Essay Sample on Hurricane Katrina

Introduction

Hurricane Katrina is a disaster in which several federal mistakes were made that caused a lot of losses. The hurricane caused a landfall which resulted in a big disaster in 2005. Despite being warned of the impending disaster, the US government was ill-prepared when the disaster stroked. The disaster revealed the shortcomings of the US regarding the preparedness and the response to disasters and emergencies.

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During the Hurricane Katrina emergency, several faults in the American system of handling disasters and emergencies was revealed. There was confusion among federal officials who gave faulty information to the public. The government portrayed that it could not learn from previous encounters as although there had been warnings regarding the occurrence of the disaster, the officials in charge were still not prepared when it happened ("Hurricane Katrina," 2015). There were also cases of fraud among the officials. The chief problem during the disaster was that there was an issue with communications and the decision-making system which hampered operations. It is reported that during the incident, communication systems broke down to such an extent that there was no communication between the various agencies. Furthermore, there was indecision among leaders regarding what should be done such as the delivery of supplies. The challenges in communication occurred despite the implementation of better communication systems in case of emergencies since the beginning of the cold war. The total number of fatalities during the disaster was 1833 ("Hurricane Katrina," 2015). The number was exacerbated by the lack of coordination during the incident that blocked the access of people to medical services and supplies. This implies there is a need to address the weaknesses in the communication systems during emergencies in the US.

In the case of Hurricane Katrina, the high number of lives lost could have been avoided if there was proper communication between the various federal agents that responded to the emergency. It is reported that during the incident, some of the volunteer groups offering medical help were not granted access to the people due to miscommunication on who was responsible for what role or decision ("Hurricane Katrina," 2015). The challenge could have been addressed through the support of the delivery and coordination of safe communication strategies ("Disaster Emergency," 2016). Additionally, promotion of interoperable communication systems between various agents that respond to emergencies would go a long way in preventing such an occurrence as Hurricane Katrina ("Disaster Emergency," 2016). In essence, an effective communication system could have prevented a high number of fatalities in Hurricane Katrina since communication breakdown was a key cause of the high fatalities.

Implementation of an effective communication system was not possible during the disaster. The reason is that although it became apparent during the incident that there was a challenge in the existing communication system, addressing the issue fundamentally required systemic changes that were impossible to address urgently. The communication challenge itself posed a problem in the implementation of any urgent changes in the manner in which the incident was being handled.

Conclusion

In summary, Hurricane Katrina was a disaster that revealed how ill-prepared the American emergency response department is regarding the response to emergencies and disasters. Challenges in the communication system and unpreparedness were the chief cause of the high number of lives lost. The federal government has since put in measures that will ensure that the emergency department is well prepared for the future in case of any impending disasters.

References

Disaster Emergency Communications Division | FEMA.gov. (2016, 24). Retrieved from https://www.fema.gov/disaster-emergency-communications-division

Hurricane Katrina: Remembering the Federal Failures. (2015, August 27). Retrieved from https://www.cato.org/blog/hurricane-katrina-remembering-federal-failures