The Floodgates of Katrina

In the 1960s after Hurricane Betsy, President Lyndon B. Johnson flew into New Orleans and visited the Lower Ninth Ward, “declaring the city and surrounding areas a disaster zone and eventually pledged an $85 million protection plan that would rebuild levees and shore up flood protection systems, which would, in August 2005, forty years after Betsy, fail.”

New Orleans underwater: homes flooded after Hurricane Katrina. (Photo by Glen B. Stewart – Flickr)

Hurricane Katrina was an Atlantic hurricane that first hit Florida, developed into a Category 5 hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico, and made its second landfall over southeast Louisiana and Mississippi on August 29, 2005 as a Category 3 strength hurricane. A mandatory evacuation was ordered; however, only minimal transportation was provided before the hurricane to evacuate those that did not have the resources to leave the city on their own. City buses were supposed to evacuate north, taking those who could not afford to leave on their own, but the City of New Orleans changed their plan the day before the hurricane struck because they were afraid the traffic-filled roads would prevent the buses from getting out of the city before the hurricane hit. This decision ended up backfiring — everyone was taken to the Superdome instead. It is estimated that around two hundred thousand people were left in the city when the storm hit—some chose to stay while others simply did not have the means to leave. Sarah Broom, in her memoir, writes that her family, who lived in New Orleans East, was forced to disperse when the hurricane hit. Two of her siblings stayed in New Orleans to look out for their families and houses while her mother and other siblings hurried to a relative’s house in Mississippi and eventually made their way to another sibling’s house in California. Other family members settled wherever they could, rushing to get somewhere safe. The family had no idea of the whereabouts of Sarah’s grandma, who had been in a nursing home. Carl, one of her brothers that stayed, sat on his roof for three days with his dogs and watched as the water rose up through his house, waiting for help that did not come. Finally, he took to the waters and made his way to the Morial Convention Center, where he encountered around 25,000 people were crammed inside, waiting for essential resources and transportation that did not arrive for nearly five days.

Evacuees from the Superdome in New Orleans, argue as they line up for a bus trip to the Houston Astrodome on Thursday, Sept. 1, 2005, during evacuations efforts after Hurricane Katrina. (AP Photo/The Dallas Morning News, Michael Ainsworth – Flickr)

Those that were stranded at the Superdome and Convention Center had limited access to food and healthcare resources. The Louisiana National Guard provided enough to feed 15,000 people for three days, but by the end of the day on Sunday, August 28, there were 30,000 people at the Superdome. People began arriving at the Convention Center on day two after the storm hit, desperate for food and shelter, while more attempted to travel toward the Superdome, which was surrounded by water. The government had no organized and preemptive plan to provide for those who did not evacuate, despite the projection of the anticipated storm surge of Katrina. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) wasted large amounts of supplies and took days to reach the sites in New Orleans that desperately needed food, water, and medical resources. An unprepared local government was left scrambling, and the communication breakdown caused by the failure of equipment in spite of FEMA grants for emergency communication left them cut off from the rest of the country during their time of need. After seeing the turmoil at the Convention Center, Carl made his way to the Louis Armstrong International Airport, where he had his first full meal in fourteen days.

The bowl shape of New Orleans poses a disproportionate challenge to less affluent areas, such as New Orleans East. In New Orleans East near Chef Menteur Highway where Broom grew up, the KIPP Morial School currently has a C ranking, and Schaumberg Elementary has a F rating, based on the NOLA public school information website. The less affluent areas are farther below sea level, have less resources, and are surrounded by man-made canals.

In the 1960s, Hurricane Betsy hit New Orleans, breaching levees and flooding the more vulnerable areas of the city, including New Orleans East. Broom notes that the governor, John McKeithen, vowed to the New Orleans people that “nothing like this will ever happen again.” In 2005, the same-man made canal system again funneled floodwater inside the Intracoastal Waterway and MR-GO canals, leading the storm surge to breach the same surrounding levees. Katrina was responsible for 1,833 fatalities, most of which were elderly or impoverished and left stranded in the city, lacking the resources to leave on their own.

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2020 saw one of the worst hurricane seasons since 2005 in the Atlantic of the United States, breaking numerous records, such as “Most Named Storms.” When Katrina hit in 2005, Tulane evacuated around 400 students, most of them freshman, who were on campus for orientation. They also facilitated evacuation for their other off-campus students via buses before the storm made landfall. Following the damage of the storm, Tulane organized admission for their students to other universities where they could continue their academics despite the Tulane shutdown from Katrina.

In 2020, many of the storms were projected to hit Louisiana. The last storm of hurricane season, the fifth named storm to strike Louisiana in 2020, was Hurricane Zeta, which hit October 28. The eye of Zeta passed right over New Orleans, and was labeled a “Category 2” hurricane. Tulane students, including myself, a junior at Tulane, were instructed to stay inside, but there was no evacuation order. My housemates and I had already evacuated by car to one of their houses in Houston during a previous storm, Hurricane Laura, which ended up flooding, toppling trees, ripping off roofs, and destroying houses when it landed in Lake Charles, LA after being projected to hit closer to New Orleans. It was hard to find a gas station that was open or stocked with gas when we passed through Lake Charles on our way home from Houston.

My four housemates and I live in Uptown on the high ground next to the Mississippi, two blocks from the Tulane University campus. When the hurricane hit New Orleans, we lost power for 96 hours — four full days. During this time, all our food spoiled, we took cold showers, and we stayed on campus during the day to get electricity and Wi-Fi from the generators. Although we did not have food or power, we did not starve because Tulane prepared care packages filled with bread, canned food, and non-perishable snacks to students before the hurricane. After the storm hit, they gave off-campus students free access to the school dining hall for three meals per day until the power was restored. The school, our overseeing party, had planned ahead and was prepared to provide for us during this time of need and vulnerability.

During the hurricane, even though we live in a basement unit, we did not fear flooding. We chose our apartment because it is about six feet above street level. Since New Orleans is a bowl, the highest ground is next to the water and the elevation gets father below sea level as you travel inward toward the city. The affluent neighborhoods, such as Uptown near the Tulane campus where we live, are on higher ground and these areas have better school systems and less crime. Lusher Charter Elementary School and Lusher Middle and High School in Uptown both have an A ranking, based on the NOLA public school information website. With less crime, better access to resources, and more protection from campus agencies, we are made to feel safe in our affluent section of New Orleans.

I have never worried that my house will be completely engulfed in water, even during the Hurricane. Uptown is positioned right near the Mississippi; our house is a few blocks from Audubon Park, which sits directly on the river. There is a geographical advantage to being on the high ground near the river, and there are no canals nor levees near where we live. We do not have to worry about secondary storm surges from breached levees nor do we have to worry that our school will neglect us in times of need. We have already renewed our lease for next year; we feel safe and comfortable housed within the geographical (and socio-economic) high ground where Tulane University resides.

Gibson Hall at Tulane University. (Photo by Francois Gemenne – Flickr)

This piece was edited by Chandler Welch as part of Professor Kelley Crawford’s Digital Civic Engagement course at Tulane University.