Reflecting on Hurricane Katrina’s Impact 20 Years On

Twenty years have passed since Hurricane Katrina struck, an event of significant political importance that I failed to acknowledge fully then. Prominent remarks from Bush, specifically when he commended ‘Brownie’ for his efforts, solidified the rise of Nancy Pelosi a year afterwards. More broadly, this marked the end of the turbulent ‘war on terror’, another noteworthy accomplishment on its own. However, fast forward to the present day, and the lessons from Katrina become increasingly relevant. Here are my initial thoughts, scattered throughout the calamity; before, after, and during its destructive path.

Rewinding back to August 30th, 2005, in the UK’s Daily Telegraph, my memory of the last British hurricane warning was an unheeded forecast made by Michael Fish on BBC. Fish casually dismissed a lady’s prediction of a hurricane that ultimately uprooted all seven oak trees in Sevenoaks. However, the New Orleans arm of the National Weather Service offered a more detailed consideration on the Sunday prior. They anticipated that their area of concern would be desolate for weeks, maybe longer, with almost all native trees either uprooted or broken.

They also reported that the remaining crop yield would be significantly reduced. All kinds of roofs, windows and low-rise apartment buildings wouldn’t be able to withstand the storm. As the weekend progressed, this apocalyptic weather forecast seemed to indicate the grim reality of the calamity. The Associated Press confirmed that the weather service’s predictions of tens of thousands of flood-related casualties were conservative compared to the damage caused by the hurricane.

The consequences of the storm barrier failures were unthinkable, as they threatened to transform New Orleans into a deadly chemical lake, thirty feet in depth. Not to mention the risks posed by the local wildlife, such as snakes and crocodiles, or the potential hazards posed by the city’s flooded crypts. Turning my attention to the television, I was met with experts hypothesizing the possible influence of a sudden surge in West Nile virus-infected mosquitos on the Gulf Coast’s HIV-positive populace.

While the superposition of such factors might have seemed exaggerated, the situation at the New Orleans Superdome presented a similarly grim picture. As the city’s final sanctuary, the sports stadium was projected to lose the accessibility of its lower floors to rising floodwaters. Above, 40,000 individuals, underestimated the catastrophic storm, huddled together in extreme heat, lacking even the most basic sanitary conveniences, hoping that the stadium’s roof would brave the violent hurricane.

Apart from the immediate threat to human lives, the impact on the oil industry was equally concerning. The hurricane’s fallout was slated to commence with a 20 cents per gallon hike in gasoline prices by the end of that week, setting off the estimated $30 billion economic fallout. As you read this, the horrors of the hurricane may have already taken their toll, with victims of AIDS, infected with the West Nile virus, swimming through the toxic floodwaters of the French Quarter, avoiding crocodiles and floating cadavers.

With the situation growing rapidly more severe in the hours leading to the storm, it becomes clear that our contemporary fears and anxieties contradict Harold Macmillan’s famous quote regarding the source of his main concerns, ‘Events, dear boy, events.’ This does not imply that we are outrightly excited about these ‘events,’ rather, we find strength in our ability to adapt and respond conclusively.

It is noteworthy that while, in the face of disasters, some resort to panic or looting, the majority effectively demonstrates their ability to spontaneously respond with acts of heroism. A few weeks prior, I discussed this phenomenon of ‘social coordination’ in the context of the Air France crash in Toronto. I surmised that it was likely prevalent in the states affected by Katrina, namely Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama.

Given our notable track record in dealing with sudden calamities or ‘events,’ our survival tactics, if life were a disaster movie, would likely be relatively successful. The memory of Hurricane Katrina will persist as a testament to our adaptability and resilience when faced with disaster. Though we should strive to avoid such catastrophic ‘events,’ when they do happen, we are far from helpless.