Hurricane Katrina disaster relief
The disaster recovery response to Hurricane Katrina in late 2005 included U.S. federal government agencies such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the United States Coast Guard (USCG), state and local-level agencies, federal and National Guard soldiers, non-governmental organizations, charities, and private individuals. Tens of thousands of volunteers and troops responded or were deployed to the disaster; most in the affected area but also throughout the U.S. at shelters set up in at least 19 states.
For more detailed criticisms of disaster relief, see Political effects of Hurricane Katrina. For a more detailed timeline of events, see Timeline of Hurricane Katrina.Overview[edit]
Monetary donations were way below the records set by the tsunami and 9/11 relief efforts in the U.S. In a reversal of usual positions, the U.S. received international aid and assistance from numerous countries. The National Disaster Medical System had activated essentially all teams in the country, and pre-staged multiple Disaster Medical Assistance Teams (DMATs), Disaster Mortuary Assistance Teams (DMORTs), and Veterinary Medicine Response Teams (VMATs) in Houston and Atlanta the day prior to, and the day of, landfall. When the levees were reported to have broken, the DMATs were moved to Baton Rouge on Tuesday, August 30, and as the needs were identified, teams were moved out that afternoon to the Superdome, and that night to the Louis Armstrong Airport. Three DMATs arrived around 2 am on Wednesday morning, Aug 31, set up a field hospital Base of Operations in Concourse D, began offloading rescuees from helicopters, and provided medical care if necessary. Additional DMATs were deployed there as the volume and tempo of patient arrivals increased, as the hospitals in the city began to evacuate their patients. Over 3,000 patients were cared for, and as DOD Medevac assets began arriving, patients were handed over and moved out to over a dozen cities. This operation peaked during the weekend of September 3 and 4, and was completed by mid-week. Over 20,000 evacuees were also flown out by the civilian air-fleet drafted into service, and 25 deaths occurred there, mostly elderly nursing home and hospice evacuees.
More than 1,000 Army and Air National Guardsmen and 7,200 active-duty troops were stationed in the Gulf Coast region to assist with hurricane relief operations with some remaining several weeks.[1] The military relief effort, known as Joint Task Force Katrina, was commanded by Lieutenant General Russel L. Honoré, commander of the U.S. First Army. At President Bush's urging, the U.S. Senate quickly approved $10.5 billion in aid for victims September 1, 2005. The U.S. House of Representatives voted and approved on the measure Friday, September 2, 2005, without any debate. President Bush requested an additional $51.8 billion on September 7. Congress approved that funding package the next day.[2]
On September 24, 2005, following the havoc caused by Hurricane Rita, the National Guard named Brig. Gen. Douglas Pritt of the 41st Brigade Combat Team, Oregon Army National Guard, head of Joint Task Force Rita (formally called JTF Ponchartrain).[3][4] The fourteen hundred Oregonian soldiers and airmen, including the 1st Battalion of the 186th Infantry which is designated as a quick response unit, were joined by engineers and military police from Louisiana, a Stryker Brigade from Pennsylvania, and an engineering battalion from Missouri. It is their mission to provide relief support for all of the areas in Texas and Louisiana affected by the two storms and to remove obstructions that might otherwise hinder help to those affected.
Governments of many countries have offered help to the U.S. for disaster relief, including the governments of Canada, France, United Kingdom, Germany and Mexico, with Canada even offering to accept Katrina evacuees.[5] In addition to asking for federal funds, President Bush has enlisted the help of former presidents Bill Clinton and George H. W. Bush to raise additional voluntary contributions, much as they did after the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami.
Many had been critical of the slow response, with many people (particularly in New Orleans) left without water and food for three to five days after the storm. Among the first to express criticism of the management of the crisis had been The Pentagon, who complained only a day after Katrina hit that bureaucratic red tape from the Bush administration and the FEMA (newly reorganized under the Department of Homeland Security) had caused the delay of a scheduled and authorized military hospital ship from Norfolk, Virginia, among other related and prepared active military crisis response procedures.
On Friday, August 26, the National Hurricane Center predicted for the first time that Katrina would become a Category 4 storm, and thus exceed the design limits of the New Orleans levees.
On Saturday, August 27, President Bush declared a state of emergency under the authority of the Stafford Act for the inland parishes of Louisiana.[6]
The next day, Sunday, August 28, Katrina became a Category 4 hurricane[7] and eventually evolved into a Category 5 storm the very same day, with winds blowing at about 175 mph (280 km/h).[8] New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin decided not to declare a mandatory evacuation of the city, and instead opened up the Superdome to those who couldn't leave the city.[9] 550 National Guard troops were stationed inside the Superdome to screen evacuees for weapons.[10]
At that point, it was known that the strength of the hurricane would almost certainly exceed the levees' design capacity, and therefore the possibility for major flooding was real. If the levees did fail, people throughout the city would find it very difficult to obtain food, water, and supplies in general. If authorities had wanted to preposition food, the Superdome would have been a logical place, as the population knew it was a designated central location. The Louisiana National Guard delivered enough food for 15,000 people for 3 days.
On that same day, President Bush designated six counties of Alabama
[11] and eleven in Mississippi
[12] as eligible for assistance.
On Monday, August 29, at 6:00 am local time, Katrina made landfall. The Louisiana National Guard had called almost 3,500 of its members to state active duty as of 7 a.m. Army Lieutenant Colonel Pete Schneider reported a successful evacuation from the city, crediting the Louisiana Guard's partners in neighboring states for carrying out "a coordinated effort" that incorporated lessons learned from past evacuations. Schneider said during an interview today with Fox News the state stood ready to house evacuees at the Superdome "for as long as it takes", reporting that although the massive structure's protective lining tore in the hurricane's Category 4 winds, the roof itself appears to be intact.[13]
Louisiana has 65 percent of its troops available for state missions; Mississippi, 60 percent; Alabama, 77 percent; and Florida, 74 percent.[14]
USS Bataan was positioned near New Orleans prior to Katrina making landfall, and began relief operations on August 30.
The next day, Tuesday, August 30, An estimated 7,500 National Guard troops from Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi were on duty, supporting civil authorities, distributing generators, providing medical care, and setting up shelters for displaced residents. As of 8 a.m., almost 3,800 Louisiana Army and Air Guard members were on duty to remove debris, provide security and shelter, distribute water, food and ice, and offer medical and law-enforcement support. The Louisiana Guard was coordinating with Florida, Georgia and Texas to secure two UH-60 Black Hawk and five CH-47 Chinook helicopters to support their operations. In Mississippi, more than 1,900 Guard troops were providing similar support, basing their operations at Camp Shelby. In Florida, more than 700 Florida Guard members were on active duty.[15]
On August 31, the number of military units were on duty in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida rose to almost 8,300. Joint Task Force Katrina is setting up at Camp Shelby, Miss., as the Defense Department's focal point to support the Federal Emergency Management Agency's relief efforts.[16]
First report of relief supplies delivered to Superdome.
The guardsmen remain under their respective governors' control, which enables them to provide law-enforcement support in the affected regions—something the Posse Comitatus Act prohibits active-duty forces from doing within the United States.[16]
By Thursday, September 1, The National Guardsmen accompanied by buses (475 in all) and supply trucks arrived at the Superdome. Media reports "few buses" there.
FEMA director Brown said that he had only earlier that day learned that the New Orleans Convention Center had contained thousands of people without food or water for 3–4 days. He said trucks were on the way and should be there "any time". Brown did not give ordinary people the permission to drive the buses delivered by the National Guard - which led to the issue of there being no certified bus drivers. At this point major news sources had been reporting on the situation for a few days.
By Friday, September 2, seven days after firm predictions of a Category 5 hurricane, a convoy of several dozen trucks and buses rolled into New Orleans carrying food, water, and other supplies. Some of these trucks were PLS manufactured [18] by the Oshkosh Truck Corporation. These transports can carry more than 15 tons of cargo and can travel in 4 feet (1.2 m) of water.
For comparison, when the Indian Ocean earthquake of 2004 tsunami struck the politically fractured city of Banda Aceh without warning, Indonesian officials not only knew about the situation on the ground, but delivered 175 tons of food only 2 days after the disaster. This was due to the fact that the transports were of a worldwide effort, whereas the Katrina relief effort was handled by the U.S. government, alone.[19]
Military[edit]
Joint Task Force Katrina[edit]
Lt. Gen. Russel L. Honoré of the Army was appointed to run a temporary special command, known as Joint Task Force (JTF) Katrina, to coordinate all military responses to the effort, which was based at Camp Shelby in Mississippi. FEMA asked the Pentagon to have the U.S. Northern Command stand ready for assistance.[20]
Government non-military[edit]
Federal[edit]
Some disaster recovery response to Katrina began before the storm, with Federal Emergency Management Agency preparations that ranged from logistical supply deployments to a mortuary team with refrigerated trucks. However, the federal government's overall lack of response has been widely criticized since the events occurred.
President George W. Bush asked Secretary Michael Chertoff of the Department of Homeland Security to coordinate the Federal response. Chertoff designated Michael Brown, head of the FEMA as the Principal Federal Official to lead the deployment and coordination of all federal response resources and forces in the Gulf Coast region.
Cultural and sporting responses[edit]
The National Hockey League, along with the National Hockey League Players Association, have donated $1 million. An auction of game worn jerseys, from the 2005–06 NHL season opening night, will also be held.[52] The National Football League donated $1 million, as did the New York Yankees baseball organization. The New York Jets and New York Giants also allowed the 2005 LSU Tigers football team play their home games at Giants Stadium while both the Mercedes-Benz Superdome and the Pete Maravich Assembly Center were being used as a refuge for victims of the hurricane, and Tiger Stadium (LSU) was being used by the New Orleans Saints for their home games. A Concert for Hurricane Relief, an hour-long, music and celebrity driven broadcast was aired on September 2, 2005, by NBC. Shelter from the Storm: A Concert for the Gulf Coast, an hour long simulcast benefit concert aired on September 9, 2005, worldwide. A four and a half-hour long benefit concert titled ReAct Now: Music & Relief was broadcast by MTV, VH1 and CMT on September 10, 2005. Céline Dion, the Canadian singer, also donated $1 million.
Scam artist responses[edit]
In the wake of a large outpouring of support, many scam artists took advantage of the public's willingness to provide money and other resources to victims of the hurricane. The FBI reported [53] that over 500 illegitimate websites were created to collect money that ostensibly would go to hurricane victims. Spam emails were then circulated to attract donations.