They took off running to the concourse, and saw a nightmare come true the roof in one section above the field had been torn off by the wind. No lights. Please select which sections you would like to print: Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. And despite the fact that many were long voicing their concerns about the effects of a hurricane in New Orleans, they were ignored until it was too late. Hurricane Katrina made landfall off the coast of Louisiana on August 29, 2005. As a result, the rumors of lawlessness in New Orleans actually made things much worse for stranded survivors. Hurricane Katrina deaths, Louisiana, 2005 Disaster Med Public Health Prep. Sept. 1, 2006, 3:09 PM PDT / Source: The Associated Press. I remember looking out my window and I could see the rain blowing sideways and the trees bent over, Doug said. Thornton recruited off-duty NOPD officers to come grab sandbags and carry them from the parking lot, through the loading dock, and back to the generator room from the inside. The men hooked up the line, fuel started flowing. [46] Before that first game, the team announced it had sold out its entire home schedule to season ticket holders a first in the franchise's history.[47]. Hanging from her roof, a woman waits to be rescued by New Orleans Fire Department workers on August 29, 2005. Photo taken from the I-10-US 90 junction showing most of the white rubber protective membrane over the roof of the Superdome torn away by strong winds during Katrina. The emergency generator later failed, and engineers had to protect the backup generator from floodwaters by creating a hole in a wall and installing a new fuel line. A woman gets carried out of floodwaters after being trapped in her home in Orleans Parish, Louisiana, on August 30, 2005. Many wonder if New Orleans can handle another Katrina. Cooper housing project play on mattresses on June 10, 2007. Houses stand in the Seventh Ward on May 12, 2015. There were two reports of rape, one involving a child. 24 With scant food and water sources, . The arrival of 13,000 U.S. National Guard troops and 7,000 U.S. military troops deployed by President George W. Bush helped with evacuations and resupplying food and water to those stranded at the Superdome and convention center, all of whom were finally evacuated on September 3. Cooper held about 1,000 families and was the city's largest housing project. [30][31], As of August 31, there had been three deaths in the Superdome: two elderly medical patients who were suffering from existing illness, and a man who committed suicide by jumping from the upper level seats. 2008 Dec;2(4):215-23. doi: 10.1097/DMP.0b013e31818aaf55. And it's possible that the deaths may have even numbered as high as 10,000. A violent, free-for-all riot seemed sure to break out with the next bit of bad news. AP By 4:30 p.m., the winds were dying down and Thornton and Mouton went outside and surveyed the building. They guarded the office where Thornton and his team huddled, but that was about it. Despite the planned use of the Superdome as an evacuation center, government officials at the local, state and federal level were criticized for poor preparation and response, especially Mayor of New Orleans Ray Nagin, President George W. Bush, Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco, and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) director Michael D. The majority of all federal aid, approximately $75 billion of $120.5 billion, funded emergency relief operations. As far as natural disasters go, Hurricane Katrina was a bad one. Parishioners gather during Sunday services in the rebuilt church on May 10, 2015. Hurricane Katrina was a devastating Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that resulted in 1,392 fatalities and caused damage estimated between $97.4 billion to $145.5 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding areas. They found a 50-foot fuel line and screwed it into the reserve tank of the generator, then ran it out to the truck, which was parked in several feet of water outside the exterior door. Thornton, whod been cooped up in the Superdome for going on five days, looked down on her city, at the soft waves lapping against the houses in the moonlight. He could only offer supplies. Hurricane Katrina caused up to $161 billion worth of damage, largely due to the fact that the breached levees led to flooding in 80% of New Orleans. All they could do was try to protect the generator. With limited power, no plumbing, a shredded roof and not nearly enough supplies to deal with 30,000 evacuees, it became a symbol of how unprepared the city and country had been for a storm experts knew could arrive. Miller told a reporter. That would be sorted out soon, Thornton thought, or maybe never at all. In death, she became a symbol of government failure an anonymous woman slumped in a wheelchair, abandoned outside one of the city's . Meanwhile, NOLA.com reports that New Orleans police officers were given authorization to shoot looters. It was going to be the big one. - About 25,000 storm evacuees were sheltered at the Louisiana Superdome, a sports arena. According to National Geographic, "some argue that indirect hurricane deaths, like being unable to access medical care, should be counted in official numbers.". Thornton remembers Compass telling him: Thats why I wanted to come over here and tell you so that you can get your families out.Thornton says Compass then told him he was taking his men out of the Superdome, before hugging him and saying he enjoyed working with him all these years. Local residents gathering outside of the Superdome on September 2, 2005. Supplies were running low, and as the National Guard began to ration things like water and diapers the crowd grew incensed and accused them of hoarding goods for their own use. At their peak, hurricane relief shelters housed 273,000 people. Some trapped inside also believe the curse is real. All sources confirm deaths, although the numbers of the dead vary. "[3], The Superdome was built to withstand most natural catastrophes. It wasnt until midnight that things started to settle down. More women are coming forward with stories of sexual. Doug and Denise Thornton woke early to drive back to New Orleans. On the day the storm hit, two sets of notes sat tucked in a drawer . [7] According to many, the smell inside the stadium was revolting due to the breakdown of the plumbing system, which included all toilets and urinals in the building, forcing people to urinate and defecate in other areas such as garbage cans and sinks. His home was destroyed. Then, one of the mechanicshad an idea: Bypass the tank altogether. But that was the only light they could see. The area east of the Industrial Canal was the first part of the city to flood; by the afternoon of August 29, some 20 percent of the city was underwater. Rather, the hurricane was named in accordance with the World Meteorological Organizations lists of hurricane names, which rotate every six years. It would be impossible to drive there with the roads in their current state, so Mouton called inBlackhawk helicopters to get them. I wake up in the morning, and the first thing I say is: Where are my babies? It has been 10 years since Hurricane Katrina nearly destroyed the city ofNew Orleans. [33][40] It was confirmed that no one was murdered in the Superdome. By the following afternoon Katrina had become one of the most powerful Atlantic storms on record, with winds in excess of 170 miles (275 km) per hour. Corrections? Her escape out. I was able to see how bad it was, even though it was night. And with everyone scattered, it became incredibly difficult to reunite children with their birth parents. A FEMA employee told Thornton and Mouton they expected to find lots of dead bodies, and had decided to bring them here, right next to the place where those left in the city were fighting to live. With the failure of the air conditioning, temperatures inside the Superdome reached the high 90s, with heavy humidity. [10][11] On August 28, the Louisiana National Guard delivered three truckloads of water and seven truckloads of MREs (meals ready to eat), enough to supply 15,000 people for three days. Isaac Chipps contributed reporting to this story. June 2006 - The Government Accountability Office releases a report that concludes at least $1 billion in disaster relief payments made by FEMA were improper and potentially fraudulent. Your effort and contribution in providing this feedback is much Plus theyll be out in the heat.. This story has been shared 177,659 times. A refill was supposed to be on the way that day, but opening the door for the fuel truck would flood the room. He just broke down. Sign up for the For The Win newsletter to get our top stories in your inbox every morning. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Black families have also had a harder time rebounding than white families. It was the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history. estimated population had increased to 376,971. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. If it rose, theyd evacuate. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin had ordered a mandatory evacuation of the city the previous day, and an estimated 1.2 million people left ahead of the storm. And when the levees were breached, there were only two FEMA workers on the ground. [32] New Orleans Police Department chief Eddie Compass appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show and reported seeing "little babies getting raped" and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin also said he saw hooligans raping and killing people. Tempers began to flare as hunger and thirst deepened. The Data Center, a New Orleans-based research organization, estimated that the storm and subsequent flooding displaced more than 1 million people, leaving hundreds of thousands of people homeless. There was a plan. ", Ultimately, it's unknown exactly what the death toll of Hurricane Katrina was. It ran into the reserve tank. As of August 31, there had been three deaths in the Superdome: two elderly medical patients who were suffering from existing illness, and a man who committed suicide by jumping from the upper level seats. Out of the at least 1,800 deaths caused by Hurricane Katrina, nearly half were elderly people. [41], After the events surrounding Katrina, the Superdome was not used during the 2005 NFL season. Between 20,000 and 30,000 people in New Orleans were evacuated to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. On the state and local level, Louisiana Gov. On the flight out west, Thornton looked down and saw his home in Lakewood South, as well as the seven feet of water surrounding it. Theres five feet of water on Poydras Street.. They were taken to the Lamar Dixon Expo Center in Baton Rouge. Thornton held a status meeting at 5 p.m. with Lt. Col. Doug Mouton, an old friend who had arrived to take command of the 370 National Guard troops at the Superdome. What were Hurricane Katrinas wind speeds? WATCH:I Was There: Hurricane Katrina: Rescue Swimmer. Two men paddle through the streets past the Claiborne Bridge in New Orleans on August 31, 2005. This place wont be here in six days.. The hurricane and its aftermath claimed more than 1,800 lives, and it ranked as the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history. Some levees buttressing the Industrial Canal, the 17th Street Canal, and other areas were overtopped by the storm surge, and others were breached after these structures failed outright from the buildup of water pressure behind them. [36] A group of about 100 tourists were "smuggled" out from the Superdome to the New Orleans Arena next door, where 800 medical needs patients were being held. Out of the at least 1,800 deaths caused by Hurricane Katrina, nearly half were elderly people. Hurricane Katrina was an extremely destructive 2005 storm that caused more than 1,800 deaths along the U.S. Gulf Coast. By 2007, 99% of the 1.2 million personal property claims had been settled by insurers. 40% of deaths were caused by drowning. But over the Gulf of Mexico, some 165 miles west of Key West, the storm gathered strength above the warmer waters of the gulf. We took him inside.. Results: Hurricane Katrina was responsible for the death of up to 1,170 persons in Louisiana; the risk of death increased with age. That night, NOPD Chief of Police Eddie Compass arrived to see Thornton and Col. Mouton. The backup generator for the lights was barely able to be kept afloat, and after the water supply gave out, the toilets "became inoperable and began to overflow." By 7 p.m. everyone was inside and had been checked. Revisit the timeline, impacts, controversy, and disaster recovery of August 2005's Hurricane Katrina, the costliest Atlantic hurricane on record. Updated In an analysis of 971 fatalities in Louisiana and 15 additional deaths of storm evacuees, 40% of deaths were caused by drowning.
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