Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans : a flooded city, a chaotic response : hearing before the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, United States Senate, One Hundred Ninth Congress, first session, October 20, 2005 4.G 74/9:S.HRG.109-482
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- Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans : a flooded city, a chaotic response : hearing before the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, United States Senate, One Hundred Ninth Congress, first session, October 20, 2005 4.G 74/9:S.HRG.109-482
- Full Document
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Hurricane Katrina was a catastrophic tropical cyclone that killed 1,392 people and caused an estimated $125 billion dollars in damage, particularly in and around New Orleans, Louisiana, in August of 2005. As a result of Katrina, 80 percent of New Orleans was flooded. An estimated 100,000 to 150,000 residents remained in the city despite a mandatory evacuation. The largest cause for death was due to flooding, which resulted from flaws in the engineering of the levees around New Orleans. In the Flood Control Act of 1965, Congress tasked the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers with designing and building the levees around New Orleans. Though the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers was found responsible for the flaws in the levees that lead to the failures in the flood walls, the Flood Control Act of 1928 prevents them from being held financially responsible.
On August 29, 2005, the Louisiana Superdome was used as a last resort shelter for those who had not evacuated. 10,000 people had taken shelter in the Superdome. During the hurricane's landfall, damage was caused to the superdome, resulting in the deaths of 6 evacuees. Government officials at the local, state, and federal levels were heavily criticized for poor preparations and response, especially Mayor of New Orleans Ray Nagin, President George W. Bush, Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco, and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) director Michael D. Brown. By August 30, 2005, temperatures inside the dome had reached 90 degrees Fahrenheit, and the damage to the dome from the hurricane's landfall allowed for moisture to enter the dome. Food was spoiling as refrigerators had no power. Plumbing systems had broken down, forcing people to urinate and defecate in other areas inside the dome. Tempers were short as people grew hungry and thirsty, coupled with the awful smells in the dome. On August 30, the Superdome began to fill with water on the field level. By this point the number of evacuees in the Superdome had reached about 30,000.
This document is a transcript of the hearing before the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs United States Senate on the response to Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. This document contains opening statements from senators, a witness testimony from public affairs officer of the FEMA, Marty J. Bahamonde, photographs of the disaster, and emails exchanged between Bahamonde and his colleagues at FEMA during the emergency.