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 (USACE). As a U.S federal agency, there are given expectations that the flood control project will ensure the safety and protection of the nation's citizens in the face of a natural disaster. The failure of the support system is recognized as the worst civil engineering disaster in U.S history, which prompted a lawsuit against the USACE. It is interesting that the catastrophic state of the