Running Head: Have we learned from Katrina?

Have we learned from Katrina?

Daniel Baldwin
Portland State University
Dr. Bagley

Abstract:

Running Head: Have we learned from Katrina?

Jared Diamond is a novelist who focuses on the study of early and modern societies, along with
various topics based around collapses and the history of societies. This paper discusses the
theories of collapse through Jared Diamond, by analyzing Hurricane Katrina and the connections
of its collapse to Diamonds.

Introduction
A collapse as defined by Jared Diamond is Drastic decrease in human population
numbers and/or in political, economic, or social complexity. The disaster of Hurricane Katrina

Running Head: Have we learned from Katrina?

is one of the best examples of a collapse in modern times. Everything that could have failed,
failed. It hit New Orleans hard, and the United states equally so. Many mistakes were made, and
almost 11 years later it is wondered, have we learned from it all? During the grief period after
the storm settled promises were made by the government and the nation was truly in chaos.
Rebuilding continues to take place and the city never returned to the state it was in before. So
can we learn from these mistakes to prevent this from happening again?
The Katrina disaster left New Orleans to ruin, at least 986 dead (Brunkard, Namulanda,
and Ratard. 2008), and most of the cities population scattered across the US. The people who
lived through the storm that remained in the city were stuck without help, food, water, or shelter.
They were left on the streets in awful conditions for days and weeks. And there was no signs of
help coming (Lee. 2006.). Going back to Diamonds quote from earlier, the situation in New
Orleans really fit his description very well, the population went down, the political structure was
gone and there was no order in the city, and racism and terror indulged those who remained.
Some argue that Hurricane Katrina is not to blame for all the damage and sorrow, but the
government is antagonist in the whole event that took place. How can an organization be worse
than a natural occurrence that killed so many people?

Why is the Government to blame for Katrina?

Before Katrina reached the lands of Louisiana the hurricane warning went on and the
evacuation was set in place. The evacuation plan was one of the first mistakes that took place,
there werent a lot of buses arriving to take those who didnt have car transportation and so the
cheaper method was bringing everyone to the Superdome for refuge. The lack of order is what

Running Head: Have we learned from Katrina?

led to this catastrophe, the bus drivers refused to drive, and those who braved the trip were met
with gunfire and mobs of people (Sullivan. 2005).
The second mistake was the lack of care from President Bush, who was constantly being
asked for help from New Orleans. There was no response for days. Bush carried on life posting
pictures of him celebrating a birthday, or talking about Iraq, and cared more for international
problems than the problem at home. Everything was delayed, it took FEMA a whole day to
arrive and the National Guard to drop two days after requested (Lee. 2006). There were reports
of looting, murder, rape, all of the above occurring and nothing being done to enforce authority.
The higher ups pretended like it wasnt so bad and overlooked the true damage, they tried to
sweep it under the rug. Mayor Nagin fought for a response from the higher government for help
to get the people out or get food and water. It took days to get a response. Money was a key
restraint in help, as no one wanted to spend it on relief.
This was the key factor in determining Katrina being a societal collapse. The government
had the power to take control and get things in order before and after the disaster.Two types of
choices seem to me to have been crucial in tipping the outcomes [of the various societies'
histories] towards success or failure: long-term planning and willingness to reconsider core
values. On reflection we can also recognize the crucial role of these same two choices for the
outcomes of our individual lives. (Diamond). Planning and values were both needed to be a
factor in the decisions that were made within the government, they were not directly in Katrina
so therefore the role of responsibility felt like less to them. These choices and attitudes led to the
collapse of New Orleans and the United States.
Was money a factor in the lack of support?

Running Head: Have we learned from Katrina?

Natural Disasters have always been costly on a nation, tsunami in Japan 2011, Haitian
earthquake 2010, etc. And money is extremely valued and the choice to use it lies within a group
of people, or in this case the government. Disasters affect a nation as a whole, normally resulting
in a loss of a profitable resource or production along with business and overall economy damage.
Katrina damaged major companies and faltered the oil productions in the gulf, causing inflation
in gas prices across the US. So naturally the government placed its support in the rebuilding of
big businesses and fixing the oil rigs in order to balance out America's needs, rather than the
people's wellbeing and needs. Of course, why would they? In the eyes of the government they
are just people, not profitable businesses or resources (Lee. 2006). Not only the government
played apart in this tight walleted mindset, but big insurance companies like Allstate refused to
help their clients due to non hurricane caused damage in their agreements. This was just a
simple avoidance of paying the huge sums of money back to the people in order for them to
rebuild and be reimbursed for their loss.
One of the biggest errors on the hands of the government, was the failure of the levees
that were meant to protect the city from flooding. The levees was created by the United States
Corps of Engineers and was funded by the United States government. The flooding is what cause
the most damage to the city and the population, the flooding carried bodies and debris throughout
the landscape and made it ten times harder to clean up afterwards from water damage. The water
damage was one of the main reasons for the insurance companies for not wanting to help,
claiming it was not a result of the hurricane.(Sullivan. 2005.).
A collapse can be contributed to a loss of resources, one of these being money in the case
of Katrina. Jared Diamond frequently talks about how one of the biggest causes to a collapse is a
loss of natural resources (Diamond, 2005.), during Katrina there was a mass shortage of food and

Running Head: Have we learned from Katrina?

water as well as a loss of money, from funding, not being utilized to the aid of the people. This
was a huge contributor to the collapse of New Orleans, both economically, and socially. Money
in the end was a big resource that was needed for New Orleans, it was needed before, during, and
after Katrina in order to keep the society in-tact.
Are We Re-building as promised?
After the levees broke there was a huge uproar from the people, blaming the government
for not pouring enough funding into the construction of the levees, which were weak and broke
almost instantaneously (Lee, 2005). One of the biggest causes of a collapse is ignorance from the
government in a society which leads to major mistakes that are everlasting (Diamond, 2005.). So
it was key to the US to perform a complete 180 and analyze and fix the problems in order to
maintain their society, and prevent an even bigger collapse. The aftermath of Katrina left almost
all of the homes in the area destroyed, flooded, obliterated, etc. Some houses moved blocks away
and others just gone from existence. So the main goals for the post-katrina phase was to help the
people find temporary, and stable living. As well as clear out every house, find any bodies, and
start construction on the city.
The first phase of the re-building phase was to get the population of New Orleans in
living conditions due to the loss of homes and jobs. So the government sent people all across the
US for short term living along with the promise of an RV as a provided shelter so they can
remain back home. (Lee. 2005). The plan seemed good at the time, however it was very chaotic
due to the large group of people in need of support. So after a while the rent stopped being paid
for the temporary living and the promised RVs were moved into the regions of Louisiana, it's
just that not many people were getting the call that theirs was ready. There were many empty RV
parks and it was all very disorganized. So the first phase of the rebuilding process failed. Second

Running Head: Have we learned from Katrina?

was the clearing of houses, the firefighters, national guard, and FEMA planned a strategic system
for checking and marking checked houses to clear them of bodies or injured people. This plan
also failed, the disorganization and unreliance of people's judgement led there to be multiple
instances of bodies remaining in houses despite markings saying it was checked and there were
none. (Lee. 2005). After the first levees broke Congress passed a $14.6 billion budget for the
Corps of Engineers to rebuild the levees to work this time. Before they were built on the idea of a
1% chance of a storm of that magnitude ever happening, this is what led to the cheap and not as
powerful barriers as before. (Ferris. 2015). The new levees were adjusted based on the failures of
their predecessors. The problem with erosion was fixed by reinforcing the supports and the
surrounding ground around each levee, as well as adjusting the height and degree of the levees
themselves, as the originals were immediately overcome by the water and could not hold its own
against the strength of the water and fell right away. ( Lee, 2005.)(Ferris, 2015.). The levees this
time around seem to be the only successful phase of the rebuilding phase. Nature is something
that is immensely unpredictable, so there are unknown factors that cannot always be accounted
for during the building of these types of constructions.
The rebuilding phase for New Orleans is not up to par as promised. It all seems very
effortless and almost lazy, a lot of excuses thrown into the mix. One good example to draw from
is the levees in the Netherlands, the government recognized the vital importance of the flood
prevention and a lot of money and mind-power was thrown together to create the best levee
system known. The result of this failure is not a complete failure, however it is still a failure
nonetheless. There are ways to rebuild and recover from the collapse, as Jared Diamond says
Societies choose whether they collapse. (Diamond 2005.).

Running Head: Have we learned from Katrina?

Examples of rebuilds around the world

One of the best examples of a speedy recovery is Japan after the 2011 earthquake and
tsunami. The damage in Katrina was microscopic compared to this tsunami, the damage left
close to 20,000 dead and destroyed an entire coastal region. However, through all this it only
took about one year to clear the majority of the debris and rebuild the city. However, there is still
the same issue Katrina had, which is the displacement of people across the country. It seems as
though the house system is the biggest problem no matter where at. (Gordts, 2015). It is no easy
task and rebuilding can be lengthy, as they are still constructing the new system for tsunami
defence being building the town on the elevated ground with a large shield. Japan is still building
but at a fast rate from the quick reaction from the government and most of the major countries
providing support and relief. Going back the the Netherlands, a country very vulnerable to
flooding, with one of the best flood protection systems in the world. Netherlands is a country that
is very understanding and in touch with their nation's needs and is willing to pour the money in
where necessary and treating it with the utmost importance. (Kimmelman, 2013.). This is just a
small example of how it is possible to reassess a situation and essentially advance further.
Jared Diamond uses older societies when he references his collapses for the most part,
being the people in Greenland, the Mayans, and the people of Easter Island. All of those
collapses were a result of ignorance and loss of resources from the people. These were political
collapses for the most part where the higher delegates chose to regulate their materials carelessly
and not put the effort to learn and renew sources. This can be directly applied to an interesting
topic of the destruction of the wetland region in the mississippi river range. Where it is found
that wetlands can actually serve as a sponge and absorb or reduce the strength of a hurricane,
and as it turns out most of the wetlands in that area have been destroyed by constant construction

Running Head: Have we learned from Katrina?

and no funding was or has been put into place to rebuild these wetlands, which is completely
doable. (Lee. 2006). In Japan they assessed the situation and went in to build, and came up with
plans to survive future attacks, in the Netherlands they created a system to avoid the problem all
together and put forth the effort to create a sustainable society that can be worry free. All the US
has to do is come together and face the facts and funnel money into the needed areas to avoid
another disaster that could lead to an even bigger loss of money and more importantly more
citizens lives lost.
Its possible to learn by simply facing the facts, it is something that cant be swept under
the rug because it is bound to happen again. The continuance of ignorance can be potentially
damaging to the US as a whole and create a mass uproar within the people and can cost the lives
of its people from another attack. The USs biggest problem is use of money and deciding what
is considered of importance. The ignorance can lead to the city of New Orleans rendered
defenseless and in no need of being rebuilt if destroyed again.
What happens if we cant learn?
Collapse of a society lies in the hands of the people who inhabit it. The people of Easter
Island had their entire population disappear after the ignorance of their extreme usage of the
wood they had accessible to them. Civil war has been the leading factor in tearing societies apart
and causing a crack in the system and mass outrage. (Diamond, 2005). If the US does not clean
itself up then it may fall among one of those paths, obviously not to the extreme. But the trust of
its people would be lost, an entire city that is its biggest home production of oil could be lost. A
huge population of people could be dispersed and designated homeless and in need by fault of
the government. The economy would inflate and given recent times there could be riots and mass
protests calling for government action.

Running Head: Have we learned from Katrina?

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After 10 years New Orleans seems to be back on the rise, it may have taken a while but
the effort has made a difference. After the masses rallied to clean Katrina and billions of dollars
poured into the rebuilding of houses the population has almost reached to where it was before
Katrina. (Miller, 2015.). New Orleans once was at the point of a collapse, it met all of
requirements to Jared Diamond's definition of a collapse, since then it is still on the road to 100%
recovery, but it has pulled itself out of its collapse and can hopefully learn from its mistakes.

Conclusion
Hurricane Katrina is a prime example of Jared Diamonds definition of a collapse. It met
all of the requirements and is something that we hope to not see in modern times. The
government failed in all ways and was truly the antagonist in the whole scheme of things. False
promises were made, and uncertain rebuilding has taken place. But there is a grace period now
and the opportunity to rebuild properly and utilize resources to areas where it is needed can
happen now. New Orleans is nearly stabilized as a city and now the focus can shift towards the
people and the prevention of another hurricane causing so much damage. After experiencing the
failures and grievance from the Katrina, the US has the capacity to be fully prepared for the next
disaster that heads its way.

Running Head: Have we learned from Katrina?

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References

Diamond, J. M. (2005). Collapse: How societies choose to fail or succeed. New York: Viking.

Ehrlich, P. R., & Ehrlich, A. H. (2013, January 9). Can a collapse of global civilization be
avoided?

Lee, S. (Director). (2006). When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts [Motion picture on
DVD]. USA: HBO.

Ferris, R. (2015, August 26). Will the levees hold next time?

Smith, G. B. (2015, August 22). Hurricane Katrina 10 yrs. later: New Orleans still struggles.

Chaudhuri, D. (n.d.). Government- Response to Katrina.

Mosendz, P. (2015, August 19). After Katrina.

Running Head: Have we learned from Katrina?

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Gordts, E. (2015, March 11). Beautiful Photos Capture Japan's Resilience 4 Years After Its
Worst Disaster Since WWII.

Kimmelman, M. (2013, February 16). Going With the Flow.

Miller, M. (2015, August 27). 10 years after Katrina, rebuilding of homes continues.

References
FEMA. (2013, August 28). Louisiana Recovery: Eight Years after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Medina, D. A., & NBC News. (2015, August 29). As New Orleans Rises Again, Some Are Left
Behind.

Brinkley, D. (2015, September). The Broken Promise of the Levees That Failed New Orleans.

Packer, G. (2013, June 19). Decline and fall: How American society unravelled.

Sullivan, L. (2005, September 23). How New Orleans' Evacuation Plan Fell Apart.

Brunkard, J., PhD, Namulanda, G., MS, & Ratard, R., MD. (2011). Hurricane Katrina Deaths,
Louisiana, 2005. Hurricane Katrina Deaths, Louisiana, 2005, 10(1), 1-9.

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