Hurricane Katrina ~ A disaster that was more than a natural one!
With the year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina yesterday (August 29, 2006), Americans have been inundated by the Media with all kinds of "Katrina coverage".
My feelings when I've watched the TV or read accounts of the desperation, heroism, failure, incompetence, compassion and generosity have ranged from anger to pride to bewilderment.
I'm certain that the feelings of anger and pride are not unique to me and have been felt by many Americans, depending on which story they were watching or reading. I get the sense, however, that the feeling of bewilderment isn't shared by as many.
My bewilderment stems from the lack of distinction given to the disaster when discussed in the news. Allow me to explain:
This morning when introducing the story on a national morning news show (The Today Show), the voiceover designated Katrina as the worst American natural disaster in history. Hearing that claim, I was prompted me to take the bewilderment I've felt over the last year and share it with you.
Hurricane Katrina was indeed a horrible, natural disaster that caused extensive damage to the lives and homes of thousands of people in LA, AL, and MI. A category 5 hurricane that devastated entire communities and wiped out historical landmarks. As if that wasn't bad enough, it met up with what was a man made catastrophic disaster waiting to happen ... the failure of the levees. Two separate events joining to create the worst disaster this country has seen. One natural and one the result of negligence. You see the distinction?
Natural disasters can't be avoided but the scope of the damage in New Orleans could have been. Had the Army Corps of Engineers maintained the levees the way they should have been maintained, the damage from Katrina would still have been disastrous, however, it would have been no where near what it was ... not in the cost of lives, the $ expense to individuals or insurance companies or the physical damage.
Katrina was a natural disaster. The breech in the levees was not. It was simply human error, poor decision making, bad politics; at the very least it was man's arrogance in the face of nature.
I am bewildered that this sentiment is not voiced in the media. I am bewildered that insurance companies are recouping their costs by going after property owners on the Gulf Coast in the form of higher insurance premiums because of the "threat of hurricanes". As if this disaster was simply the result of a hurricane. If Katrina had landed anywhere else the damage would have been less, simply because there would not have been any failed levees. What responsibility / accountability does The ACOE have? Are insurance companies going after them?
An analogy:
I operate an automobile that was manufactured (knowingly by the manufacturer) with poorly designed brakes, of a compromised material. While driving during a torrential rainstorm one day, I slide on a slippery road, I apply my brakes with unusual force and because they fail, I plow the car into a home seriously injuring myself and a family watching TV in their living room.
Would that rainstorm be the worst rainstorm in American history? Or would the event be the unfortunate result of two distinctive set of circumstances meeting, both serious, one the result of nature at work and the other, capitalism / politics?
I resent that this lack of distinction in the events surrounding Katrina, has contributed to people being afraid to move to cities on the Gulf Coast, has caused my homeowner's insurance rates to rise, has people thinking that every hurricane could potentially do the same damage. I am bewildered that more people aren't expressing the same.
Hurricanes can be devastating, but clearly it was man's arrogance that contributed to Katrina's being so awful.
My feelings when I've watched the TV or read accounts of the desperation, heroism, failure, incompetence, compassion and generosity have ranged from anger to pride to bewilderment.
I'm certain that the feelings of anger and pride are not unique to me and have been felt by many Americans, depending on which story they were watching or reading. I get the sense, however, that the feeling of bewilderment isn't shared by as many.
My bewilderment stems from the lack of distinction given to the disaster when discussed in the news. Allow me to explain:
This morning when introducing the story on a national morning news show (The Today Show), the voiceover designated Katrina as the worst American natural disaster in history. Hearing that claim, I was prompted me to take the bewilderment I've felt over the last year and share it with you.
Hurricane Katrina was indeed a horrible, natural disaster that caused extensive damage to the lives and homes of thousands of people in LA, AL, and MI. A category 5 hurricane that devastated entire communities and wiped out historical landmarks. As if that wasn't bad enough, it met up with what was a man made catastrophic disaster waiting to happen ... the failure of the levees. Two separate events joining to create the worst disaster this country has seen. One natural and one the result of negligence. You see the distinction?
Natural disasters can't be avoided but the scope of the damage in New Orleans could have been. Had the Army Corps of Engineers maintained the levees the way they should have been maintained, the damage from Katrina would still have been disastrous, however, it would have been no where near what it was ... not in the cost of lives, the $ expense to individuals or insurance companies or the physical damage.
Katrina was a natural disaster. The breech in the levees was not. It was simply human error, poor decision making, bad politics; at the very least it was man's arrogance in the face of nature.
I am bewildered that this sentiment is not voiced in the media. I am bewildered that insurance companies are recouping their costs by going after property owners on the Gulf Coast in the form of higher insurance premiums because of the "threat of hurricanes". As if this disaster was simply the result of a hurricane. If Katrina had landed anywhere else the damage would have been less, simply because there would not have been any failed levees. What responsibility / accountability does The ACOE have? Are insurance companies going after them?
An analogy:
I operate an automobile that was manufactured (knowingly by the manufacturer) with poorly designed brakes, of a compromised material. While driving during a torrential rainstorm one day, I slide on a slippery road, I apply my brakes with unusual force and because they fail, I plow the car into a home seriously injuring myself and a family watching TV in their living room.
Would that rainstorm be the worst rainstorm in American history? Or would the event be the unfortunate result of two distinctive set of circumstances meeting, both serious, one the result of nature at work and the other, capitalism / politics?
I resent that this lack of distinction in the events surrounding Katrina, has contributed to people being afraid to move to cities on the Gulf Coast, has caused my homeowner's insurance rates to rise, has people thinking that every hurricane could potentially do the same damage. I am bewildered that more people aren't expressing the same.
Hurricanes can be devastating, but clearly it was man's arrogance that contributed to Katrina's being so awful.
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