Hurricane Katrina

Late in the summer of 2005, one of the “costliest natural disasters of US history” struck the southeast coast, wreaking havoc. The hurricane hit American coasts first in Florida, then picking up speed in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, through cities in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama. The category 3 storm ripped through the southeast coast killing thousands (1,833) and making millions homeless. The hurricane was labeled the “costliest natural disasters of US history” due to the $108 billion of damage, and the billions spent by the government in relief and recovery.

In Louisiana, namely New Orleans, the disaster was intensified by inadequate government preparation and reaction to the hurricane. Initially, New Orleans was kept out of the full brunt of the storm, however, the true disaster came when over 80% of the city flooded after levees failed. New Orleans Mayor, Ray Nagin, had delayed the evacuation of the city until only one day before the storm hit, causing thousands of people to become trapped in the city, and hundreds of people to die. Additionally, the mayor failed to implement a food plan and sent many residents to shelters that were not equipped with basic living necessities. The federal response was not much better: a $10.5 billion relief package and 7000 troops to assist with the relief effort. While the action itself was not inadequate, the response time was incredibly slow, which some people attributed to the fact that the areas were poor. The city of New Orleans was devastated, with over 70% of all housing units destroyed and over 1500 deaths.

For Bush, this incident, and especially his reaction to the event was deemed inadequate and disconnected. On a flight back to the White House, Bush decided to fly over New Orleans, viewing the devastation from the safety of Air Force One. After an image of him looking out of the plane windows at the devastation below was released, it caused many Americans to believe that he was too disconnected from the pain and misery that was occurring below him. This, along with the slow federal response to the disaster caused him to lose popularity, and his dealings with the hurricane relief were ultimately inadequate to save hundreds of lives and satisfy many of his American supporters.

https://www.cnn.com/2013/08/23/us/hurricane-katrina-statistics-fast-facts/index.html
https://www.britannica.com/event/Hurricane-Katrina
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2015/08/hurricane-katrina-george-w-bush-new-orleans