Hurricane Katrina Deaths

Hurricane Katrina surfaced around the Bahamas on August 23, 2005. It was a very traumatizing storm and it killed many people. There are many different conclusions on how many people actually died. Katrina hit many places in its path, leaving people with absolutely nothing. The O'Colley discovered 3 sources and analyzed the information, and the different sources reported what happened during hurricane Katrina. Source 1 discusses the deaths during hurricane Katrina, source 2 discusses the numbers for evacuations before and during the hurricane, and source 3 gives a reason for medical assistance during and after the hurricane. So, for this week in the O'Colley we will be discussing the number of deaths that occurred during this devastating hurricane.

Referring to the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, hurricanes range from 1 to 4 with 4 being the worst. Hurricane Katrina started in the Bahamas, then made its way to Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and then Florida. Katrina also hit parts of Mississippi and Louisiana causing devastation to southern parts of the United States. The Hurricane stared at a category 1 with an average of 74 miles per hour winds. It then strengthened to a category 3 hurricane with winds of 115 miles per hour.

New Orleans was not hit exactly, but the flooding throughout the town was unbelievable. Britannica published an evaluation on Hurricane Katrina. It includes information about what happened during the hurricane and also the shape of the cities that were hit very hard how they are doing now. It became electronically viewable to readers on August 16, 2018. It seems that this source had more time to evaluate the circumstances over the past years, other than just focusing on what happened. The source is a .com source, which sometimes means that it is not as accurate. Due to it being published much later than others, it seems to be precise and it matches information with other sources as well. The author is The Editors of Encyclopedia, who seem to be correct. The information is mistake free and also provides before and after pictures of New Orleans. The purpose is to inform the readers of, Hurricane Katrina and it is the main focus is to provide information on the number of people stayed or evacuated during the hurricane. The source states, 1.2 million people left ahead of the storm. However, tens of thousands of residents could not or would not leave. Knowing that people would not leave is heartbreaking. So many people were worried about losing their belongings, houses, and even lives. Also, over a million people left before the storm, and yet so many people still died. With Katrina being one of the worst Hurricanes to ever hit the United States, and especially New Orleans, over 80 percent of the city was underwater at the end of the hurricane.

When we hear that New Orleans evacuated 1.2 million people we immediately think that is a lot. The overall state of Louisiana evacuated 1.5 million, and most evacuees were from New Orleans. Environmental Public Health Impacts of Disasters published a book named, Hurricane Katrina: Workshop Summary. It was published in 2007 on nap.edu. The information relates to my topic, because it states the number of evacuated people during the storm and how many stayed. It is insane to think that people wanted to stay through the storm. Many lost their lives during the storm, and mainly are the people that would not evacuate. Also, the source is a .edu URL, which usually means that it is used for education. As well as, it is a book which typically results in that it has been proofread many times. The context is very unbiased as well, the information just tells us how it went. The overall purpose of this source is to inform us of the state of Louisiana and give us more information throughout the book. The source states, The state of Louisiana evacuated approximately 1.5 million people before Hurricane Katrina made landfall. However, approximately 150,000 to 200,000 individuals remained during the storm. While many people chose to stay, others did not have an opportunity to evacuate because of unavailable resources, noted by Jimmy Guidry of the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals. It is very depressing to know that the state of Louisiana could not protect their citizens and that many lost their homes and lives. This source gives us so much information on what happened, as well as what the government could have done better to protect more citizens.

Not only did Hurricane Katrina leave many people without medical attention, but is also did not help that Rita hit just a couple of weeks after. Even though Hurricane Rita was not as bad as Katrina, it still damaged Louisiana. The citizens of Louisiana were still trying to recover from Katrina, and yet they could not. Louisiana had many families mourning over deaths in the family, very minimal number of medical supplies and a lot of depression. Direct Relief published an article describing the massive necessity for medical supplies Louisiana needed. Direct Relief is a website that works internationally to help nurses and doctors with medical needs and supplies to help citizens around the world. On the website, people can donate money and it goes straight to training nurses and doctors to travel worldwide to help people during disasters. Direct Relief posted a final report on June 6, 2018. This source was to inform the readers on Hurricane Katrina and explain how much of an impact Direct Relief helped the citizens during this depressing time. Direct Relief has raised 85 million dollars from the day Katrina hit to the day this article was published. This money helped with bills, medical expenses, doctors, nurses, and to rebuild cities that were destroyed.

This source relates to my topic because it discusses that the hospitals filled up very quickly, due to all of the injuries and deaths Hurricane Katrina caused. The Direct Relief organization is the author of this article. The source is a .org website meaning that the source is a type of organization. The information is supported by pictures, as well as quotes from doctors and survivors of the hurricane. The purpose of this information is to inform and the authors' purpose is very clear and understanding. The author is also persuading people to donate money to help fellow citizens during disasters that are uncontrollable. The source states, On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall in Louisiana, forever changing the lives of thousands of families. Hurricane Rita followed just a few weeks later, making landfall on September 24. The impact of these storms revealed a vast unmet need for medical aid throughout the Gulf Coast region, particularly with community clinics and health centers experiencing a dramatic surge of people in need of care. As hospitals quickly filled up, many patients turned to the network of safety-net providers throughout the region. Direct Relief was positioned to help. This quote from Direct Relief really reveals how in need much families were in need of medical attention. Also, it shows the significance of the cities that were hit by both Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita within weeks.

With all of this being said, it is heartbreaking that so many people were trapped and lost their lives. Most of the people that died were in Louisiana due mainly to chronic diseases, drowning, and lack of medical care. Most of the victims died in their own residences. It is awful to realize that many family members had to watch other family members die in their own homes. It is very interesting to dive into Hurricane Katrina and how many deaths were accounted for. Also, it is eye-opening to know why so many people died and what went wrong during the evacuation process. While source 1 gives us information about deaths, source 2 tells us the numbers evacuated and source 3 tells us the reason for the lack of medical assistance. All of these sources explain the many pitfalls that occurred during hurricane Katrina. The sources chosen have good facts and details regarding the details that happened before, during, and after hurricane Katrina. I chose this topic because many of my family members were affected by this epic natural disaster. My hopes are we will never experience another Hurricane Katrina, as she definitely left her mark.

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