Katrina
From ZombieSquadWiki
Katrina, refers to both the Hurricane that hit the Gulf Coast region of the United States during the end of August 2005 and the Micro-PAW that existed in the months following the storm.
Contents |
History
Hurricane Katrina was one of the worst natural disasters that hit the United States. However it did not just impact the US as it also hit the Bahamas and Cuba.
Dates and events
- August 23, 2005 Katrina forms in the Atlantic west of the Bahamas as Tropical Depression 10
- August 24, 2005 Tropical Depression 10 becomes a named storm as it is upgraded to Tropical Storm Katrina
- August 25, 2005 Hurricane Katrina (category 1) makes landfall for the first time on Florida, it has already claimed lives in the Bahamas and caused flooding in Nassau. It kills 14 in Florida.
- August 26, 2005 After losing some intensity over Florida Katrina again reaches hurricane strength as it enters the Gulf of Mexico. Katrina causes flooding in Cuba causing 8,000 people to flee flooded homes and puts the city of Surgidero de Batabano 90% under water.
- August 27, 2005 After reaching category 3 Katrina stalls briefly allowing it to double in size over the warm Gulf waters. Warnings by the director of the National Hurricane Center go to both President Bush and Mayor Ray Nagin in New Orleans.
- August 28, 2005 First issuing only a voluntary evacuation then switching to a mandatory evacuation later allows one million residents of New Orleans and surrounding parishes to flee before the hurricane. However an estimated 100,000 remain trapped in the city, many in crowded shelters like the Superdome and Convention Center.
- August 29, 2005 Hurricane Katrina diminishes to category 3 as it makes landfall for second time at Baras-Triumph, Louisiana. The storm surge stresses a poorly designed levee and canal system causing upward of fifty failures. Much of the French Quarter and the poor Ninth Ward of New Orleans are flooded. Katrina crosses Louisiana and heads back to sea crossing the Breton Sound before making landfall at the Lousiana/Mississipi state line still a category 3 storm. It remains a powerful hurricane for 150 miles inland as it devastates Mississippi and Alabama.
- August 30, 2005 Katrina still punishes the US as it causes flooding in Kentucky, Tennessee and Ohio before it is downgraded again to a Tropical Depression while over Clarksville, Tennessee. Meanwhile civil unrest is hampering search and rescue efforts in Louisiana, particularly in New Orleans. Police join in the looting of stores, 1/3rd of New Orleans police have abandoned their posts, some taking their squad cars as they fled.
- August 31, 2005 Katrina is absorbed by frontal boundary becoming an extratropical storm that damages New York and eastern Canada. In flooded areas FEMA response is slow and communcations between levels of government strained. New Orleans Mayor Nagin orders the police to abandon search and rescue efforts and turn full time to restoring order. Curfews are imposed and a state of emergency declared basically imposing martial law type regulations. Police begin to go door to door not to help residents but to confiscate guns.
- September 1, 2005 About 6,500 Louisiana National Guard troops arrive to assist in restoring order but much of their equipment was damaged or lost due to the hurricane.
- September 2, 2005 Mayor Nagin requests 40,000 more troops, more than the State of Louisiana has. Police and troops, both National Guard and federal, respond despite legal limitations on their authority to act. Police are deputized under mutual aid commitments but outside troops are not authorized under the Posse Commitatus Act to bear arms and allegedly only offer disaster relief but they are seen on patrols of city streets, some armed. Stories circulate of gunfights between troops and looters. A triage center is set up at the airport to transport patients from the hospitals.
- September 3, 2005 Evacuation efforts at the major shelters is still underway though 42,000 are evacuated from the city.
- September 4, 2005 The Superdome and Convention Center shelters are finally completely evacuated though many people remain trapped in hotels, private shelters and homes.
- September 6, 2005 Mayor Nagin, citing continued unrest and health concerns from the polluted flood waters orders a forced evacuation of the city. It is ignored by many of the homeowners who are protecting their property.
- September 9, 2005 The National Guard troops now go house to house evicting remaining residents by force.
- Mid-September 2005 City residents were allowed to return to non-flooded areas as services are slowly restored.
Statistics
- Three countries were hit by Hurricane Katrina, the United States, the Bahamas and Cuba
- Deaths were reported in the Bahamas and Florida due to Katrina from the first landfall
- Total deaths in the US are reported as 1,836 with 705 still reported as missing and feared dead
- 900,000 square miles was declared a disaster area in the US due to Katrina, an area almost as large as the United Kingdom
- Damages in the US are estimated at $81.2 billion making Katrina the costliest natural disaster in US history
Criticisms
- During the evacuation patients in a private nursing home were abandoned by the staff, all drowned.
- Insufficient security was assigned to public shelters and hospitals.
- The American Society of Civil Engineers call the 53 canal and levee breaches the worst engineering disaster in history.
- FEMA chief Michael Brown was forced to resign due to the poor response to the disaster by his agency.
- Louisiana Governor Blanco and New Orleans Mayor Nagin are both criticized for their handling of the disaster, both point fingers at each other and at federal authorities. Mayor Nagin is found to have overstepped his authority by ordering a blanket confiscation of citizens' guns. Laws are passed to prevent future gun confiscations in Louisiana.
- New Orleans Police are heavily criticized for abandoning their jobs. One third fled during the evacuations, many with police cars and these are charged with auto theft. Some were videotaped by media looting a Wal-Mart store. Others refused to help survivors, one stranded tourist was told, "Go to Hell, it's every man for himself."
- LEOs from other jurisdictions also came under criticism for their refusal to assist survivors. Officers from the Greta P.D., Crescent City Connections Police and Jefferson Parish Sheriffs deputies set up a roadblock turning back evacuees from New Orleans by gunpoint on the pretense of preventing looting from spilling over into their jurisdictions.
- National Guard are federal troops when not operating as state militia in their home state. This was alleged to be a violation of the Posse Comitatus Act which has been severely eroded in recent years. No enforcement of the Act or legal opinions were made by the Bush Administration over this and the presence of federal troops though the latter were allegedly unarmed and only in a rescue and relief capacity according to authorities.
Lessons for Survivors
- Always keep at least 1/4th of a tank of fuel in your bug-out vehicle and store extra fuel and cash if possible. At least enough to get you out of the danger zone. Gas stations were overwhelmed by people wanting to top up. Profiteers jacked prices up as demand soared. Some cars were abandoned by the side of the freeway as people ran out of gas while stalled in congested traffic.
- Keep an evacuation plan in case you have to bug out. Do not wait until the government comes and drags you out of your home at bayonet point.
- Avoid large public shelters as they likely will prohibit weapons and lack security. Numerous assaults were reported at the Superdome and Convention Center, two confirmed rapes occurred at the former and one confirmed murder occurred at the latter shelter.
- Avoid hospitals unless you are seriously hurt. They will be surged by people wanting help and unless you are in need of serious help they will give you a low priority. They are also the target of thugs who may want drugs or just to commit crimes. Tulane University Hospital was attacked by gunmen in boats armed with automatic weapons. Fortunately they were repelled by security and hospital staff.
- Never rely solely on government to come rescue you. Plan on self-rescue and mutual assistance from your neighbors. Start planning with them now. Join or form a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) and get trained.
- Use alternative energy sources such as solar lawn lights and battery powered work lights to keep your street lit at night to show that you are there and watching out for the neighborhood. Avoid standing in the light to avoid becoming a target yourself.
- Streets that set up their own armed neighborhood watches were pretty much left alone. Some included elderly grandmothers with ancient revolvers sitting on their porches but this was enough to deter most bad guys. At least until the government came and confiscated their guns. If that happens, bug-out rather than fight the police or National Guard as they will win.
- One armed man with an "assault rifle" clone stood off four armed punks with lesser weapons. They decided they were outgunned and fled for easier pickings.
