...Governmental Fumble: Hurricane Katrina Things that occur naturally such as tornadoes, earthquakes, and hurricanes are unpreventable and are considered to be natural disasters. However, when man knowingly aids in the destructive power of naturally occurring events to inflect more damage, it is unquestionably a manmade disaster. For many years, both in the past and present, the United States has experienced some of the most devastating natural and artificial catastrophes such as The Dust Bowl of the 1930’s and the September 11 terror attack by the Al-Qaida terror network among others. In the case of Hurricane Katrina, the human factor contributed to both the deadliest and costliest hurricane to impact the city of New Orleans. A city that is known to be the birth place of Jazz and the yearly celebration of Mardi Gras has unfortunately inherited a new chain of thought as the city that went underwater. Hurricane Katrina was the third strongest land hurricane and the sixth-strongest Atlantic hurricane ever recorded. The hurricane is approximated to have affected more than 1.5 million individuals in the states of Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama, which contributed to the loss of billions of dollars in damages and job losses caused by the hurricane. The city of New Orleans was the most affected because it stood directly in Katrina’s path and although it is impossible to stop a naturally occurring event from occurring, it is not impossible to limit the damage that it inflicts...
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...9 RUNNING HEAD: LEADERSHIP FAILURES DURING KATRINA Leadership Failures of Hurricane Katrina Mark L. Perkins Webster University MNGT 6000 Professor Lee Trovas February27th2014 Abstract Hurricane Katrina was one of the most devastating natural disasters in recent history, not only because of the severity of the storm, which couldn’t be prevented, but due to poor planning and the years it took to rebuild and allow the people of New Orleans to move on with their lives.Hurricane Katrina happened four (4) years after the September 11th terrorist attacks and three (3) years after the creation of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and one (1) year after the DHS had created a National Response Plan. With the world watching the Federal Government failed the people of New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. The government failed to show initiative and the ability to provide for the basic needs for the people of New Orleans on many levels, including planning, logistics and communication during the natural disaster and the aftermath of the storm. . Introduction I’m going to discuss several failures of leadership and not just on the federal government but on the city and state as well. There are too many to fault that are identified later in this disaster ranging from pre-planning,...
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...documentary about the disastrous flooding of New Orleans during the Hurricane Katrina in a different viewpoint. While mass media describes the flood as well as the hurricane as a natural disaster, Shearer claims that the flooding was actually a man-made disaster, not a natural one; and the film contains comprehensive investigations with scientific data to support the claim. “The Big Uneasy” emphasize on the ineffective design and maintenance of the flood-protection system as well as the engineering structure of Mississippi River’s waterway in the city. Severe environmental damages due to poor infrastructural planning also ruin the natural flood barrier of the region. Furthermore, these problems are supported...
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...Disaster Relief Management The Good and Bad of Disaster Relief Ceazare Kemp Public Administration and Policy 311 Ms. Bastedo Abstract: Whether you are from Oklahoma or New Jersey, Florida, California, Texas, Haiti, Thailand or Japan; Mother Nature holds no punches when it comes to dishing out her forms of friendly storms. Natural disasters have made a major financial, physical and mental impact on the people of the world. When disaster strikes and people are forced out of there neighborhood and homes, people want to know that when something like this happens, there is someone there to have their back; a piece of mind. In 1979, the Federal Emergency Management Agency was formed to help with state and local governments within the United States and the International Association of Emergency Managers was formed to help state, federal and governments ensure that their people have peace of mind. Table of Contents I. Introduction 3 II. Hurricane Katrina 4 III. Natural disasters in the United States 6 IV. Earthquake and tsunami in Japan 8 V. Natural disasters in the world 9 VI. Closing 11 VII. Reference 13 I. INTRODUCTIONS The environment is always changing and the people of the United States should always be aware of what could happen to them if they are not prepared for what Mother Nature do to their surroundings with no notice. There are several types of natural disasters that can maim...
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...Introduction On Monday, August 29th, Hurricane Katrina made landfall in New Orleans, Louisiana. This hurricane brought with it devastating winds and floods to the people of New Orleans. Following the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, several investigations we opened to identify what went wrong with the hurricane protection system, including questions into the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the failure of the levees causing billions of dollars in damage in the greater New Orleans area, and more importantly, contributed to the displacement and loss of life to hundreds of New Orleans citizens. In order to better understand the cause and root issues of the levee failures in New Orleans, this paper takes a look at the accountability framework developed by Romzek and Dubnick in their assessment of the Challenger disaster. Moreover, this paper argues that out of the four accountability approaches (bureaucratic, political, professional and legal), the two accountability approaches that dominate the decisions and actions of the USACE include professional accountability, and predominantly, legal accountability....
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...Orleans, vulnerable to a catastrophic flooding during this Category 5 Hurricane Katrina. Hurricane Katrina had been listed one of the most horrible storms in history. The environmental consequence was devastating. New Orleans was vulnerable to wind and water, and over time a great deal has been done to help save this city from harm. Hurricanes Katrina storm course breached floodwalls and levees New Orleans, causing a widespread of damage along with the hampering rescue and improvement. The flooding caused by Hurricane Katrina was predicted, the degree of flooding was vague. Since much of the landscape of the city is underneath the sea level and lacking natural drainage precipitation frequently causes local flooding which is controlled by a system of canals and pumps (Cater 2005). New Orleans was faced with flooding threats from the Mississippi River, costal storms and severe precipitation. The levees as well as floodwalls around the city were intended to present a certain level of defense for such threat as Katrina. However the levees prevented the deposition of sediments that remain behind after the floodwater settle. Under natural conditions these sediments replenish and maintain the delta, building up costal wetlands. Most of the nation’s flood along with storm damage reduction is maintained by the government as well as a local levee district and several of which were locally build whereas other projects are built by the...
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...Miralem Smajic October 2, 2011 Political Science 3000 Professor: David G. Houghton In the milestone event of hurricane Katrina’s devastating destruction in 2005, the recovery process has had major impacts on the people in the Gulf of Mexico. Throughout the incident of Katrina, many organizations have helped contribute and donate their effort for the people of Louisiana and other states that have been affected by Katrina. Although years have passed since Katrina occurred, Red Cross for instance has raised the most for the beneficiary victims of Katrina. Donations throughout the United States such as: Red Cross, The Salvation Army, Joan B. Kroc, The American Cancer Society, and many other contributors raised funds for the victims of Katrina. The contributors statistics show that “The Red Cross moved up two spots to No. 2, rising nearly $3-billion,” Chronicle of Philanthropy. 20.2 (Nov. 1, 2007) while “The Salvation Army fell to No. 3, raising $1.6-billion” Chronicle of Philanthropy. 20.2 (Nov. 1, 2007) in the effort to provide outstanding amount of contribute to the people of Katrina’s destruction. Many who have lost their businesses and other data in the computing related plans by which the “Information Technology (IT) Disaster Recovery plan (DRP) to help protect their business data so as to ensure their survival,” (Academy of Strategic Management Journal. 10.2 (July 2011): p127) provides people who own businesses a safer straightforward plan to protect their values...
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...Page Course Project Part II Military Retirement Ceremony Keller Graduate School of Management PROJ 595 – Project Risk Management Phillip Thatcher October 24, 2014 Edward Yerington TABLE OF CONTENTS Project Risks for Planning a Military Retirement Ceremony Course Project Part I ………………………………………………………………………………………….3,4,5,6,7,8,9 Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………10 Decision Tree Analysis……………………………………………………………………………………………………………11 Discussion of Decision Tree…………………………………………………………………………………………………..12 Fault Tree……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….13 Discussion of Fault Tree………………………………………………………………………………………………………..14 Conclusions…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….15 Works cited…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….16 Introduction The Project Manager or the Commanding Officer of this project is responsible for the implementation of the Project Risk Management Plan. A formal detailed plan is required for these large complex and high-risk projects. These projects require a specified treatment plan to monitor and control risk. However, for smaller less complicated projects the risk plan is usually combined into the daily operations of the project tasks. In which I will assign to the appropriate sections. Such was the case for the planning a Military Retirement Ceremony. This report will discuss how risk were identified, prioritized and monitored for the project of planning of...
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...My final project proposal will be on Communication Crisis plan of Hurricane Katrina. I will discuss how there was failure of communication and what went wrong during this crisis. The crisis communication and management was not planned out correctly. From the outcome of the disaster, you can tell it wasn’t rehearsed to perfection. There were evacuation plans, but it didn’t cover all the publics in the state. For example, there were ill people that wasn’t able to evacuate. There were people with no means of transportation or gas to evacuate the storm. There were 112,000 people with no cars. A great number of people doubted there storm. They felt it wasn’t necessary to evacuate due to previous times when it was suppose to be a hurricane and it never hit. The first stage of a crisis is called prodromes. Which are warning signs of a crisis before it actually happens. Those great number of people ignored the signs because they never been through it. It was always a false alarm. Joel K. Bourne Jr. predicted this crisis. National Geographic Magazine published his piece a year before this disaster happened. It has been predicted by geologists for some time now. The First step of the crisis plan was the levees and flood walls built to protect New Orleans from the flood waters from Mississippi. The levees that were built wasn’t strong enough for all the different categories of hurricanes. So again, there were prodromes. The engineers warned them that hurricanes would destroy those...
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...Concept Paper: New Orleans Post-Katrina December 8, 2013 New Orleans post-Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina, which hit the southeast United States in late August of 2005 was one of the costliest and deadliest hurricanes in United States history. The city of New Orleans was arguably hit the hardest by the hurricane. The objective of this paper is to analyze the link between economic, political, and social conditions in New Orleans prior to Hurricane Katrina and the conditions in New Orleans post-Katrina. Although natural disasters are an inevitability, the human suffering that citizens faced in New Orleans immediately following Katrina were largely avoidable, the result of a lack of adequate evacuation planning and massive governmental negligence. Furthermore, it was no accident which people suffered the most in the aftermath of Katrina. Financial, political, racial, and social disparities in New Orleans long before Katrina dictated who would be most affected after Katrina, both immediately and years after the hurricane. Rebuilding efforts, just like the evacuation, have tended to favor the rich and White and neglect the poor and Black. Pre-Katrina New Orleans was disproportionately Black and poor relative to the rest of the United States. According to 2000 U.S. Census data, Blacks made up 12.3% of the nation’s population while Whites made up 75.1% of the nation’s population (U.S. Census, 2000b). In contrast, the city of New Orleans was 28.1% White and 67.3% Black...
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...WALMART'S POST KATRINA EFFORTS: HEROIC OR SUPERFICIAL? Sham Flora 211557766 MGMT 4300 B Bill Woof 06.01.2014 In the face of national crises, people most often turn to the government for safety and social welfare. After all, one must be able to depend on the governing body of a nation to provide for basic needs when an extreme situation escalates to complete chaos and turmoil. It is safe to say that the horrific catastrophe in Hurricane Katrina, and its aftermath, represented a national crisis. Unfortunately for the affected American citizens, even in the state of emergency, then US President George W. Bush and the governing agencies responsible for immediate response were ineffective at providing the necessary aid following Hurricane Katrina. Leading to at least 1,833 deaths and total damages of an estimated $81 billion, the hurricane registers as the most deadly and costly in the history of the United States of America. The most significant number of deaths and casualties occurred in New Orleans, Louisiana, which became a flooded region as the essential levee system disastrously failed. Eventually 80% of the city, and up to 90% of coastal areas were almost entirely flooded, leading to building collapses, houses and cars pushed inland, and several additional disastrous occurrences. Recall that a levee system is essential for the regulation of water levels, whose adequate construction and maintenance is the responsibility of the United States Army Corps of Engineers...
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...the American Red Cross For this project, I select the American Red Cross (ARC). The ARC, founded in 1881 by Clara Barton, is an independent organization, supported by public donations and volunteerism. As a member of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the ARC joins more than 175 other national societies in bringing aid to victims of disasters throughout the world. All Red Cross societies must conform to seven fundamental bylaws: humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity and universality. I selected this case because the American Red Cross primary goal is to assist others, which is something I enjoy. The ARC mission is to provide relief to victims of disaster and help people prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies. I believe helping others allows an individual to use their talents and skills to assist someone who is in need. The organization is important to the United States and the world. It offers food and aid to foreign countries and also ranks as a leader in the nursing, health and safety fields. It provides medical services as well as morale boosting services to the American armed forces. It also serves an important function as the nation’s foremost blood collection agency. The ARC responds to more than 70,000 disasters. However, the ways in which it handled the September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center and the Hurricane Katrina in 2005 were widely criticized as being...
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...The Future of Emergency Management Jeffrey C. Jones Case Studies in Natural and Man Made Disasters Professor Charles Kocher July 16, 2012 Abstract Emergency managers have historically been just that, managers of emergency situations. As the field of emergency management changes, more and more emphasis is being placed on the prevention of the emergency all together. This paper will lay out the frame work of emergency management in terms of total reorganization. The current model although tweaked many times is still response heavy, the new model will be more prevention and mitigation based, as will call for the total overhaul of conventional emergency management. Introduction The American public as an expectation that be it private or government on any level professional responders and emergency managers should be capable of handling any and all types of emergencies. They have an expectation be it fair or not that these responders should execute these responses without error. This expectation is only further fueled by popular television programs that depict stoic emergency managers that handle the large events everyday. In addition to emergency managers the same could be said about military commanders, and political leaders. The odd coincidence is that this was also the key duty that emergency managers have always focused on. The thought was that if a manager handles the call or...
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...the plate to start what could be a very successful venture. But, at this point continued intervention is needed. It is recognized that there are still technical issues related to functionality and interoperability. The problems appear to be due to sociological, cultural, and financial problems. But, in the end most would agree that the issues are related to managerial more than technological problems. Experience and research implemented by those with failures have identified the most important concerns being,” what constitutes success and what is failure?” Their question is what contributes to making successful or unsuccessful systems? How do these companies use their system failures to enhance learning opportunities for continued company improvement? How should they study this success or failure? The determination was related at workshops directed by the AMIA to enhance opportunities for future successes, with a research agenda and recommendations. The AMIA was convicted to take a leadership role and come up with practical projects that would likely succeed in a health care setting. Introduction In February 2009 Congress appropriated $20 billion for health information technology as a part of the President’s stimulus package. Then the United State joined with other countries to benefit from healthcare technology. Because of the changes made to Medicare and private insurance plans, new paradigm for payments have been made to reflect Value-Based...
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...immediate threats to the homeland, but how well do they know the asymmetric environment in order to stop poor geo-political decisions that subsequently hurt the homeland. Early on, I did not fully understand what the areas of responsibility that DHS covered. By 04’ I had already served 2 combat deployments to the Middle East, and began to understand the transnational threat more intimately. In late 05’ I left Ft. Bragg, NC and was assigned to the Joint Readiness Training Center at Ft. Polk, Louisiana, which is located on the western side of the state. While home on leave Hurricane Katrina hit, I saw the devastation first on T.V., then in person. When I made it to Louisiana, and got set up in Leesville, we got hit with Hurricane Rita. If the DHS was trying to help through FEMA we did not see it. Also, from a local level, it was very clear that the state of Louisiana was very ill prepared to deal with a disaster of Katrina and Rita’s magnitude. This began to really form my understanding of how vulnerable we are to both natural and man-made disasters. For myself, I have historically put the term “homeland security” into 4 different categories (Situational Awareness, Assessment/Decision Making, Action, and Analysis). As a family man, that is how I protect my family, home, car, and community. I understand who lives in the neighborhood to include the types of school, hospitals, churches, mosques, and synagogues that are present. I understand the economy and recognize strengths and weaknesses...
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