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Hurricane Katrina
2005 Atlantic hurricane season
General
Timeline Meteorological history Tornado outbreak
Impact
Economic effects Political effects Criticism of government response Social effects Effects in the Southeastern United States Effects in New Orleans Levee failures Memorial Medical Center New Orleans Hornets New Orleans Saints Superdome Tulane University Infrastructure repairs Reconstruction
Relief
Disaster relief International response
Analysis
Media coverage
External links
Media related to Hurricane Katrina at Wikimedia Commons Katrina stories at Wikinews Works related to Katrina sources at Wikisource
v t e

Hurricane Katrina was the costliest and one of the deadliest hurricanes in the history of the United States. It was the eleventh named storm, fifth hurricane, third major hurricane, and second Category 5 hurricane of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season, and was the sixth-strongest Atlantic hurricane ever recorded.

Katrina formed over the Bahamas on August 23, 2005, and crossed southern Florida as a moderate Category 1 hurricane before strengthening rapidly in the Gulf of Mexico and becoming one of the strongest hurricanes ever recorded in the Gulf. The storm weakened considerably before making its second landfall as a Category 3 storm on the morning of August 29 in southeast Louisiana.

It is possible that Katrina was the largest hurricane of its strength to approach the United States in recorded history; its sheer size caused devastation over 100 miles from the center. The storm surge caused major or catastrophic damage along the coastlines of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, including the cities of Mobile, Alabama, Biloxi and Gulfport, Mississippi, and Slidell, Louisiana. Levees separating Lake Pontchartrain from New Orleans, Louisiana were breached by the surge, ultimately flooding roughly 80% of the city and many areas of neighboring parishes. Severe wind damage was reported well inland. Katrina is estimated to be responsible for $75 billion (2005 US dollars) in damages, making it the costliest hurricane in U.S. history. The storm has killed at least 1,604 people, making it the deadliest U.S. hurricane since the 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane.

Storm history

Hurricane Katrina formed as Tropical Depression Twelve over the southeastern Bahamas at 5:00 PM EDT on August 23, 2005, partially from the remains of Tropical Depression Ten. The system was upgraded to Tropical Storm Katrina on the morning of August 24, and became a hurricane only two hours before it made landfall around 6:30 PM EDT on August 25 between Hallandale Beach and Aventura, Florida. Katrina had a well-defined eye on doppler radar which remained intact throughout its passage over Florida. The storm weakened over land, but it regained hurricane status at 2:00 AM EDT about one hour after entering the Gulf of Mexico. Parts of the Florida Keys experienced tropical storm winds throughout August 26, with the Dry Tortugas briefly experiencing hurricane-force winds.

The storm rapidly intensified during its first 24 hours after entering the Gulf, due in part to the storm's movement over the warm sea surface temperatures of the Loop Current. On August 27, the storm reached Category 3 intensity on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale, becoming the third major hurricane of the season. An eyewall replacement cycle disrupted the intensification, but nearly doubled the size in the process. Katrina again rapidly intensified, attaining Category 5 status by 7:00 AM CDT on August 28 and its peak at 1:00 PM CDT with maximum sustained winds of 175 mph (280 km/h) and a minimum central pressure of 902 mbar. The pressure made Katrina the fourth-most intense Atlantic hurricane on record, though it would be surpassed by Hurricanes Rita and Wilma later in the season; it was also the strongest hurricane ever recorded in the Gulf (later also broken by Rita).

Katrina made its second landfall at 6:10 AM CDT on August 29 as a Category 3 Hurricane with sustained winds of 125 mph (205 km/h) near Buras-Triumph, Louisiana. At landfall, hurricane-force winds extended outward 120 mi (190 km) from the center and the storm's central pressure was 920 mbar. A few hours later, after weakening slightly, it made its third landfall near the Louisiana/Mississippi border with 120 mph (195 km/h) sustained winds, or Category 3 intensity, and producing record storm surges along the entire Mississippi and Alabama coastlines.

Katrina maintained hurricane strength well into Mississippi, but weakened thereafter, finally losing hurricane strength more than 150 mi (240 km) inland, near Jackson, Mississippi. It was downgraded further to a tropical depression near Clarksville, Tennessee and literally broke in half. One half continued to race northward, and was last distinguishable in the eastern Great Lakes region on August 31, while the other half soon dissipated over the Southeast. On August 31, Katrina was absorbed by a frontal boundary and became a powerful extratropical low, causing moderate rain and gale-force winds in southeastern Quebec. By 11:00 PM EDT (0300 UTC) September 1, no discernible circulation remained of the former major hurricane.

Preparations

South Florida

Many living in the area were caught off guard when Katrina strengthened from a tropical storm to a hurricane in one day and struck southern Florida on August 25, 2005. National Hurricane Center (NHC) forecasts had overlooked the strengthening and therefore, hurricane watches and warnings were not properly issued.

Gulf Coast

On August 27, after Katrina crossed southern Florida and strengthened to a Category 3 storm, President George W. Bush declared a state of emergency in Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi two days before the hurricane made landfall.

On August 28, the National Weather Service issued a bulletin predicting "devastating" damage of Katrina, which at that time rivaled the intensity of Hurricane Camille. Mandatory evacuations were issued for large areas of southeast Louisiana as well as coastal Mississippi and Alabama.

By Sunday, August 28, most infrastructure along the Gulf coast had been shut down, including all Canadian National Railway and Amtrak rail traffic into the evacuation areas as well as the Waterford Nuclear Generating Station.

New Orleans

By August 26, the possibility of unprecedented cataclysm was already being considered. Some computer models were putting the city of New Orleans right in the center of their track probabilities; the chances of a direct hit were forecast at 17%, with strike probability rising to 29% by August 28. This scenario was considered a potential catastrophe because 80% of the New Orleans metropolitan area is below sea level along Lake Pontchartrain. Since the storm surge produced by the hurricane's right-front quadrant (containing the strongest winds) was forecast to be 28 ft (8.5 m), emergency management officials in New Orleans feared that the storm surge could go over the tops of levees protecting the city, causing major flooding. This risk of devastation was well known; previous studies by FEMA and the Army Corps of Engineers had warned that a direct hurricane strike on New Orleans could lead to massive flooding, which would lead to thousands of drowning deaths, as well as many more suffering from disease and dehydration as the flood waters slowly receded from the city.

At a news conference 10:00 AM on August 28, shortly after Katrina was upgraded to a Category 5 storm, New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin ordered the first ever mandatory evacuation of the city, calling Katrina, "a storm that most of us have long feared". The government also established several "refuges of last resort" for citizens who could not leave the city, including the massive Louisiana Superdome, which sheltered approximately 26,000 people and provided them with food and water for several days as the storm came ashore.

The Louisiana State Evacuation Plan left the means of evacuation up to individual citizens, parish governments, and private caretakers; however, many parishes were not able to provide sufficient transportation for citizens who did not have private means of evacuation, and many private care-taking facilities who relied on the same bus companies and ambulance services for evacuation were unable to evacuate their charges. Fuel and rental cars were in short supply and many forms public transportation had been shut down well before the storm arrived. The end result was that hundreds of thousands of Orleans residents and tourists were unable to evacuate. Some estimates claimed that 80% of the 1.3 million residents of the greater New Orleans metropolitan area evacuated, leaving behind substantially fewer people than remained in the city during the Hurricane Ivan evacuation.

Impact

On August 29, Katrina's storm surge caused several breaches in levees around New Orleans. Most of the city was subsequently flooded, as the breached drainage and navigation canals allowed water to flow from the lake into low areas of the city and Saint Bernard Parish. Storm surge also devastated the coasts of Mississippi and Alabama, making Katrina the most destructive and costliest natural disaster in the history of the United States, and the deadliest hurricane since the 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane.

The official combined (direct and indirect) death toll now stands at 1,604, the fourth or fifth highest in U.S. history (behind the Galveston Hurricane of 1900, the Okeechobee Hurricane of 1928, the 1893 Chenier Caminanda Hurricane, and possibly the 1893 Sea Islands Hurricane). However, as of March 3, 2006, more than 2,000 people still remain unaccounted for. As of November 22, 2005, 1,300 of those missing were either in heavily damaged areas or were disabled and feared dead; some are presumed washed out to sea. If all 1,300 missing were to be confirmed dead, Katrina would surpass the Okeechobee Hurricane and become the second deadliest storm in U.S. history and deadliest in over a century.

The total damage caused by Katrina is estimated by the NHC to be about $75 billion. (Other estimates range from $25 to $100 billion), almost double the previously most expensive storm, Hurricane Andrew, making Katrina the most expensive natural disaster in U.S. history.

Federal disaster declarations covered 90,000 square miles (233,000 km²) of the United States, an area almost as large as the United Kingdom. The hurricane left an estimated three million people without electricity. While some less-damaged homes had power restored within weeks, as of February 26, 2006, only a little over one-third of structures had electricity, and fewer have hot water or cooking gas. On September 3, 2005, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff described the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina as, "probably the worst catastrophe, or set of catastrophes," in the country's history, referring to the hurricane itself plus the flooding of New Orleans.

Death toll

As of March 20, 2006, the confirmed death toll stood at 1,604, mainly from Louisiana (1,293) and Mississippi (238). However, 705 people remain categorized as "missing" in Louisiana, so this number is not final even six months after the storm.

In hard-hit St. Bernard Parish, which was flooded in its totality by Katrina, the search for the missing was slow. According to an interview in the Times-Picayune, the coroner was still trying to get a list of missing from the Red Cross in November 2005. While there were some victims on this list whose bodies were found in their homes, the vast majority were tracked down through word-of-mouth and credit card records. As of December 2005, the official missing list in the Parish stood at 47.. It was feared that shrimpers and oystermen who usually ride out storms in their boats may have been swept into the marshes by the surge.

After protracted arguments over who would handle the costs, DNA testing began in December 2005 to identify approximately 263 bodies that could not be identified by other means.

Internet

The DirectNIC data center in downtown New Orleans was able to continue operations uninterrupted, due in large part to the efforts of a few determined individuals. They also worked to help procure fuel for telco providers, and provided a router for New Orleans' city hall, so that city officials could establish VoIP telephone service during the disaster. The effects of the storm disrupted the OC-12 Abilene Network Internet2 link between Houston and Atlanta, as well as some of DirectNIC's many high-speed connections. A survey done by CyberTelecom on September 2, found that 33% of web hosts in the city of New Orleans were not reachable.

Several telecommunications providers, including Verizon Wireless, SBC Communications, T-Mobile, and Cingular, provided refugees with telephones for free local and long distance telephone service, as well as Wi-Fi hotspots for internet access in the Astrodome. Cisco, Vonage, and SBC also provided similar services at the Dallas Convention Center and Reunion Arena where another 8,000 refugees were sheltered.

Aftermath

Economic effects

The economic effects of the storm were far-reaching. As of April, 2006, the Bush Administration has sought $105 Billion for repairs and reconstruction in the region, making it the costliest natural disaster in US history. And this does not account for damage to the economy caused by potential interruption of the oil supply and exports of commodities such as grain. The storm had also affected the casino and entertainment industry, as many of the Gulf Coast's casinos were destroyed or sustained considerable damage following the storm. The forestry industry in Mississippi was also affected, as many trees were destroyed. Furthermore, hundreds of thousands of local residents were left unemployed, which will have a trickle-down effect as less taxes are paid to local governments. Before the hurricane, the region supported approximately one million non-farm jobs, with 600,000 of them in New Orleans. It is estimated that the total economic impact may reach as high as $200 billion.

Looting and violence

Shortly after the hurricane ended on August 30, some residents of New Orleans who remained in the city began looting stores. Many looters were in search of food and water that was not available to them due to the destruction, though many people stole non-essential items as well. Drug, convenience, clothing, and jewelry stores in the French Quarter and on Canal Street were among the hardest hit. Looting also occurred in other towns throughout the disaster area.

Reports of carjacking, murders, thefts, and rapes flooded the news, but all but one of the stories were determined to likely be based on rumors. Thousands of National Guard and federal troops were mobilized and sent to Louisiana along with numbers of local law enforcement agents from across the country who were temporarily deputized by the state. "They have M-16s and are locked and loaded. These troops know how to shoot and kill and I expect they will," Kathleen Blanco said. Congressman Bill Jefferson (D-LA) told ABC News. "There was shooting going on. There was sniping going on. Over the first week of September, law and order was gradually restored to the city." Several shootings were between police and New Orleans residents including the fatal incident at Danziger Bridge.

A number of arrests were made throughout the affected area including near the New Orleans Convention Center. A temporary jail was constructed of chain link cages in the city train station.

Some issues of racial bias in media coverage began to surface as Caucasian flood victims were portrayed in one Agence France-Presse photo as "finding" supplies, while a black person was described in an Associated Press photo as "looting" supplies. The photographers later clarified the two stories, one claiming he witnessed the black person looting a store, while the other photographer described the white people as finding the food floating in floodwaters, although many believe the photographers story was merely an attempt to excuse a racially biased comment.

In Texas, where more than 300,000 refugees are located, local officials have run 20,000 criminal background checks on the refugees, as well as on the relief workers helping them and people who have opened up their homes. Most of the checks have found little for police to be concerned about.

Federal response

See also Criticism of Government Response

Some disaster recovery response to Katrina began before the storm, with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) preparations that ranged from logistical supply deployments to a mortuary team with refrigerated trucks. A network of volunteers began rendering assistance to local residents and residents emerging from New Orleans and surrounding Parishes as soon as the storm made landfall, and has continued for more than six months after the storm.

The United States Northern Command established Joint Task Force (JTF) Katrina based out of Camp Shelby, Mississippi, to act as the military's on-scene command on Sunday, August 28 . Lieutenant General Russel Honoré of the U.S. First Army in Fort Gillem, Georgia, is the commander. Also called up were the volunteer members of the Civil Air Patrol and the Coast Guard Auxiliary.

In accordance with federal law, President George W. Bush directed Secretary Michael Chertoff of the Department of Homeland Security to coordinate the Federal response. Chertoff designated Michael D. Brown, head of FEMA, as the primary federal official to lead the deployment and coordination of all federal response resources and forces in the Gulf Coast region. However, the President and Secretary Chertoff have come under harsh criticism for their lack of planning and coordination. Eight days later, Brown was recalled to Washington and Coast Guard Vice Admiral Thad W. Allen replaced him as chief of hurricane relief operations. Three days after the recall, Michael D. Brown resigned as director of FEMA in spite of having received praise from President George W. Bush. Later, leaked video footage and transcripts of top-level briefings during the week before the storm indicate that federal officials did inform Bush and Chertoff of the danger of levee breaches.

Chertoff, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, decided to take over the federal, state, and local operations officially on August 30, 2005, going forward by citing the National Response Plan. The National Response Plan states that, "when responding to a catastrophic incident, the federal government should start emergency operations even in the absence of clear assessment of the situation." "A detailed and credible common operating picture may not be achievable for 24 to 48 hours (or longer) after the incident," the NRP's "Catastrophic Annex" states. "As a result, response activities must begin without the benefit of a detailed or complete situation and critical needs assessment."

On September 2, Congress authorized $10.5 billion in aid for victims. A few days later, on September 7, another $51.8 billion in aid was approved, bringing the total to $62.3 billion. Additionally, President Bush 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.

FEMA has provided housing assistance (rental assistance, trailers, etc.) to over 700,000 applicants - families and individuals. However, only one-fifth of the trailers requested in Orleans Parish have been supplied resulting in an enormous housing shortage in the city of New Orleans. To provide for additional housing, FEMA has also paid for the hotel costs of 12,000 individuals and families displaced by Katrina through February 7, 2006, when a final deadline was set for the end of hotel cost coverage. After this deadline, refugees will still be eligible to receive federal assistance, which can be used towards either apartment rent, additional hotel stays, or fixing their ruined homes, although FEMA will no longer pay for hotels directly.

AmeriCorps relief operations

AmeriCorps sent several crews to Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana in response to Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita. The crews originated from two main organizations, the National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) and the Washington Conservation Corps (WCC), as well as from smaller Americorps organizations such as St. Louis Conversation Corps' Emergency Response Team (ERT). The crews performed a number of relief tasks for hurricane survivors, including support on the FEMA/Carnival Cruise Lines shelter ship, tarping damaged roofs, and debris removal. As of April 2006, AmeriCorps reported that it would continue to send relief to affected areas.

States' response

Many U.S. states have offered to shelter refugees displaced by the storm, including places as far away as Oregon and California. The majority of the refugees were taken to Texas, with over 230,000 people taking shelter in Houston by September 5, 2005. As Texas shelters became filled to capacity, it became a waypoint for the other refugees still leaving the area of crisis. From Texas, thousands of refugees have been dispersed to other states.

Two weeks after the storm, over half of the States were involved in providing shelter for refugees. By four weeks after the storm, refugees had been registered in all 50 states and in 18,700 zip codes - half of the nation's residential postal zones. Most refugees had stayed within 250 miles, but 240,000 households went to Houston and other cities over 250 miles away and another 60,000 households went over 750 miles away.

Approximately 58,000 National Guard personnel were also activated to deal with the storm's aftermath, with troops coming from all 50 states.

International response

Over seventy countries pledged monetary donations or other assistance. Kuwait made the largest single pledge, $500 million; other large donations were made by Qatar ($100 million), India, China (both $5 million) and Bangladesh ($1 million).

Countries like Sri Lanka, which is still recovering from the Indian Ocean Tsunami, Dominica (one of the smallest countries in the world by any measure), Cuba and Venezuela (despite their differences with the United States), also offered to help. Countries including Canada, Mexico, Singapore, and Germany sent supplies, relief personnel, troops, ships and water pumps to aid in the disaster recovery. Russia's initial offer of two jets was declined by the U.S. State Department. The French offer was also declined.

Non-government organization response

The American Red Cross, Salvation Army, Common Ground Collective, Emergency Communities, and many other charitable organizations provided housing, food, and water to the victims of the storm. These organizations also provided an infrastructure for shelters throughout Louisiana and other states that held thousands of refugees.

In addition to providing shelter and relocation services, many organizations have also been active in the recovery and rebuilding processes. In areas of Southern Mississippi and Louisiana, dozens of organizations have been collaborating in providing free house 'gutting' and tree removal for affected residents. Prior to gutting, houses are assessed to ensure that less than 50% of the structure is compromised, and that the house is still on its foundation. In past disasters, FEMA coordinated the work order process. Due to FEMA restructuring and the scope of this disaster, local organizations such as the East Biloxi Coordination and Relief Center are handling the case management and order processing. Emergency Communities, a new grassroots non-profit, was formed in the aftermath of Katrina to fill the gaps left by Federal and bureaucratic NGO response. With roots at the New Waveland Cafe in Waveland, Mississippi, EC went on to build kitchens and community centers in Arabi, Louisiana and Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. Many college students spent their 2006 Spring break working with organizations such as Emergency Communities, Habitat for Humanity, Campus Crusade for Christ, and Catholic Charities, helping to rebuild in areas hit by the hurricane.

Volunteers from amateur radio's emergency service wing, the Amateur Radio Emergency Service, provided emergency communications for federal, state and local officials. Over one thousand volunteer operators traveled to affected areas to provide communications in areas where the communications infrastructure had been damaged or totally destroyed, relaying everything from 911 traffic to messages home. The Red Cross also deployed ham radio operators to at least 250 of its shelter and aid locations.. In Hancock County, Mississippi, ham radio operators provided the only communications into or out of the area, and even served as 911 dispatchers.

Coorporations also contributed to relief efforts. On September 13, it was reported that corporate donations to the relief effort were $409 million, and were expected to exceed $1 billion. The largest corporate givers were Wal-Mart, Office Depot, and General Electric, each giving $20 million or greater in cash and products. Wal-Mart, has given $26.5 million in cash, the largest corporate cash contribution to date, and provided $3.5 million worth in products throughout Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas.

Analysis of New Orleans levee failures

New Orleans' levee failures were found to be primarily the result of system design flaws, combined with the lack of adequate maintenance. Those responsible for the conception, design, construction, and maintenance of the region's flood-control system apparently failed to pay sufficient attention to public safety, according to an investigation by the National Science Foundation.

According to new modeling and field observations by a team from Louisiana State University, the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MRGO), a 200-meter wide canal designed to provide a shortcut from New Orleans to the Gulf of Mexico, helped provide a funnel for the storm surge, making it 20% higher and 100%-200% faster as it crashed into the city. St. Bernard Parish, one of the more devastated areas, lies just south of the MRGO. The Army Corps of Engineers disputes this causality and maintains Katrina would have overwhelmed the levees with or without the contributing effect of the MRGO. Opponents of the MRGO have been lobbying for its closure, since the expected shipping traffic it was designed for has never materialized.

On April 5, 2006, months after independent investigators had demonstrated that levee failures were not due to natural forces beyond intended design strength, Lt. Gen. Carl Strock testified before the United States Senate Subcommittee on Energy and Water that "We have now concluded we had problems with the design of the structure." He also testified that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers did not know of this mechanism of failure prior to August 29, 2005. The claim of ignorance is refuted, however, by the National Science Foundation investigators hired by the Army Corps of Engineers, who point to a 1986 study by the Corps itself that such separations were possible in the I-wall design.

Criticism of government response

Criticism of government response to the hurricane primarily consisted of in response to the approach of the storm and its aftermath, specifically in the delayed response to the flooding of New Orleans.

Within days of Katrina's landfall, public debate arose about local, state and federal governments' role in the preparations for and response to the storm. The criticism was prompted largely by televised images of visibly shaken and frustrated political leaders, and of residents who remained in New Orleans without water, food or shelter; and the deaths of several citizens of thirst, exhaustion, and violence days after the storm itself had passed. Condemnations of mismanagement and lack of leadership were given, while others alleged that race, class, and other factors could have contributed to delays in government response. The planning and response of President Bush's administration initially faced the harshest criticism, in particular of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and its director, Michael Brown. Subsequently, criticism from politicians, activists, pundits and journalists of all stripes has also been directed at the local and state governments headed by Mayor Ray Nagin of New Orleans and Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco.

The devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina has raised other, more general public policy issues about emergency management, environmental policy, poverty, and unemployment. The discussion of both the immediate response and of the broader public policy issues may affect elections and legislation enacted at various levels of government, and caused a Congressional investigation which found that FEMA and the Red Cross "did not have a logistics capacity sophisticated enough to fully support the massive number of Gulf coast victims."

A minor scandal erupted when a subsidiary corporation to Service Corporation International, the company involved in illegally disposing of bodies in the Funeralgate scandal, was awarded a no-bid contract by FEMA to count and collect corpses in Louisiana after the hurricane. There was also some concern that some bodies were being improperly disposed of without notification of next of kin.

Retirement

Due to the large loss of life and property along the Gulf Coast, the name Katrina was officially retired on April 6, 2006 by the World Meteorological Organization at the request of the U.S. National Hurricane Center. It was replaced by Katia on List III of the Atlantic hurricane naming lists, which will next be used in the 2011 Atlantic hurricane season.

Media involvement

Many representatives of the news media reporting on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina became directly involved in the unfolding events, instead of simply reporting. Due to the loss of most means of communication, such as land-based and cellular telephone systems, field reporters in many cases became conduits for information between victims and authorities.

Several reporters for various news agencies located groups of stranded victims, and reported their location via satellite uplink. Authorities, who monitored the network news broadcasts, would then attempt to coordinate rescue efforts based on the news reports. This was best illustrated when Shepard Smith and Geraldo Rivera of Fox News, among others, reported thousands of refugees stranded at the New Orleans Convention Center. Rivera tearfully pleaded for authorities to either send help or let the refugees leave. Geraldo Rivera went so far as to compare the convention center to Willowbrook State School.

The news media, both traditional and Internet, also played a role in helping families locate missing loved ones. Many family members, unable to contact local authorities in the affected areas, discovered the fate of a loved one via an online photo or television video clip. In one instance, a family in Clearwater, Florida discovered their mother was still alive in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi after seeing a photo of her on a news website.

Many journalists also contributed to the spread of false rumors of lawlessness among the victims, which many have interpreted as an instance of yellow journalism. Many news organizations carried the unsubstantiated accounts that murder and rape were widespread, and in some cases later repeated the claims as fact, without attribution. However, only one actual report of a raping occurred during the uproar. A few of the reports of rape and violence were based on statements made by New Orleans city officials, including the Chief of Police. Many officials later claimed these rumors often impeded the relief and rescue efforts.

Restrictions on the media

As the U.S. military and rescue services regained control over the city, there were restrictions on the activity of the media.

On September 6, FEMA stopped allowing journalists to accompany rescuers searching for victims, saying they would take up too much space. At the same time, FEMA requested that journalists stop taking pictures of dead bodies. News organizations have filed suit in Federal Court, claiming a violation of the First Amendment's freedom of the press. In face of the lawsuit, FEMA has since countermanded this request.

On September 7, a FEMA spokeswoman requested in an email to journalists that they voluntarily refrain from taking photographs of the many corpses still present in the city at that time. The next day, FEMA spokesman Mark Pfeifle confirmed this request. On September 9, Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré, the military leader of the relief effort, announced that reporters would have "zero access" to efforts to recover bodies in New Orleans. Critics of the federal government considered this effort to be similar to the controversial post-9/11 policy that corpses under federal custody should be kept shielded from media photographers. Journalist Brian Williams also reported that in the process of blocking journalists, police even went so far as to threaten reporters with a weapon. However, at refugee centers such as the Austin Convention Center and the Houston Astrodome, press activity was extensive.

On September 7, KATU journalist Brian Barker reported that his team was threatened with automatic weapons by U.S. Marshals until they were identified by Brig. Gen. Doug Pritt, commander of the 41st Brigade Combat Team of Oregon, the unit they were embedded with. Subsequently, his team taped the letters, "TV" on the side of their vehicles in accordance with standard practice in war zones.

Immediately following the government decision, CNN filed a lawsuit and obtained a temporary restraining order against the federal ban. The next day, spokesperson Col. Christian E. deGraff announced that the government would no longer attempt to bar media access to the victim recovery efforts..

Toronto Star staff photojournalist Lucas Oleniuk was thrown to the ground by police in the Spanish Quarter after taking several photographs, including pictures of a firefight between looters and police and the subsequent alleged beating of a looter by the police. The police attempted to take all of his equipment, however he convinced them to just take his camera's memory cards. In a separate incident, freelance photojournalist Marko Georgiev, shooting for The New York Times, took photos of a body presumably shot and killed by the police. Police then pointed their weapons at the car and ordered the journalists out. They proceeded to search the car and confiscated one of Georgiev's memory cards.

Besides journalism, there was an effect on fictional television. ABC placed disclaimers before the series premiere of the new show Invasion because the episode featured a hurricane hitting Homestead, Florida (the point of landfall of Hurricane Andrew).

See also

Template:Tcportal

• List of notable Atlantic hurricanes
• List of Category 5 Atlantic hurricanes
• List of 2005 Atlantic hurricane season storms
• List of tribute songs to Hurricane Katrina
• Environmental effects of Hurricane Katrina

References

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31. Staff Writer. "Police kill at least 5 in New Orleans." MSNBC. September 4, 2005.
32. Staff Writer. "At the Train Station, New Orleans' Newest Jail is Open For Business." KOMO-TV. September 6, 2005.
33. Mikkelson, Barbara; Mikkelson, David. P. "Loot Loops." Snopes. September 1, 2005.
34. Schubert, Elizabeth. "Some Katrina Evacuees at Camp Dawson Have Criminal Records." Associated Press. September 18, 2005.
35. "Special Defense Department Briefing with Commander of Joint Task Force Katrina". United States Department of Defense, News Transcript. September 1, 2005.
36. Meserve, Jeanne; Barrett, Ted. "Admiral takes over Katrina relief." CNN. September 9, 2005.
37. Russell, Alex. "Bush 'was warned about impact of Katrina'." The Telegraph. February 3, 2006.
38. Baker, Peter; Goldstein, Amy. "Congress Approves $51.8 Billion For Victims." Washington Post. September 9, 2005.
39. Bush, George W. "President Asks Bush and Clinton to Assist in Hurricane Relief." White House, Press Release. September 1, 2005.
40. Times-Picayune, September 26, 2005, page A-12.
41. Foster, Mary. "Judge: FEMA Off Hook For Hotel Costs." CBC News. February 13, 2006.
42. Quigley, Bill. "Six Months After Katrina: Who Was Left Behind Then and Who is Being Left Behind Now?" Center of Concern.
43. Phillips, Kyra. "Bush Discusses Displaced Students; Department of Defense Briefs Press on Katrina Response (CNN Live Transcript)." CNN. September 6, 2005.
44. Staff Writer. "Asian nations offer US assistance." BBC News. September 5, 2005.
45. Lambeck, Linda C. "Spring break on the Hurricane Katrina-ravaged Gulf Coast." MSNBC//Connecticut Post. February 26, 2006
46. Staff Writer. "ARRL President Submits Congressional Testimony on Hams' Katrina Response" National Association for Amateur Radio. September 15, 2005.
47. Staff Writer. "Amateur Radio's Role Gets Favorable Mention in Post-Katrina Report." National Association for Amateur Radio. February 17, 2006.
48. Staff Writer. "Amateur Radio Earning Praise, Respect in Hurricane Katrina Relief." National Association for Amateur Radio. September 16, 2005.
49. "Corporate Katrina gifts could top $1B." CNN. September 13, 2005.
50. Myers, Lisa. "New Orleans levee reported weak in 1990s." MSNBC. September 30, 2005.
51. Hirsch, Tim. "Katrina damage blamed on wetlands loss." BBC News. November 1, 2005.
52. Walsh, Bill (April 06, 2006). "Corps chief admits to 'design failure'". Times Picayune. Retrieved 2006-04-09. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
53. United States Congress (February 19, 2006). A Failure of Initiative: Final Report of the Select Bipartisan Committee to Investigate the Preparation for and Response to Hurricane Katrina (PDF). Washington, DC: Government Printing Office. Retrieved 2006-04-10. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
54. Raftery, Miriam. "FEMA, La. outsource Katrina body count to firm implicated in body-dumping scandals." The Raw Story.
55. Brezosky, Lynn. "Months later, couple learns son, wife died in Katrina." Associated Press. January 20, 2006.
56. "Dennis, Katrina, Rita, Stan, and Wilma "Retired" from List of Storm Names." NOAA. March 25, 2006.
57. "Geraldo Rivera & Shepard Smith Unleashed." -- Video. 2005.
58. Thevenot, Brian; Russell, Gordon. "Rumors of deaths greatly exaggerated." Times Picayune. September 26, 2005.
59. Hilden, Julie. "In the Face of a CNN Lawsuit, FEMA Agrees To Allow Media Coverage Of Katrina's Dead: If the Case Had Proceeded, Who Would Have Won, and Why?" FindLaw. September 13, 2005.
60. Kurtz, Howard. "Restrictions irk media members covering storm." The Seattle Times. September 9, 2005.
61. Barker, Brian. "Brian Barker's weblog from New Orleans." KATU. September 16, 2005.
62. Moore, Solomon; Zucchino, David. "FEMA director relieved of duties." The Register-Guard. September 10, 2005.
63. Staff Writer. "U.S. won't ban media from New Orleans searches." CNN. September 11, 2005.
64. Winslow, Donald R. (2005-09-01). "Photojournalists Covering Katrina Fall Victim To Growing Violence, Chaos". National Press Photographers Association. Retrieved 2006-03-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
65. Ryan, Joel. ""Invasion" Hurricane Warning." E! September 8, 2005.

External links and sources

Disaster recovery

• American Red Cross: Official donation site
• Dallas Hurricane Katrina Refugee Resources & Volunteer/Donation Registry Pages
• DisasterSearch Missing Person Locater
• Federal Emergency Management Agency
• Housing Opportunities for Katrina Survivors
• Louisiana Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness
• Mississippi Emergency Management Agency
• New Orleans Hurricane Fund - Tulane Students Working to Restore New Orleans

Survivor and eyewitness accounts

• Hurricane Digital Memory Bank: Preserving the Stories from Katrina, Rita, and Wilma
• Katrina Underground: Testimony, discussion, peer-support and resources for hurricane survivors
• New Orleans Survivor Stories

Maps and images

• Weather satellite imagery (University of Wisconsin at Madison)
• NASA Hurricane Resource Page
• Photographs of Hurricane Katrina's Aftermath
• Associated Press Feature, 2004-2005 Destructive Hurricanes
• A photographic survey of New Orleans four months after Hurricane Katrina

Miscellaneous

• Videos of hurricane Katrina
• Science Magazine Katrina/Rita Website
• Gulf Coast Research Lab/Post Katrina
• Hurricane Katrina Memorial An online candlelight vigil of people sharing their personal feelings about Hurricane Katrina, and its effects.
• Hurricane Katrina Timeline
• TPM Hurricane Katrina Timeline
• NLO's Response To Hurricane Katrina

v t e Tropical cyclones of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season
Timeline
	TSArlene TSBret 1Cindy 4Dennis (history) 5Emily TSFranklin TSGert TSHarvey 2Irene TDTen TSJose 5Katrina (history) TSLee 3Maria 1Nate 1Ophelia 1Philippe 5Rita TDNineteen 1Stan SSUnnamed TSTammy SDTwenty-two 1Vince 5Wilma (history) TSAlpha 3Beta TSGamma TSDelta 1Epsilon TSZeta
Category

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• 2005 Atlantic hurricane season
• 2005 disasters
• 2005 meteorology
• Alabama hurricanes
• Atlantic hurricanes
• August 2005 news
• Category 5 hurricanes
• Emergency laws
• History of New Orleans
• Hurricane Katrina
• Louisiana hurricanes
• Mississippi hurricanes
• Mississippi River
• Natural disasters
• Retired Atlantic hurricanes
• October 2005 news
• September 2005 news