Response To Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina an extremely deadly tropical storm that was one of the most high cost disasters and one of the most deadliest hurricanes to ever hit the United State. The Hurricane at its peak, had winds of speeds of at 175 mph, and did devastating damage to coastal areas and islands. With most of the harm hitting Louisiana, particularly the New Orleans. The cost of Katrina was catastrophic, it is estimated the total cost impact is around the range of a 150 billion dollars. This storm claimed its title as one of the most deadly hurricanes to ever hit the United States of America with a estimated death count of 1,245 to 1,836 total. Katrina, on top of all the damage that she did, displaced over a million people from the coastal areas

at the state level , specifiably in Louisiana, President Bush sent Governor Blanco a request to take over command of the law enforcement, but this petition was written off by the Governor. Governor Blanco however make a request to the Federal government for more National Guard troops to add to the 5,600 National Guard troops in Louisiana at the time. However, the request made through the federal National Guard was not sent until Wednesday, 24 hours after the hurricane made land fall and much of the city was already under water, the Governor said that she didn't understand the types and number of troops needed. Governor Blanco also failed to intact a pact with other states that would have allowed her to move pass the National Guard Bureau in a quest for more troops. Many of the problems that rose developed from lousey planning and back-up communications at various levels. One example of this is that the City of New Orleans attempted to manage the disaster from a ballroom in a hotel with bad back-up comm plans instead of a well staffed Emergency Operations Center. When phone service failed, they had difficulty communicating their needs to the state Operations Center in Baton

President Bush signed a $10 billion relief package within four days of the hurricane, he ordered 7,000 troops to help with relief efforts. There was also concern that many National Guard units were short staffed in states surrounding, because some were deployed overseas and recruiting efforts in schools and the community had been shorted. Due to the slow response to the hurricane, New Orleans's top emergency management official called it a "national disgrace" and questioned when additional aid would actually reach the desperate city. The city's emergency ops chief Terry Ebbert blamed the response on the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The mayor Ray Nagin expressed his anger at what he claimed were lousy reinforcements provided by the President and the federal government. President Bush was criticized for not coming to Washington, D.C. from his vacation in Texas until after more a day after the hurricane made landfall. The president asked for a mandatory evacuation of New Orleans, and Nagin and Gov. Blanco decided to evacuate the city in response to that request. Governor Blanco told reporters the President had called and spoken with her before a press conference. President Bush flew over the area in Air Force One when he traveled from Texas to Washington, D.C., and visited the Gulf Coast.. Turned to his aides during the flight Bush said, "It's totally wiped out. It's devastating, it's got to be doubly devastating