more recent Hurricane Sandy because of the lack of cooperation among the Federal government. Although many New Yorkers lost their houses and faced a lot of destruction, they were able to recover from the damage more easily because of the actions taken by the Federal government. The more organized plan that was seen during Hurricane Sandy proves that the Federal government has learned from their mistakes during Hurricane Katrina.
ReplyDeleteb.) Evacuation was one major factor that was not well organized. Communication about the storm was also not clear or efficient. In my opinion, the Federal government should have worked better with the State and Local governments in order to aid the people. They could have brought more food and supplies in order to prevent the high amount of deaths. In order to recover, the Federal government could have sent block grants in order to help the state recover more quickly. However, now it is important that the Federal, State, and Local governments learned from this tragic experience in order to operate more efficiently in the future.
A. With all the knowledge we do know about Hurricane Katrina, this video shows that the damage and heartache could only be felt as severely if you were there. I think that because of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, emergency help plans for us in Hurricane Sandy were better. However, it is still necessary for the government to continue to improve on their emergency plans because in both situations people were it without help for too long, especially in regards to Katrina in New Orleans. It is obvious that Sandy had much less of a damaging effect on New York than did Katrina on New Orleans, but it is still a similar situation in which history seems to be repeating itself, which needs to be stopped ASAP.
ReplyDeleteB. I think that the local, federal, and state government should have had better plans to work together in a time of such crisis. They should have had food and water and busing ready for use once they heard of even a relatively big storm coming its way. It is better to take big strides in a precautionary direction rather than to be ill equipped in a crisis especially when it becomes a life or death situation for many people trying to survive. When the lives of many are in the hands of the government they need to know how to work together to do anything they can to save the lives of victims first. Nothing should be more important than that. In general, the government needs to join forces and create a stable emergency system for future references, learn from its mistakes, and pray that nothing like this will happen again. Also, the government should have put its best effort forward in controlling the people in the control center, rather than being afraid of them because they were armed. If they put their frights aside many lives could have been spared in the process.
A. The difference in the scale of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Sandy was shocking to me. The whole "super storm" Sandy does not really deserve its title when compared with what happened during the real super storm of Katrina. Clearly the situation during Katrina was on many levels above of what actually happened in my neighborhood. Moreover, I know that the government under President Bush had a poor response time to the storm compared to Sandy. I believe that the government has ironed out some of its problems since that time however the response to emergency is still not the best. New Yorkers definitely had a better time recovering because the storm was not as devastating and the government had experienced of how to deal with the situation.
ReplyDeleteB. The government, I believe, did not take the storm as seriously as it needed to be taken. First, I think that the government should have organized some kind of evacuation procedure for the citizens of the state. At the local level, news channels advised people to leave and get away however for some that would be impossible because of their situation or lack of money. The National Government should have taken action even before the storm hit, helping people evacuate out, and preventing them from taking shelter in places that were not meant for shelter. Second, the response before, during, and after the storm was poor to the extent that people were left without help for several days. The Government predicted that the levees would be flooded, but did not predict the breach of the levees. Not siding on the side of caution ended up with an outcome more devastating then it could have been. Additionally, what made me feel quite hopeless about our government were the situations in the hospitals. In the video that was provided, health care workers could only save those who could say their names. Rationing health supplies to the sick should have pushed the government to respond faster than they did. Hopefully, most of these complications have been reviewed after what happened and would make the government at all levels more prepared for similar storms in the future.
A. The effects of Hurricane Katrina were more devastating than that of Sandy. This was due to the fact that the federal government didn’t respond effectively to those affected by such a large devastating storm. As a result of the federal government’s ineffectiveness it was forced to reevaluate its plan. This led them to be more responsive during Hurricane Sandy. Although the effects of Sandy were also terrible, the government was able to react faster and provide supplies quicker. Some are still left without homes from Sandy, so although the government reacted better, it still needs to change its emergency plans.
ReplyDeleteB. It is unacceptable for the state and federal government to state that they weren’t aware of what was occurring. The government should have known considering it was being covered by the news. The government should have immediately responded with rescue teams, evacuation buses, and food and water. The state government didn’t do their job in providing public health and safety and the federal government didn’t do their job in mobilizing troops. Communication between the local, state, and federal governments needs to be improved so the recovery effort can be quicker and more efficient. This disaster should have become the main focus of the government in order to save more lives. This is completely unacceptable and the government needs to rethink their emergency plans and be prepared for such natural disasters.
A. After watching both the videos from ABC and the St Bernard's local government, it was very obvious that the federal government was not prepared for the devastation that Katrina created. The federal government was waiting for the local government, to tell the state, then the state to tell the feds; the problem with that was it was confusing, and delaying the immediate action the people of New Orleans needed. During the misinformed first five days after Katrina hit, the people of New Orleans were either living in a super dome with 20,000 other people, or their flooded homes. Comparing Sandy to Katrina baffling, Sandy was definitely hard, but Katrina was a natural disaster without any federal, or state aid.
ReplyDeleteB. The most important lesson our state, and federal government learned from Katrina is not to "wait for them (New Orleans) to tell you (state and federal government) want they need." Instead our government now understands people need immediate relief after a natural disaster: clean shelter, food, and fresh water. Even if communication is impossible between the local and federal government, due to down power lines, our government now knows to just go into the disaster area ready to saves lives, and with supplies. However, I do not believe our government now has a solid emergency plan, since Katrina mostly hit low income areas, while the majority of people Sandy hit were not. The reason so many people in New Orleans stayed was mostly because, they did not have any place to go/ transportation to get there, or they were ill informed. For the reason, our federal government may have mobilized properly Sandy, but will they in another future natural disaster?
A) The destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina was much more serious than the destruction caused by Hurricane Sandy. The government was too slow to react to the suffering people in New Orleans. Again, the government was too slow to react to the people in New York. The emergency plan of the United States needs to be reevaluated as a whole. The suffering during Katrina was more catastrophic than that of Hurricane Sandy because of the sheer force of the storm. However, the government was inadequate in both cases because of miscommunication. People were left on top of roofs in Hurricane Katrina, desperate for some kind of help. While I personally was not effected by Hurricane Sandy, my family was forced out of their home for months on end with little to no help from the government. The government should have improved their crisis plans after Hurricane Katrina, but because of a failure to act and communicate, the government proved inefficient once again.
ReplyDeleteB) Preparation for Hurricane Katrina would have made a world of a difference. The people of New Orleans were told to evacuate, but some citizens were unable to. The governments should have organized a better plan than to store 30,000 people in the Superdome, which was falling apart due to the strong winds of the Hurricane. Also, the governments could have organized a better plan concerning transportation. People were stranded, outside the Superdome and on rooftops, begging for help and the government failed to produce any sort of transportation to help. Transportation is an important part in saving the people.
A) I think that the real lesson learned from Katrina is that even in the modern world, humans are at the mercy of nature. the severity of an earthquake is better gauged when a similar event is remembered and provides a point of reference to understand the magnitude of a natural event. Aid was brought in almost immediately after the storm hit, which differs greatly from what happened in Katrina. While some lives where put on hold or displaced, not many were destroyed or ended. The storm was taken very seriously, by both the public and the politicians, even the media was calling it "Superstorm Sandy"
ReplyDeleteB) What could have been done differently was a valid evaluation of the situation at hand, and a worst-case scenario game-plan which could have been put into effect much earlier to alleviate the massive food and water shortages. Any additional help the government could have done would have been more effective, added organization, food and water distribution, or just letting the people know that they even cared, like not lying to them about trucks and buses, but actually sending them.
A) I was personally affected by Hurricane Sandy but I can easily say that Hurricane Katrina was overwhelmingly worse. Personally experiencing the Sandy, the floods were pretty bad and it destroyed half of my house leaving us without majority of our house for many months. From watching the videos you can clearly see Katrina was much worse since all of the homes and businesses were destroyed beyond repair and the flood lasted 13 days while it only lasted a few hours in our situation. The government responded much quicker to Sandy looking at the mistakes they had made in the past and the National Guard was there to help everyone who was in danger, but Katrina took days for people to show up and help. You can even see the difference through the death toll. Very few if any people lost their lives from Sandy while almost 200 people died from Katrina, and most homes were repaired after Sandy although many took expansive time periods, but Katrina completely devastated every home.
ReplyDeleteB) Although the national and state governments claim to have been confused and didn’t know the severity of it when they took a long time to help, they should have helped immediately. They could have sent troops immediately with food, water, and tried to provide shelter. They also should have ordered and evacuation and could have checked that everyone evacuated beforehand if they knew there would be severe weather either way. The goal of our government is to protect its people and react well to immediate situations; they should be here to protect the people when they need it the most. There is no excuse for the lack of support they provided because their first reaction should have been to send help in some sort of way to try and save many of the lives that were lost.
A) Hurricane Sandy was absolutely easier to anticipate, contain, and recover from based on the lessons we learned from the devastation caused by the government's failures during Hurricane Katrina. Before Sandy hit, the state and local governments knew to take every precaution possible to minimize the damage. Of course, it goes without saying that the magnitude of Sandy can not even be prepared to that of Katrina and, frankly, the two should not even be referred to in the same context.
ReplyDeleteB) Failure to communicate. Failure to anticipate. Failure to execute. The sheer magnitude of Hurricane Katrina would have and did undoubtedly devastate New Orleans. However, the impact could have been significantly lessened had a proper response plan been created prior to the storm's eruption. The fact that during the storm primary officials had to resort to relying on a single line of communication that didn't even last is disgraceful. Emergency lines should have been put in place that would be able to withstand the impact of a disastrous storm. Furthermore, the entire mentality before and during the storm should have been "take action before necessity comes" rather than "wait to see what is needed, and then respond." The national guard should have been deployed well before the storm to aid and catalyze the evacuation process. It is unfathomable to think that they deemed it appropriate to merely issue a storm warning and believe that that would suffice. Given the proper emergency communication lines were established, then it would have been a quick process to initiate a search and rescue coordination between local services and federal troops.
A) Although Hurricane Sandy was rough for New Yorkers such as myself, the government's assistance to the matter was almost immediate to the matter. Between the assistance and the recovery time. It is clear that the government learned how to handle disasters such as these from their mistakes made after Katrina
ReplyDeleteB) In the video, the reporter said that a physician went around to all the patients. If the patients could say their own name, the hospital would provide them with IV fluids and help. If they couldn’t, then they don't get anything. The hospital should not have discriminated against certain people. They should have tried to help everyone. It is unfair for the doctors to say that the patients were “going to die anyway” as an excuse to not provide them with help. Eventually, everyone is “going to die anyway,” so the doctors in the hospital had no right to be that cruel.
a)While “Superstorm” Sandy wreaked havoc on NY and the north east US in general, there’s no denying that the situation in Louisiana during and following Hurricane Katrina was a much more devastating and ill conceived event overall. While I do not wish to disrespectfully label the experiences of NYers after Sandy to be “easier” than the experiences of those affected by Katrina, I will definitely say Katrina had a much larger and more exaggerated scope of destruction and subsequent recovery. I believe the US government learned a lot after Hurricane Katrina and was able to prevent making the same mistakes after Hurricane Sandy hit. From my own experiences, I know that after Sandy passed there was a strong sense of support and recovery right from the beginning as opposed to the delay that victims of Katrina had to suffer through. The government (local, state, and federal) responded promptly to assist the victims in NY by providing food, water, and shelter to many who needed it. On top of this, there have been many governmentally funded programs to assist Sandy victims with financial ruin after the damage and catastrophe of the storm. All of these things definitely facilitated NYers to overcome the hurricane and its effects quicker and with much more efficiency than the victims of Katrina.
ReplyDeleteb) When concerning the failures of the events of Hurricane Katrina; disorganization, ignorance, and disunity in regards to both the people and government come to mind. The local, state, and federal governments involved did not cohesively work together or with any type of efficiency before, during, AND after the storm swept through the Louisiana area. Government action was extremely naive and ignorant as each level pointed fingers at each other for their failures. This is exactly what should NOT happen during a disaster such as a hurricane. The government needed to exhibit more cooperative federalism as opposed to the ideals of new federalism. Especially concerning the relationship between the different levels of government; why were federal troops called in so late by the state of LA? Why weren’t evacuation measures enforced and more organized on the local level? Why weren’t the levees “protecting” the city in optimal condition? Many similar questions remain unanswered. The government should’ve utilized its vast resources to cooperatively coordinate a centralized, coordinated, and decisive plan that would have ensured the safety and well being of the American people affected. The politics of the situation should have been an afterthought during such a critical crisis.
A) I believe that the action time made by the government during the time of the Hurricane Sandy that hit L.I. and devastated many families in New York was very sufficient and was an immediate result because they had learned from the mistakes that were made after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. I think that because of the awareness that the government had raised truly helped anticipate what was going to happen and what needed to happen after the storm was over.
ReplyDeleteB) The lack of ability to anticipate the worst that could happen absolutely shattered any hope of immediate action during Hurricane Katrina from the government. There could have been so many more available resources to the citizens who were directly affected by this storm, but instead there was a lack there of and even just a lack of complete and total support coming out of the government which is unbelievable. The necessities for life and recovery should have been without a question in reach of those who needed it the most, and the fact that there was nothing for anyone is completely unacceptable and caused an extreme distrust in the USA citizens towards the government because they couldn't do the most important job of them all; protect the people.
A) Hurricane Sandy was a much smoother ride than Hurricane Katrina in many ways and there is much more to the situation than just how the government reacted. While the government was able to learn from the mistakes made during Hurricane Katrina when dealing with Hurricane Sandy, Katrina was a different situation. The flooding in Katrina was much worse and lasted much longer and a lot more people had no where to go and were subjected to much worse conditions. But the government still did perform better when dealing with Sandy in that they responded quickly and sent help and resources as quickly as possible. Hurricane Katrina was an eye-opener for the government and helped them not repeat the same mistakes when dealing with Hurricane Sandy.
ReplyDeleteB) There should have been a much greater sense of urgency when handling Hurricane Katrina. People were suffering and were in desperate need of help and the government on both the state and national level were blind to the desperation and vastness of the situation. There was no organization in handling the problems and no one stepped up to start fixing problems. Everyone looked for someone else to pass the problem on to and they just wanted to sweep it under the rug and move on instead of solve the problem. Ultimately the government basically ignored it's people in need. Although they can blame communication issues and lack of information it is inexcusable to allow for a situation as dire as the one surrounding Hurricane Katrina to be as bad as it was for so long without rushing in to help immediately.
A) Hurricane Katrina was obviously devastating to the Louisiana area, actions that could have been taken were not causing the crisis to become an impending struggle. The primary issue with Hurricane Katrina was the lack of preparation before the storm made land. New Orlean's mayor, Ray Nagin's decision to use the superdome as opposed to constructing an evacuation plan left thousands of people without food or water in the aftermath. The construction of levees that were unable to with stand hurricane conditions in an area that is prone to hurricanes caused tremendous flooding and propert lost. Complications in communication between the federal, state and local governments directly caused the recovery to take longer than it should have. Mostly all the relief that was offered was from federal action to move military troops into the area. This scramble and lack of preparation did not occur when Hurricane Sandy devastated the East coast in 2012. While Sandy was only a category 2 Hurricane when it hit the U.S. it affected over 24 states on the Atlantic side of the nation leaving over $68 billion in damages. In observing the differences in actions taken by governments in Katrina and Sandy; government response during Sandy was much better managed and the communication between the federal, state and local governments was much greater than during Katrina. In preparation for Sandy several measures were taken to ensure a qucik recovery. Power companies contacted personal contractors to repair damages after the storm. FEMA coordinated state and tribal emergency management partners to establish programs to assit the public after the storm was to hit. President Obama signed emergency decalarations to several states allowing them to request federal aid and make preparations prior to the storm. Airlines cancelled thousands of flights into and from the East Coast. Finally, the National Guard and Air Force was put on alert and respond during the aftermath. In the aftermath of the storm many individuals were left displaced and struggled for many mouths to replace their homes. However, none were left without food or water as during Hurricane Katrina. Relief programs donated millions of dollars in supplies and funds to ensure basic essentials to families affected. While recovery took long accommodations were made by all governments to give immediate relief; an action that was not taken during Katrina. Therefore, the complications that arose in Katrina obviously had affect on the actions taken by federal, state and local governments later during Hurricane Sandy.
ReplyDeleteB) Many actions should have been taken during Katrina that were not. Primarily, a better evacuation plan was needed by the federal government. If the federal government established evacuations that were executed by local law enforcement groups prior to the storm making land then there would have been less people stranded on roof tops and trapped in shelters with no food or water. In the aftermath of the storm the federal government should have also sent relief services directly into areas even more so than they did. The state governments should have acted to create quicker recovery using their funds and resources to restore power, distribute food and rebuild homes. Overall recovery should have taken less time and individuals should have not been stranded. Better communication and planning between the governments was necessary.
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ReplyDeleteA. The people who were affected by Sandy had a much easier time than those who dealt with Katrina. When Katrina occurred, the National Government came very slowly to the aid of the citizens who were affected by this disaster. While people were homeless and dying in the streets, there were little to no people coming to aid them. Those of us, however, who were affected by Sandy had a much easier time than most of the people affected by Katrina. We got immediate aid from the state and federal Government organizations such as FEMA, who distributed food and other commodities to those who could not or did not have any. The Federal Government had Katrina to learn how to deal with a disaster like that and applied it to a bad, but less severe storm.
ReplyDeleteB. The Federal Government could have treated the situation of Hurricane Katrina much better than they did. They could have listen to the beggings of those in need and sent Government agencies to help them. They could have sent money so the state can afford to pay for food and housing for those in need. That is only the most basic of a large list of actions that the National Government could have taken to improve the situation that they did not do quick enough or well enough.
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ReplyDeleteA. Hurricane Sandy, compared to Hurricane Katrina, was far less disastrous. First, the magnitude of the dreadful 2012 storm was far less severe than its 2005 counterpart. Winds were twice as strong and an enormous amount of water drained into the city from broken levees. Katrina left victims stranded and desperate, unable to get help. Sandy victims, however, were able to communicate more efficiently, due to the fact that some areas still had power. Having a storm of such magnitude less than a decade previous certainly helped officials answer the question of how to go about the storm damage. With the sluggish responding of officials in Louisiana, costing lives and angering thousands of people, present officials in New York knew speedy respondence and delivering of resources was crucial. They could not wait days to send aid, it needed to be immediate. Hurricane Katrina was horrific and shook the nation. However, looking back on what was done wrong aided in doing what was better for Hurricane Sandy.
ReplyDeleteB. The federal government left Hurricane Katrina Victims hopeless and discouraged. Once saved from immediate danger, such as flooding, victims waited to be saved from the next danger: malnutrition. Food and water was very low and thousands of people concentrated in one area needed it. Badly. The federal government sat and waited for directions from New Orleans in order to evaluate what they were to do next. They did not realize however that New Orleans had an inability to communicate anything. The federal government waited when they should have sent immediate food and water resources. No news, in this case, was bad news. Clearly, if the city had no means of communication, something was very very wrong there. Also, news stations and video footage of the damage was circulating by Tuesday. Action not being taken until Friday was unacceptable, and the claims from the federal government saying they didn't know the extent of the situation is a farce. More action needed to be taken by the federal government, and the state government needed to more efficiently and clearly state their needs for the situation at hand, immediately.
A) Victims of Hurricane Sandy definitely benefited from the event of Hurricane Sandy. Of course, Sandy was less devastating than the twenty foot floods outside of Downtown New Orleans, but the coordination efforts of the local and state authority was made better by learning from the failures in New Orleans. Even though I have heard the acronym bounced around many times, I have never had to interact with FEMA because my house was not nearly as destroyed as many other people whose houses were, so I am unable to grant an educated comment other than a general dictionary definition.
ReplyDeleteB) From the video, it seems obvious that more should have been done regarding communication. The lack of understanding and lack of accessibility to communication made it hard to get anything done and therefore led to chaos. More should have been done to allow more communication between the site of Hurricane Katrina (the local government) and the outside world (the federal government). Finally, if the hurricane was predicted to be very dangerous and that all were advised to leave, then more should have been done to evacuate those who were unable to evacuate. There should have been more buses and other forms of transportation to get people away from the storm zone before the storm started so there would not be thousands of people to care for stranded on what seemed to be an island.
A) I was personally affected by Hurricane Sandy, my house was partially damaged and hardly habitable for about a month, but I can easily say that Sandy was hardly comparable to the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina. The lessons learned from Katrina definitely made our lives as Sandy victims easier. The government may not have optimally helped us, but it was still much better compared to the help the government gave to the victims of Katrina. We received aid almost immediately. Before the storm hit, trucks were coming around telling us to evacuate immediately because things were about to get bad. After the storm hit, I remember trucks coming around to houses asking if we needed meals or water or help in any sort. FEMA, eventually, came around giving out aid (in money) to the victims of Sandy for the damages to their property. Overall, Katrina was far worse in comparison to Sandy; it took the government a long time to send aid to the victims of Katrina that were stranded on their houses and dying in the flooded streets, but we got almost immediate help from the government, most likely because what they learned from the devastation caused by Katrina.
ReplyDeleteB) It is clear that more things could have and should have been done to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina. The victims that were sickly or too poor to evacuate themselves should have been evacuated by buses sent by the government before the storm even hit. The government knew that the storm was going to be devastating, the fact that they did not send any sort of evacuation before the storm hit is ridiculous. Also the federal government needed to get convoys of food and water into New Orleans much sooner than they did. Many victims died in New Orleans because they did not receive necessary supplies to survive. Finally, the federal government needed to be more in sync with the local government in New Orleans. The federal government would tell the local governments that they would arrive with supplies soon, but it didn't arrive nearly when it should have. This caused many people in New Orleans to riot and cause chaos because they saw no other alternative. These riots needed to be controlled more efficiently by both the federal and local government.
A) I was Affected by Hurricane Sandy but what i went through was not nearly close to what the people who were impacted by Katrina was. while the government reacted rapidly to Sandy and was seen helping out the very next day they didn't do so with Katrina. People were stuck in their homes starving and dying because of their slow response time.
ReplyDeleteB) Because the government took their time to react to Katrina people were left in their home starving and dying. if the government had started to send help in right after the storm they could have saved countless numbers of lives and the process of moving forward and recovering from the hurricane would have been much faster. the government should have began moving resources into the surrounding area before the storm hit so that they would have been ready to go in the very next day.
A.) For anyone to seriously believe that Sandy's effects on Long Island were close to those had by Katrina on Louisiana, he/she would have to be oblivious to the actions taken (or lack thereof) and the events that transpired during the latter crisis. These videos both seem to do justice the confusion, blindness, and very real danger experienced by the refugees from the flooded streets, all resulting from the lack of communication through the levels of government. This is unsettling, given that the system of government in place is designed to work through such levels, but at the very least more seems to have been done in the case of the more recent hurricane Sandy. Although LIPA, a private corporation, certainly fell short of its responsibilities (with Carolina workers doing more than local, strikingly similarly to the Canadians responding quicker to Katrina), the government did a far better job of controlling the situation. Aid was brought to those who needed it within a day or two, as opposed to five or six; those lives tragically lost to Sandy were a tiny fraction of those lost during Katrina and its aftermath, and occurred primarily because of direct storm damage, as opposed to malnutrition or sickness in the absence of adequate care afterward; and whereas all of Louisiana seemed to go underwater as levees unexpectedly broke, sandbags, dunes, and dams were all built and ready in advance of Sandy breaking land.
ReplyDeleteB.) Direct communication between the governors, the local mayors, and FEMA and President Bush should not have been lost due to the storm- the mayor with a homemade phone system was brilliant and clearly dedicated to helping his people; for Bush to walk up to ten different podiums and slap FEMA's director on the back for a job well done, as bodies lay under sheets in the Super Dome, doesn't show quite the same connection to the masses. As times and dates of information releases failed to match up with the occurrences of the events in question, and officials increasingly higher in rank found out increasingly later the full magnitude of the situation, the lapse in planning and organization could not have been more obvious. A specific series of plans, for all plausible scenarios (including broken levees), should have been developed by the professionals in the field well in advance of the destruction, and more resources should have been devoted to letting people know to evacuate, and to helping those who couldn't to do so. The same goes for the aftermath, in that evacuation procedures needed to have begun the next morning, if not the night of the storm's worst weather. This should have been executed by the military from the outset, rather than by a motley crew of scared local police, citizens with boats, and Canadian mounties for a week. It must be acknowledged that one man in the videos asserted the need for communities to self-sustain for at least two days; if the government had sent forces within this time frame, perhaps it could have been forgiven. It would still mean little, however, given that the necessary preparations for hospital supplies and staff, mass shelters, and transport within the city limits was never accounted for as it should have been.
A) Hurricane Sandy was not as strong a storm as Hurricane Katrina, and also, the communities affected by this storm were generally more wealthy than the individuals living in the lower ninth ward of New Orleans. I was not personally effected by either storm, though I did see that relief came rather quickly for individuals affected by Sandy. However, victims of Katrina were left devastated and without assistance for a much longer time than individuals of Long Island. Perhaps we learned from the pitfalls of Hurricane Katrina, though maybe because we live in such a more tightly bound society with more technology (Smart Phones, Twitter, Facebook, etc.) it was easier for individuals to communicate for help.
ReplyDeleteB) Preparation for the Katrina should have been more well thought out. Obviously the victims were not as well off as many of the people struck by Sandy, and more assistance should have been given to those that could not provide for themselves. More shuttles could have been provided to those who lacked sufficient resources to get themselves out of the storm area. Though is not difficult to look at things in hindsight, there is much that the federal government could have done to lessen the blow of the storm on New Orleans.
A) It is obvious through the videos that the people of Louisiana suffered far greater losses from Hurricane Katrina than those dealing with Hurricane Sandy. Not only was the scope of the physical damage larger from Katrina than from Sandy, but the magnitude of aid was far less in Katrina than Sandy as well. It is utterly pathetic that the first responders to the Katrina site were not members of the region or even the federal government, but were the Canadian Mounties. Sandy victims had a much easier time dealing with the effects because the federal government responded to the scene with various aid the very next morning, as opposed to days after Hurricane Katrina. The federal government had essentially learned from their mistakes and responded to Sandy with infinitely more speed and precision compared to Katrina.
ReplyDeleteB) It is completely unacceptable that the federal, state, and local governments did not have the capability to aid the victims of Katrina as connection was supposed to be maintained during the storm between the state governors, the president and organizations like FEMA. At the very least, buses or trucks of food and water should have been delivered to the victims a day or two after the storm. The triviality of the capacity of the federal government lies in the Dept. of Homeland Security. Due to 9/11, a highly detailed emergency response report was written, outlining how disasters were to be effectively treated. Unless the report called for waiting days to finally begin relief, the report should have been followed to the tee if the state and federal governments expected to provide relief effectively to the victims of Katrina.
A.) I think without a doubt that Sandy was easier for New Yorkers as a result of the lessons learned from Katrina. While both were devastating storms that inflicted a great amount of damage, the lack of aid received and the severity of Hurricane Katrina surpasses that of Sandy. What struck me the most about the video was seeing the stores (Walmart and Taco Bell for example) almost completely underwater as well as seeing the water level as high as the traffic lights were. It is an unbelievable image that I’m sure those who witnessed it still cannot believe what they saw. It breaks my heart to learn that for 13 days, the community was flooded with water and yet receiving such minimal aid. The government at both the local, state, and federal levels failed to communicate and coordinate relief efforts resulting in greater devastation. When dealing with hurricanes, preparation is critical. The government was clearly unprepared to handle such a crisis and thus failed to respond to it in an appropriate and effective manner. On the other hand, Hurricane Sandy was approached differently. Government agencies did a better job at providing the victims with necessary supplies. While the relief was not necessarily fast nor was it enough, it was significantly better than the little to no relief that Katrina victims received. It is apparent that the government took a more active role in helping those impacted by Sandy recover. Therefore, the victims of Sandy had it easier than the victims of Katrina.
ReplyDeleteB.) In my opinion, the whole situation should have been handled differently. After watching the video and seeing such innocent people suffer, it is clear that the government’s response is unacceptable. We are a nation that is always one of the first to respond when something else happens in the world, why did the government fail to respond to Katrina? I believe that a plan should have been in place from the very beginning. There should have been certain steps that were initiated once a state of emergency was declared. Such steps include helping people evacuate, setting up shelters for people to go to, and having supplies and medical assistance available. This goes for both before and after the storm. Thus, working faster and mobilizing people and supplies could have gone a long way for the people of Louisiana. The federal government needed to communicate more efficiently with the state and local government. The system of federalism should have been used to its advantage. Having a government at the local and state level should have improved the communication as oppose to causing more disconnect. The local and state governments should have reported to the federal government with what was needed and the federal government should have exercised its delegated powers to help the victims find safe places to go where they would have had the food, water and shelter that they desperately needed. In addition, the benefit of having these tiers of government is that if one was incapable of operating, the other could step in. With the local governments and state governments suffering from the hurricane, the federal government should have exerted its superiority and sent relief efforts into the affected areas.
execllent well framed response.
DeleteA. I think that Sandy was absolutely not as bad as Katrina; not even anywhere near it. Personally, I had absolutely no damage to my house and the worst thing that happened was a loss of power. Of course it took LIPA seven days to get my power back on, but I’d rather have no TV than a house completely submerged underwater, like Katrina. Aside from the fact that Katrina was a much more violent storm than Sandy was, I believe that the US learned a lesson from the lack of response to Katrina and the ending results of that, which led to responses for Sandy being much quicker. Complete recovery was still slow, but it started a lot faster than Katrina’s did.
ReplyDeleteB. I honestly can’t see how it could take so long for the federal government to even start to do anything when there are 30,000 people stranded under a dome with limited food and water. It’s not exactly something that could go unnoticed or forgotten—30,000 people is kind of a big deal. The main problem was unpreparedness—there was not enough preparation for something this catastrophic. There was a huge lack of organization amongst the local, state, and federal governments. They should have had more well thought out plans, and more/better ways of getting supplies and transportation to those who were suffering.
a) New Yorkers were definitely better off after hurricane sandy, on account for the severity of the storm and the aid received by the federal, state and local governments. The federal government gave victims help through FEMA where they attempted to reimburse people whose houses were destroyed. On the state level, both governors Cuomo and Christy demanded that anyone living in flood zones evacuated immediately before the storm, they also organized charities and ways that victims could receive aid from those unaffected. The town government supplied victims with clothes and food donated by unaffected members of the community and the schools excused late absences from displaced persons and also tried to reimburse parents driving longer distances for gas money (but eventually this fell through)
ReplyDeleteB) in my opinion, the federal, state and local governments should have coordinated more efficiently to give the victims the most support as possible. The many deaths suffered could have been avoided by help from the national guard and rescue teams. The state government of Louisiana could have had an emergency evacuation plan that helped people whose houses were destroyed. The federal government should have had more programs to help the people recover by providing food and transportation to save areas.
A) Hurricanes have a negative affect on the area that it hits. However, the damage caused from the hurricane varies based on its category. Since Massapequa was hit hard by Hurricane Sandy, we all feel that the worst happened because it was claimed the "perfect storm" with the high tide, fool moon, and other variables that allowed more flooding than a normal night. Although a lot of friends a family were displaced, we weren't nearly as affected as the victims of Hurricane Katrina. While we had ruined cars and couches, they had disrupted families as lives were actually lost. The government completely failed to aid the victims of this crisis because the response was delayed. While we struggled to get gas, they struggled to find food, shelter, water, and other necessities needed for everyday life. Relief programs established for situations exactly like these also didn't come in time while people were in dyer need. This led to people being affected numerous years after the hurricane even hit. All of this allowed for the state of New York to better prepare for Hurricane Sandy before it happened and things ran much more smoothly.
ReplyDeleteB) No excuses are valid for the failure that our government and aid programs funded for this exact reason during Hurricane Katrina. In order to stifle the situation as fast as possible, the government should have mobilized a massive amount of troops instantly and each bringing a certain amount of supplies to their designated area. There is no reason things such as inflatable boats, food, and water couldn't be given immediately to victims who were trapped on top of their house are in need of help. Once helped, shelters should have been established in safe zones to move the displaced there as fast as possible. If the people of America could band together to raise money for the good of these people, it would be much more beneficial to see the money being used right away rather than watch programs sputter with it.