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Hurricane Katrina devastated my community 15 years ago today. I was 17 at the time. In many ways, my personal experience and studying what transpired helped radicalize me. These events, personally and systemic, shook my perspective and shaped my worldview. /thread
In 1965, the Army Corps of Engineers built the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet, a canal to the Gulf of Mexico for oil shipping. During Katrina, the MRGO channeled the storm’s surge and led to the engineering failures experienced by the region’s protection network.
These levees were neglected for decades by the Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and attempts at holding them accountable led to severe backlash (see van Heerden’s work). The Let. Gen. of the USACE later admitted they “had to stand up and say, 'We've had a catastrophic failure.'”
After the weakened levees broke, thousands were stranded on rooftops and in attics for days. In my hometown of Chalmette, the US response was nonexistent. The Royal Canadian "Mounties" were the first outside help to arrive and launched rescue efforts across St. Bernard Parish.
This was in part due to the post-9/11 restructuring of the gov’t. FEMA became part of the new Dept. of Homeland Security, which led to the militarization of relief efforts. The Iraq War drained manpower/equipment from the state National Guard as over 40% were stationed in Iraq.
On the Danziger Bridge, police officers shot multiple unarmed Black people (some in the back), including one with a mental disability, who were innocent and seeking safety from the flood water. This was followed up a massive cover-up.
Also, the DHS hired Blackwater, a private military company, to patrol with assault rifles and body armor. They were granted legal rights to arrest at will.
The Greyhound Bus station was turned into a prison built by arch-racist Burl Cain, then-warden at Angola. Mostly Black people, and some Muslims, were rounded up. They slept on the concrete and were denied phone calls and legal counsel. The only option was to plead guilty.
On 8/29, Bush was in Arizona to celebrate John McCain’s birthday. They ate cake while Louisiana and Mississippi faced unprecedented carnage. This was one of the first post-Katrina images I saw on TV. Bush finally arrived in the Gulf Coast on 9/2.
My family had to stay in a makeshift shelter in Texas because FEMA assistance never arrived and the paychecks ran dry. There, I remember watching news pundits make snarky, inconsiderate comments. The disconnect was upsetting.
Laura Bush visited one of these facilities and stated, “Many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway so this (chuckle) -- this is working very well for them."
I recall religious figures rushing to the airwaves to say Katrina meant “cleansing,” and it was God’s way of cleansing the city.
When we went back to our community after Rita, not only was our home destroyed but there was oil everywhere. The 540 oil spills released as many gallons as the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster. This received minimal coverage. Many were not adequately compensated for the damage.
My parents’ insurance didn’t cover their home so, like many others, they had to take out another loan to rebuild for a disaster in which they bare no responsibility. They’re still paying for that loan on top of their existing mortgage.
Our FEMA trailers arrived in May, ‘06. We later discovered they were contaminated with formaldehyde. Studies found that some trailers “emitted the toxic chemical at levels four to 11 times” higher than average. My mom still suffers from eye issues and respiratory problems.
Countries from around the world offered assistance after Katrina. Mexico sent surgical units, tons of purified water, and over 450 tons of food, bottled water, canned food, disposable diapers and medical supplies. And they also sent their Marines to conduct relief work.
Right after Katrina made landfall, Cuba was the first country to offer aid and pledged to send 1,586 doctors and 26 tons of medicine. Cuba also offered to donate money raised from their World Baseball Classic to ensure the US embargo was not violated. The US declined all of it.
Even US adversaries offered their assistance. Venezuela offered one million barrels and Iran offered 20 million barrels. Like Cuba and other countries, this foreign assistance was declined.
But Katrina also inspired my hope in humanity. There are countless stories of people helping one another at grave risks to themselves. Churches/nonprofits poured in their resources to help. People from all over set up food distribution sites, and they gutted out/rebuilt homes.
After Katrina passed, immigrants poured in from Latin America to help rebuild coastal Louisiana/Mississippi in the summer heat for low wages. They help rebuild the Gulf Coast for year. New Orleans built this monument to honor them.
A kind family in Texas opened their home to us to finish out my senior year. Teachers at my new school provided me school supplies, resources, and even a new pair of soccer cleats when I had nothing. This helped inspire me to become a teacher.
Katrina was a man-made disaster. Governments failed and corporations exploited while others sacrificed their time and resources to help Louisiana. When systems fail, people who are often left out unite to compensate for that failure. That solidarity is inspirational.
This is why those who went through Katrina aren’t surprised with how our government is handling COVID-19. It’s not just Trump; it’s how the system was designed from its inception. It caters to the wealthy at the expense of the poor and working class. Katrina taught me that.
