Coping With Disaster
The TV images from New Orleans were unreal. Was this really happening? And in the first world? With ample warnings days before Hurricane Katrina actually hit the US Gulf Coast, why were effective steps not taken to anticipate the impending disaster? Why was relief not pre-positioned, why was a possible law and order problem overlooked, particularly when a million residents had evacuated the city by road? Problems compounded in the affected cities because of the breakdown of the city’s dykes, causing flooding, destruction of electricity and sewerage facilities, lack of potable water and medical facilities, etc further aggravated by looting by armed gangs and the administration’s inability to remove corpses. Far beyond the capabilities of the States of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, the Federal relief effort did not go into full gear until riding a severe tide of criticism from friend and foe alike US President George Bush belatedly visited the affected area 5 days after the storm. His “political damage control” effort included calling the Federal relief response “unacceptable”.
