In 2005, the southern tip of the United States (and a few other countries) experienced one of the deadliest and costliest natural disasters ever recorded, Hurricane Katrina. The effects of the hurricane left many people without homes, financially unstable, and completely devastated the mental health of victims. The city of New Orleans was, without a doubt, the hardest hit city in the United States. Unfortunately, the damage was not spread evenly, with poor minorities being hit harder than any other demographic, and many of these people were not able to evacuate based on various circumstances. The devastating damage from the hurricane can still be felt today by many of the families who had to experience the disaster. The complete destruction of certain towns in Louisiana, such as New Orleans and the fictional city of Bois Sauvage, which Esch and her family lived in, affected victims’ lives for years.
Research conducted by Brian Levy showed that the amount of damage received by hurricane Katrina was largely based on a few key demographics. The strongest variable was the race of the people affected by the hurricane. The results suggest that members of minority races were indeed the demographic of people most affected by the hurricane (in terms of property damage). Specifically, the research concluded “A planning district’s elevation and concentration of minorities were the most significant factors associated with damage during Hurricane Katrina” (Levy). Levy and his team also attempted to find a connection between income level and the amount of damage received, however, there was such a low standard deviation (variation) of poverty rates across the different districts of New Orleans, that this study could not find a link between poverty rate and amount of damage received.
The idea of minority races being hit hardest by the hurricane is expressed in the novel as well. After Esch and her family experience the hurricane’s horror, they find that most of their town has been destroyed. Bois Sauvage, a mostly minority town, had sustained major damage, as well as the town of St. Catherine. Ward writes, “…every house had faced the hurricane, and every house had lost. Franco and his mother and father stood out in the yard looking at each other and the smashed landscape around them, dazed. Half of their roof was gone. Christophe and Joshua’s porch was missing, and part of their roof” (242). The experience of Esch and her community matches the findings of Levy’s research, supporting the claim that minority communities were hit hardest by the hurricane.
Many of the victims who were displaced from their homes after the Hurricane were not able to return to their original homes for various reasons. One big reason for this is that after the damage from the hurricane was repaired, many landlords started to raise rent on their properties to make a profit. In addition to this, there were several housing projects that were not accepting victims. Fussell and Harris write, “… the Housing Authority of New Orleans prohibited reoccupancy of four large housing projects in order to redevelop them as mixed-income housing” (1089). The combination of minorities getting hit hardest by the hurricane and the increase in rent imply that minority communities suffered through housing problems more than any other demographic.
The process of cleaning up hurricane Katrina is still ongoing. The water flooded an intense amount to the point where there are still areas that are under water and are now considered lakes because the water might never drain out. More than 400,000 people in New Orleans were displaced from their homes which created a huge amount of abandoned neighborhoods. New Orleans is now considered one of the poorest cities even though it was usually said to be the most prosperous.
Katrina flooded out many white people as well as Black people, and, within Black New Orleans. However, New Orleans is a black-majority city. The mayor, Ray Nagin, who was a black business man who won with more white votes than black votes, has appointed an urban-planning committee with a white real-estate developer to help plan the city’s recovery. Soon enough, the committee unveiled a plan that entailed not rebuilding some of the black neighborhoods that had completely flooded. Many citizens were beyond upset. The mayor, later, disowned the plan and committed himself to rebuilding a “chocolate new orleans” ; he was reelected a few months later but this time with more black votes than white. New Orleans has a large racial gap in resources. The black poverty rate is triple the white poverty rate. Whites were able to move back more quickly and with less hardship. For about a decade, after Katrina hit, New Orleans was a whiter city than it has been before. The faster you move somebody into stable housing, the faster, more accelerated, and more durable their recovery will be.
Katrina left a mark on people mentally and physically. Communities were traumatized by the fires, floods, and earthquakes. Katrina affected everyone by either depression, anxiety, behavioral problems and post traumatic stress disorder. Two studies by louisiana state university health science center and one by columbia university and the children’s health fund have found very high rates in the children of those affected with behavioral issues as well. There is now a title for those affected by these problems, Katrina brain. Many survivors have what is called “katrina brain” which consists of short term memory loss, cognitive impairment, overwhelming anxiety, constant worrying, trouble sleeping and other depression-like symptoms. Children suffered the most intense and prolonged mental health effects. These children will continue to live in fear and possibly pass it on to their own children. Aside from mental health, children also suffer from a parent’s loss of income, health insurance, access to education, access to medication or even worse, the loss of a parent. Students were more likely to suffer from PTSD if they were still displaced from their homes, if they were separated from parents or caretakers, if they had evacuated to a shelter rather than to a relative’s home or a hotel, or if a family member or friend had been killed in the storm or flooding.
Housing, among many underlying matters of this historic storm, became a real issue of importance. Residents of New Orleans were already generally at a disadvantage due to being surrounded majorly by water, making it more susceptible to flooding. They raised a lot of concern and called for a state of emergency and a “voluntary evacuation”. However, there were numerous residents who were unwilling or unable to evacuate before the storm. Though there were efforts made by the state to provide refuge as protection, this was only temporarily done. Those provided with refuge would still have to find their own place of residence, especially after permanent damage was done to their homes.
In the book, Salvage the Bones, the main character’s family were aware of the warnings given on a recorded automated telephone message about evacuating for safety, but they chose to stay. They had been through what seemed like a bad storm before, but even with the suspicions of Katrina being worse, they still stayed. It was also mentioned how many others would choose to prepare to remain in their own homes instead of leaving for a better chance of safety.
Those heavily affected by the property damage were people of low income. More specifically, minorities of low income. This is largely since they are often placed in homes in areas that have pre-existing hazards that makes them vulnerable and more unprotected. This plays a part into why some would not leave because they do not have all that it necessary to just find another place to live. Or even afford one if they find it. The phrase used properly to describe the issue overall is “environmental racism-classism and residential segregation.”
A specific example of this matter is the housing displacement of low-income African-American mothers. This issue was only exacerbated by the storm, making proper financial resources less accessible. Even though they had dealt with problems like this before the disaster, they were still forced to handle the effects mostly by their lonesome. African Americans and other races not only had to just live with their insufficient living situations, but also having to adapt to new living habits to get by.
Even during the aftermath of the storm, it was proven difficult for survivors to find adequate shelter that correlated with their financial ability. Construction and materials needed for building homes pricing had risen significantly. Katrina itself contributed to the increase of cost percentages: the storm had knocked out natural resource platforms that support the supply of necessary materials, made in factories that were soon shut down and closed. This also caused a rise in shortages of available spots to repair damages in New Orleans. Escalating prices took place even before the storm with the housing boom and demand of materials in different countries outside of the U.S.. This had continued to be a rapidly growing occurrence throughout the years. There was further interference with survivors to return to their homes of origin. The now repaired residences were now just a means for landlords to profit off of their misfortune. To add on to this misfortune, there were certain housing projects that would not even allow victims to go back due to redevelopment.
Even though the hurricane itself took place so many years ago, the results of the flooding take place in present day. What was once known as land are currently considered lakes since they are now underwater. The displacement of many residents left behind forsaken neighborhoods and adds on to the fact that the once prosperous city of New Orleans is no one of the poorest.
Even with plans to repair the city, this did not help former home-owners, majorly black home-owners, since the rebuilding of their homes were not within those plans. These plans were met with foreseeable disagreement. Though the new and re-elected tried to change this to please the citizens, this overall did not help as there is much of a difference concerning poverty rates and quick home availability between white and black people. The individual mental and physical toil of Katrina is still heavily displayed within communities. Disorders and behavioral problems/issues became very common, and was even given the title of “Katrina brain”. These issues became generational as children who witnessed and experienced the affects of Katriina on their parents also suffer the consequences that manifest in their own life and state of being.
Countless instances of the issues displayed has been covered and been brought great attention to by the news and even social media. Those experiencing the direct impact of Katrina were known to voice their needs and thought about other events going on in tweets. Help was asked for the most after the hurricane as there were also social issues occurring such as looting, the abandonment of pets, and price gouging. There was a widespread of concerns that may have been put on the back burner for too long expressed through the media.
Hurricane Katrina had lasting effects that held importance even after the event itself occurred and really shone a light onto factors that tied into the damage beforehand. The people of New Orleans and the city itself were proven to never be the same as they once were.
