Storm of the Century

By Laura Hoffman


In 2005, the USA was attacked... by Katrina. Hurricane Katrina mainly hit New Orleans and Louisiana, and when it did, it flooded almost 80% of their cities. At least 1,836 people died in the natural disaster, and caused over $100 billion dollars worth of damager (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Katrina). The most devastating part about the hurricane, is the way our nation handled it. A lot of the people in New Orleans and Louisiana decided to stay and wait out the storm, most of their reasoning being "it's too expensive to evacuate" and "this is my home, and I'm staying put". That's all well and good because, well, this is America, and if you want to stay in a little shed throughout a massive deadly hurricane, then you're allowed to. However, after the storm hit and people in these states were suffering, it took DAYS for government relief to come to their aid. The moment throughout Hurricane Katrina that shocked me most is the fact that the media called the people trying to leave New Orleans and Louisiana to find relief, refugees. What kind of a country do we live in, where when people in need seek help, we call them refugees? They were American citizens who needed support from the rest of their country and we help them by calling them condescending names like refugee. For a country who responded so well to a terrorist attack in 2001, we sure didn't respond well to a natural attack in 2005. I guess if there's no one to blame, then we don't have a lot of incentive to act.