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AP Photo by Eric Gay
Hurricane Katrina victim Nita LaGarde, 89, holds hands with Tanisha Blevin, 5, as they are evacuated from the convention center to a helicopter in New Orleans, La., Saturday, Sept. 3, 2005. After days of waiting, hundreds of people were evacuated from the city by bus and helicopter.
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Where Are We? - Hurricane Katrina Update
By Necie Green, 09.15.05
Where the U.S. government left off, American citizens have picked up. Over half of the 50 states now house evacuees from the Gulf Coast region, and Texas alone is home to over 230,000 displaced individuals.
Evacuees now reside on both coasts - from California to Maryland. Laurie Barcelona told a CNN reporter, “I just want to go home.” She and her husband temporarily reside in Memphis, Tenn. until they receive word that it is safe to return to New Orleans. Barcelona is fortunate that she is a lawyer and was able to work while displaced, others are just beginning to put the pieces of their lives back together.
On Monday, Aug. 29, Hurricane Katrina, the 11th named storm of this 2005 hurricane season, pounded the Gulf Coast. The category 4 hurricane showed no mercy to the citizens of Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) estimates that Katrina affected over 90,000 square miles of land, making it one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history.
This tragedy has not come without controversy. Critics attacked the President and government agencies’ slow response to assist survivors of the storm. Illinois senator Barack Obama expressed his concern on ABC’s “This Week.”
“Whoever was in charge of planning was so detached from the realities of inner city life in a place like New Orleans that they couldn't conceive of the notion that somebody couldn't load up their SUV, put $100 worth of gas in there, put some sparkling water [in there] and drive off to a hotel and check in with a credit card," Obama said.
Matthew Avara, mayor of Pascagoula, Miss. told CNN, "Clearly the FEMA response has been slow. We got a lot of good people on the ground here that are with FEMA and with the state agencies. They wear their badges and they look good. But unfortunately, we just have not seen all the assets and all the resources that we need in our city."
On Sept. 9 FEMA chief Michael Brown was removed from his post as on-site leader of the recovery efforts. He returned to Washington, D.C. following criticism of the organization and resigned on Sept. 12. In his resignation letter Brown stated that he left “to avoid further distraction from the ongoing mission of FEMA.”
Since the Army Corps of Engineers began repair work on the broken levees, less than 60 percent of New Orleans remains under water, compared to 80 percent after the levees broke on Aug. 29. Latest reports suggest the city is draining faster than anticipated and should finish in early October.
It also appears that the death toll will be significantly less than the 10,000 that officials first feared. Figures as of Sept. 12 confirm 400 dead across the Gulf Coast states.
Congress approved $10.5 billion in aid for the hurricane victims and recovery efforts are now underway. Organizations are providing assistance to the region in various ways. The Red Cross has delivered more than 3.3 million hot meals and 3.9 million snacks.
Through FEMA, 330,000 victims received $2000 via electronic funds or debit cards. The agency secured cruise ships as temporary housing for evacuees.
Even schools are lending a helping hand to students whose colleges and universities won’t operate this fall.
Operation Blessing International contributed over two-million pounds of food, beverages, and relief supplies over two weeks.
“Operation Blessing's disaster response team was in Mississippi preparing before Hurricane Katrina made landfall,” said Kristin Vischer, manager of media projects for Operation Blessing. “OBI will be present throughout the relief period as well as the recovery and rebuilding stages.”
Each day the Gulf Coast is closer to rebuilding as airports reopen, power companies restore electricity, and people return to their communities. There are some who are looking ahead to Mardi Gras in 2006.
“I haven’t thought that far out yet,” said New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin to NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “It's not out of the realm of possibilities…I think it would be a huge boost if we could make it happen.”
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