Hurricanes are a natural disaster. They have different categories that are assigned to them depending on the wind speed. The strongest belong to the fifth. It was this Hurricane Katrina in the United States that claimed thousands of lives, made people homeless and almost completely destroyed New Orleans. It is at such moments that a person realizes with particular acuteness that, like thousands of years ago, he is powerless before the forces of nature. Hurricane Katrina, the photo of the consequences of which can be seen in this article, belonged to the last, fifth category on the Saffir-Simpson scale. It hit the coast of the United States on August 27, 2005 and raged for two days that seemed endless to people in the disaster zone. The wind speed reached almost 300 km/h.
Chronology of events
Hurricane Katrina was born off the Bahamas. Passed along the coast of Florida and turned to the Gulf of Mexico. It began to form on August 23, and on the 24th it was already known as Hurricane Katrina. On the 27th, people learned with horror that he was the fifth category - the strongest of all. The next day, after the warning of meteorologists, a mass evacuation began. The hurricane reached its apogee in the United States on August 29.
Scale of the disaster
The dam broke. Rivers and lakes overflowed their banks, and the city was almost completely in the water. Residents tried to escape from the alligators on the roofs. Reptiles swam in the water, which tore to pieces everyone who was within their reach - both dead and living. Everything was mixed into one whole - chemicals, sewage, gasoline, debris from houses. And countless corpses floated in the water.
Hurricane Katrina was so strong that huge ships were thrown onto land like matchboxes. Oil platforms collapsed in minutes, large buildings crumbled in seconds, and small ones were simply erased from the face of the earth. People who did not have time to leave the city found themselves in their own cars, as if in traps, and tried to escape on the roofs from crocodiles, which teemed with water.
Affected cities and states
The state of Louisiana suffered the most. The main blow of the elements fell on New Orleans. Hurricane Katrina killed 1,600 people. Almost 80% of the city was completely flooded. This is just the part that was below sea level. New Orleans found itself between two fires. On one side of the city is the Gulf of Mexico, where the hurricane came from. On the other - the Mississippi channel and the largest lake Pontchartrain.
In addition to Louisiana, other states were also affected. 238 people died in Mississippi. In Georgia, Alabama, Kentucky, Ohio and Florida, the total number of deaths is 21.
Evacuation
When it became known that on August 28, on Sunday, Hurricane Katrin would still hit the coast of the United States, a mass evacuation was announced in New Orleans. People were in a hurry to leave the city. As a result, huge traffic jams formed on the roads. Queues at gas stations.
Public transport did not work, and many residents did not have the opportunity to leave the city, as they did not have their own cars, money for the road or hotels. People tried to stock up on food and water. There were long queues outside the shops.
As a result, almost 150 thousand people remained in the city. Mostly they were residents of poor areas. The authorities gave them shelter in the Superdome, where almost 30,000 people gathered as a result. Everyone who did not have time or did not want to come to the provided shelter felt the arrival of the hurricane in an hour. And at the stadium, the electricity went out at about 6 o'clock in the morning.
Marauding
Almost all police personnel participated in rescue operations. As a result, New Orleans was captured by a wave of crime. Residents were robbed and raped. Marauders broke into shops. From the buildings of jewelry and expensive boutiques, the bars from the windows were simply torn off, and the robbers got inside with impunity. The city has declared a state of emergency. The police and the National Guard were ordered to shoot the marauders to kill.
Aftermath of the hurricane
Hurricane Katrin left behind a city almost wiped off the face of the earth. In addition to the many who died, 1,900 New Orleans were missing. Thousands of people lost their homes, houses were completely destroyed. Those who lived directly on the coast were especially affected. Damage from Katrina amounted to almost $125 billion. Approximately half of this amount was lost by insurance companies.
Nearly 150,000 people did not want to return to New Orleans after the hurricane. The US Congress has allocated 110 billion dollars for state restoration. For restoration work, all forces were involved: the police, the coast guard, the army and the National Guard.
Most of the buildings were destroyed. People lost their homes. Crocodiles and dolphins swam freely in the surviving hotel pools. The underground garages were completely flooded. Cars, pieces of houses, earth and dirt, corpses and wounded - everything was mixed into one heap. The rubble was huge. Rescuers worked for days. The survivors were evacuated from rooftops by helicopters and boats.
Simultaneously with the flooding, fires began in the cities, which destroyed the remaining buildings. Many power lines were damaged. Thousands of people had to leave the cities after the hurricane, as they lost their homes. A temporary mobile hospital was set up at the New Orleans airport, where hundreds of people were admitted. The corpses of people lay for several more days after the water subsided. They were buried in common, hastily built graves.
Hurricane Katrina was reaping a deadly harvest even after it ended. There were no lights or oxygen masks in the hospitals. Wounded and crippled people simply died. The temporary shelters lacked food and water. The humanitarian aid sent by other countries was not enough for everyone. And people who were able to survive the horrors of Katrina died when the city was already quiet. The destruction that Hurricane Katrina brought was only repaired by 2006, and even then not completely. But most of the buildings and houses have been restored. The whole earth finally dried up.
After those tragic events, this has not yet happened again. There were hurricanes, but weaker, with less damage. Perhaps it was Katrina that became the deadliest over the past few decades. Let's hope that people learn a lesson for the future and try to prevent such a large number of victims in the future.
In 2005, an event took place in New Orleans that will forever remain in history and will be a reminder that a person is not able to control nature and is far from always able to cope with the consequences of its destruction. Here are some stories from the survivors of the disaster:
Call from New Orleans
I have just been talking for half an hour with a comrade who has escaped from New Orleans.
I reproduce close to the test:
"This is ***! I just couldn't imagine anything like that. When the authorities said "We must evacuate!" most of the townspeople as usual *** scored. Five times a year then you have to leave. They usually evacuate from all sorts of towns and bedonvilles. Trees in general. Because here in the south 90% of private houses are just plywood with cardboard and plastic. The strongest part is the stairs. The rest can be driven through by car if desired. That's what usually blows them away. And in Orleans, mostly stone and concrete buildings. None of them usually left. They bought water, grub and beer, and watched the show "Element" for two or three days. The fact that this time it will not be the same as before, they began to trend in full only a day before. People began to realize that it was coming ****! And then something began that cannot be said in a fairy tale, not described with a pen. Wild mess! "Mars attacks" - in kind. All roads are packed tightly. My friend left the city at 10 o'clock. Without a car - it's generally pointless to twitch. Public transport stopped. As a result, perhaps a quarter of the people remained in the city. There are especially many blacks - most of them live in poverty, and they simply have nowhere to go ...
About the situation in his words:
Water covered the city thoroughly. Percent 50% under water. All communication systems flooded. No light, no communication, no water. Satellite phones and several cellular "cells" are working, where the batteries have not yet died. But the most important thing is that the entire sewerage was flooded and the whole city was naturally filled with shit. Everything rots in refrigerators, water stands on the streets from three meters to a meter, the earth becomes limp and turns into a swamp. In the early days it was still possible to walk, but now if there is a lawn under your feet, you also fall into the mud. The stench is wild. A mixture of urine, g%% on, burning and rotten meat. The streets have become channels. Every now and then, the wind slowly carries the corpses of all kinds of animals through the big streets. Yes, there are animals! The corpses of people in the early days floated like logs. I saw three. A fat old black woman in diapers, a white man with a pierced head, and someone completely unrecognizable. In the mud and heated. My Italian neighbor pulled out a black woman. For two days they lay on the roof of the veranda. And then she disappeared - I thought they found us and took her away. *** there! It stank so much that Franco was forced to tie her to the door and let her continue to swim. Franco is alone. He sent his family, and he remained to protect the house. There are ten such “watchmen” around me. But they say there are those who remained with their whole families. Especially in the center in skyscrapers and in general in stone houses.
Generally quiet during the day. There was nothing to rob in our area except for small shops. We have "rats" - that's what we called them - appear with darkness. 90 percent are blacks. Mostly young, but there are also healthy men. There are even women. They swim on homemade rafts or inflatable boats made from their pools. Three to five people. Quietly they swim up to the house and listen - if there are no people - they break out the windows and start fumbling and rowing everything in a row. Especially - good equipment, expensive clothes and all sorts of stash, safes. And here, if you didn’t immediately drive them away with shooting, it’s better to hide and sit out. In the house, they start shooting with fright without hesitation. Franco has a walkie talkie. He connects with his brothers. There are two of them in the city. And everyone stayed to guard the houses. Franco says that yesterday in the lake area - one of the prestigious, by the way, areas where his brother Nicolo is holed up, an old man was shot dead, who was trying to drive the "rats" out of the house. Just out of fear. But so far, things have not gone further than the looting of houses and shops. But you have to shoot at night often.
But in the center - there is just a war. But not between the authorities and bandits, but between gangs. Immediately after the hurricane, blacks looted gun stores and now the sea is in the hands of unregistered weapons. Moreover, anyone. Most stores had their own collections. And there and automatic and whatever. Now there is a war for supermarkets and boutiques. In the first two days, he still bought goods, whoever wanted to, and now everything is divided between the blacks and they now and then sort things out among themselves. The firing can be heard even from here.
Helicopters flew over us three times in four days. They yelled something into a megaphone and blew it. Nobody needs nobody. Save whoever you can.
The police and other powerful ***** are not visible at all. The local policemen were fucking together with their families, and in official cars with flashing lights. In, ***, imperious resource!
They say there are police officers somewhere else in the city, but what can they do against such mass lawlessness?
Americans are like children. The survival rate of the people at the kindergarten level. All stupidly live on purchased stocks of grub and water. With the latter in general a pipe. Ends quickly. And the hysteria begins. People run on rooftops. They yell, squeal, their hands are pulled to the sky. They're dying of thirst. I tried to explain that if it’s really bad, you need to make a fire and boil any water, and with an elementary ability, just distill steam. They shake their heads - they can't. And again - howl! If they don't get rescued, half the people here will go crazy. History is wild.
On the fourth day, I decided it was time to **** get out of there. Especially when he found out that the dam was washed out. This means that fishing in the city for the next year is just n***a. The dam is eroded. Even if it is restored, the water will not go anywhere. Collecting it with pumps is simply not realistic. She is around. In all pits and cellars. What will soon begin here, when all sorts of shit like mosquitoes and other rubbish will breed in this rot, it’s better not to see. And what will happen if all sorts of bacteria breed and an epidemic begins? In general, I figured *** to the nose, and began to prepare for the swim.
Following the example of the blacks, having searched the house, he found an old inflatable children's pool in the attic - a circle of a meter and a half in diameter, apparently left over from previous tenants. I put some clothes in a trash bag, a laptop and papers in another, and another one on top to seal. I made an oar from a long mop handle and a cutting board. Well, sailed away. Sailed past Franco. He shouted that as soon as his brother sailed for him, he would also wind up. And in general, they say, you need to hire a good boat, take out things and move. He does not want to risk his family.
On the corner of the street I saw a military amphibian in the distance. Started screaming. They swam. They became the National Guard. They lifted me to the hull. We met gloomily. Everything was squinting at the bags. Decided, apparently, that the marauder. I had to print to show. Calmed down. They gave me a bottle of water. They said that in the morning an operation should begin to bring troops into the city and a large-scale evacuation. But like everyone is waiting for the command to introduce a state of emergency. ***! **whether to wait? Now, it will be too late to introduce anything.
What can I say in the end - the director of "Downpour" (my edit V.Sh.) - Nostradamus! *** That's how it was! Like in the movies..."
Here is such a story. Perhaps he didn’t write down something or didn’t convey it verbatim. But excuse me here. What is called - "accepted by phone!"
"Parinov P. - flood New Orleans"
New Orleans. Hurricane Katrina and flooding. Memoirs of an eyewitness.
Pavel: In 2005 I was in New Orleans, as a student I went to earn extra money in a foreign land. Hurricane Katrina felt directly on itself. Survived both a hurricane and a flood. Lived in the flooded city for about a week.
1. Reasons for the emergence of a survival situation.
The carelessness and flaws of the Louisiana state authorities and the US federal government, who knew about the impending hurricane and could take certain actions to evacuate people from New Orleans and its suburbs, maintain and strengthen the dam on Lake Pontchartrain, but did not. Some of the residents left in advance, because. there was a hurricane warning, but no one expected flooding and such consequences.
2. Consequences.
Everyone saw the consequences on TV and the Internet. Complete destruction of the city and its infrastructure, except for a few areas (about 80% of the city area was under water). Looting, robbery, murder and rape. The complete lack of communication with the outside world among the population (with the exception of satellite communications from the authorities). Many old people, children, sick people who lived in one-story houses died without being able to escape.
3. Measures taken by the authorities.
The measures that the authorities have taken to eliminate the consequences have not justified themselves. Rescue operations began belatedly. Those who lost everything managed to escape from the flood on bridges (some “highways” (motorways) turned into them) dropped food from helicopters. But people, often in a state of shock, could not even always use this help. Residents who wanted to evacuate from from the roofs of flooded shops and buildings, which rescuers took from bridges - were taken to the Superdome stadium and to the local military airfield. Then, after some time, people were sent to the main New Orleans airport. From there they were transferred to some from the states (I ended up in San Antonio, Texas for example.) After that, people fell into the hands of the red cross, where they were evacuated.
4. Mistakes made.
The arrogance of the authorities. Poor organization of assistance to victims.
Rescuers avoided visiting areas where gunfire could be heard. Not too skillful and confident actions of the police and the army. In the "Superdome" where residents were taken (about 45 thousand people in total), a small number of police officers (about 300 people) could not ensure the safety of people. The Polish students who worked with us and evacuated to the stadium before the flood were robbed and beaten, and the girls were raped. Impunity has given rise to outbreaks of violence, looting and murder.
5. Recommendations.
I can say with confidence that it is possible to survive during such an emergency, and it will not even be difficult if a person does not give in to his emotions and can control himself. Together with a group of 14 citizens of the Russian Federation, one Belarusian and one Bulgarian, he stayed in the “duplex” (two-story house) for more than a week. To say that we did not experience difficulties is an understatement.
How events developed.
First there was a hurricane. What was happening on the street, in the closed space of the dwelling, caused panic. It was scary, especially when a huge tree fell on our house. Then the dam broke and sea water (the lake flowed into the ocean) began to flood the city. The water rose 4 meters. Such a rapid flood caused us a primal fear. Some of us even tried to cut through the exit to the roof. When the hurricane ended, the water level dropped to 3 meters. The first day we stayed where we were and didn't move anywhere, waiting to be rescued. But then, realizing that they needed to survive on their own, they began to act.
On the 1st day of the flood there was not even food. But the Russian people will not disappear anywhere. By the end of day 1, we had food, water, and everything a person needs during a flood. (We were already on the second day, even fried chicken on the roof of the house).
Rescuers were not very eager to save us. Only on the 4th day, having sailed to us on a boat, they offered to leave, taking with them just one small backpack with the essentials. We did not want to be left without our belongings in a foreign country, where we did not even have anyone we knew. Having made a collective decision to stay in place, we tried to provide ourselves with everything necessary.
The first thing that was needed was drinking water and food (we got it at the nearest gas station); warm clothes (temperature contrast: hot during the day up to 50 degrees and cold at night about 12 - 15 and very high humidity, like in a bath). Medicines and means of self-defense (since cases of looting and violent open clashes for the right to possess food and other means of salvation have become more frequent). First, to the gas station, where we found the first necessities, we got by swimming. Then, air mattresses were used to move along the flooded streets.3 When the water subsided, they wade across. At the same time, there was a real threat to get serious damage from various debris hidden under water, as well as the threat of attack from the animal world (snakes and alligators that escaped from the farm during flooding). In search of the necessary property, 4-5 people swam. They took only knives and flashlights with them. Weapons were left in the house for those who remained guarding the property. They had to repeatedly fight with thieves and robbers. Moreover, in fights with black marauders, all of us had to participate without exception. But in fairness, I note that not all Americans acted dishonorably. A professor at the University of Orleans (also a black man, by the way) helped us a lot.
When extracting means of subsistence, they faced the problem of the lack of lighting in buildings and the need for a tool (even for a simple opening of packages with goods). At first we used lighters, moving up to our chests in water in the flooded premises of a hypermarket, then we used flashlights (headlamps are very convenient) and HIS glow sticks (chemical light sources). CHI was used when swimming in the water to control the space around them and not suddenly encounter dangerous swimming creatures. Therefore, I recommend that you always have with you in emergency situations, at least a knife and a flashlight.
They ate what they got in stores. They drank only bottled water, because. three days later, the water around turned into a tropical malaria swamp, with all the contagion that can be. Snickers satisfies hunger well (5-6 was enough for a day to get enough). I do not recommend eating dry food (such as chips) if there is other food. This is detrimental to health.9
In these conditions, there were no diseases. Basically, these are intestinal disorders and various injuries (cuts and bruises). A very important issue is hygiene and maintaining the elementary cleanliness of the body, especially in a hot climate. In such conditions, no antiseptic will help. Any scratch threatens with infection and gangrene. In order not to get nasty, you need to use all possible means: sanitary napkins, perfumes, household chemicals and an elementary shower. All this is the prevention of infectious and other diseases. I myself, after the evacuation, fell ill with a terrible sore throat. In order not to catch a cold, you need to correctly distribute the layers of clothing worn on the body. This is especially important when you move, in conditions of sharp daily temperature changes, with nervous tension and a weakened body. We warmed ourselves mainly with clothes and a fire.
It is not recommended to engage in looting (except for the extraction of food and the minimum necessary). Since, martial law was introduced by the authorities, and the police shot looters on the spot. Marauders, hungry for someone else's good, appeared on the second day of the flood. Residents who remained in their homes also fired on anyone who approached them (for fear of marauders). In general, in an extreme situation, the psychology of behavior in people changes a lot - they begin to go berserk. Out of impunity, people start killing each other. Those who do not become a beast in order to survive, take on an "amoeba-like" state and do not react to anything. I have seen people simply go crazy after losing their loved ones or all their belongings.10
Another problem is the psychology of survival in a team with an autonomous existence. Over time, everyone becomes embittered to the point of stabbing. Even in our friendly team, serious skirmishes sometimes arose. The reasons are banal - food obtained by others, bad mood, inconsistency of views.
When moving around the city, we communicated with people and in every possible way collected information about the ways of salvation. And when we realized that there was nothing more to look forward to, we put our things in large trunks, loaded them onto air beds and went to the “highway”, from where the rescuers took us. We hardly managed to convince them that our trunks were hand luggage. We were taken by helicopter to a military airfield and left to ourselves. I had to sleep on bare concrete for some time, because. there were no provisions for refugees. They slept on a pile of their clothes.
The fact that we survived in a foreign country under these conditions, did not die at the hands of marauders, did not fall ill with fatal diseases, did not die from a hurricane and flood - I consider it a great success and nothing more than help from Above.
Let me remind you of a few rules for survival during floods and in emergency situations.
Do not lose self-control and the will to live.
Have the necessary minimum knowledge and skills for survival.
Worry about your own salvation.
Collect all available information by any means. Keep track of everything that happens around you and everyone around you.
Do not trust people completely (even your own).
Arm yourself if the situation is out of control of the authorities.
Act according to circumstances.
When flooding, find the highest points in the area.
In advance, if possible, select people with whom you will “survive”. We need a team of friends and like-minded people, because one cannot survive (50x50, and even less in difficult conditions).
In any conditions, by all means - REMAIN HUMAN and FIGHT TO THE END!
The most important thing in any emergency is not to lose self-control, not to succumb to panic, which affects the majority of the population and most importantly women (does not apply to women in our group), and improvise. Believe me, I know this for sure.
Parinov P. (edition and additions, according to the report in the "TsSP" (highlighted in italics) - Strutinsky V.V.)
Survivor stories: We could have been killed or raped at every turn
In the unreal silence of New Orleans, there is an unbearable smell of decaying corpses, which soaks everything: clothes, skin, it corrodes the eyes, is felt in the mouth. New Orleans is the city of the dead, writes La Repubblica (translation on the site Inopressa.ru).
The stories of those who survived these four days of horror are shocking. It was not just the violence of the stronger and better organized over the weaker and defenseless. These were physical and psychological tortures, maniacal claims, rules established by the leaders of gangster groups. Four days without law, turned into the apotheosis of cruelty. Very quickly, the bosses became the masters of this theater of suffering. Hundreds of frightened families, elderly people accustomed to a measured and simple life, students, shop assistants, brides, boys and girls, mothers and fathers lived these four days and four nights with bandits and thugs, the newspaper writes.
Life at the Superdome stadium has become a living hell. 200 of the 1,300 police officers who served in New Orleans deserted. They lost their homes, lost their relatives, dirty and exhausted, they were attacked by bandits. They did not patrol the streets and protect the city from robbers.
There was no food at the Superdome, and what little there was was worth its weight in gold. The same can be said about water, cigarettes, blankets, pillows, medicines. “We had to get organized,” says Dave, a 20-year-old student at City University. “To protect food, to sleep, to wash. We arranged shifts to sleep. Someone brought a gun with them, and it was always kept in plain sight.”
But the real nightmare was the shower. There were 30 shower cabins, they are located on the basement floor of a large NBA stadium. They became the scene of attacks and rapes. It looks like a fantasy story, but the reports of the local police set out terrible facts. For example, 37-year-old Africa Broomfield, obviously dark-skinned - like the vast majority of those who found themselves face to face with a hurricane - casting aside shame, said the following. “It was impossible to go to the shower alone,” she told the police, and then to reporters. “Those who dared to go there alone risked being raped or killed.” And so the people, tired of the incessant violence, gained courage and rose up, doing justice themselves. The rapist was identified, captured, lynched, the newspaper writes.
There were many rapes. The victims were most often women, but there are reports of attacks on men and children. And not only in the shower - very often in front of everyone. Locking up 23,000 people in a stadium for three days is like smoking in a powder magazine, the newspaper writes.
“There were no rules,” says Nick, 45, a fisherman who defended his 14-year-old daughter on multiple occasions. “It was like being in a prison. Worse than in prison. The strongest commanded. Everything was sold: drugs, weapons, food, jewelry, watches, even medicines.” The more organized left at night, taking advantage of the darkness, for prey. Then they returned to the Superdome and the trading began. There were constant skirmishes. “We were closed, blocked in this hell,” recalls Nick. “Even if you wanted to leave, it was impossible. The shelter that saved us from the hurricane has become a death trap."
The international airport has already recorded 200 dead. But not everyone fell victim to Hurricane Katrina. Dozens of disappeared people were declared missing, but then their bodies were found in ditches, on sidewalks, under bridges, in houses, in garbage containers. They were shot with rifles or pistols, the newspaper writes.
- Yulia ALISOVA "Orleans marauders will be shot on the spot"
- "Rapes, atrocities, robberies - these were the days of horror"
- Konstantin OKHTIN "The authorities of New Orleans have lost count of the dead"
- Daria OSRIKOVA "Marauders flooded New Orleans"
- "New Orleans - Social Darwinism"
- Pyotr Ilynsky "The Great Depression. The flood washed away the makeup of civilization from America"
- "Echoes of New Orleans. Riot among the soldiers of the American army of occupation in Iraq"
- "Marauders' Feast in an Ocean of Sorrow"
- Kevin Sullivan "How can something like this happen in the United States?"
- Nikolay Pakhomov "KATRINA" DISPLACED THE MYTHS"
- "Police Marauders"
- Anton Kryukov "Civilization at the Bottom"
- "Hurricane Katrina: Secrets of Doctors"
- Mikhail Chernov "America will be destroyed by the Americans themselves"
The main trouble of the Americans is tornadoes and hurricanes, the main trouble of the rest of the world is the Americans.
Orleans marauders will be shot on the spot
Julia ALISOVA, September 02, 2005The lawlessness that was happening in the flooded and plundered New Orleans began to be stopped by radical means. Three hundred soldiers recently returned from Iraq were allowed to shoot looters and criminals on the spot. The military, armed with automatic rifles, has already arrived in the bandit Orleans. They have to restore order here under the command of the state governor Kathleen Blanco.
Meanwhile, unbelted gangs and lone criminals of all stripes, feeling their impunity, continue to operate in the city torn apart by a hurricane. Yesterday, armed groups of people roamed the streets freely, looting homes and businesses along the way.
Doctors and nurses are forced to protect hospitals from drug raids. “They climbed right through the windows, demanding to give TVs, furniture, everything,” said Joseph Wynn, a patient at the Ronald McDonald Center. “I asked them to be more merciful, but they said: “Mercy doesn’t exist here anymore.” Buses that deliver medicines and water to hospitals, they ravage on the way.Peggy Hoffman, the owner of a private sanatorium, is going to arm her employees and teach them how to shoot.
With the help of stolen weapons, hooligans not only get rich, but also have fun. Unidentified gunmen yesterday fired at firefighters who were extinguishing a fire in the Oakwood shopping center, others fired at helicopters that arrived to evacuate people from the Superdome stadium.
Terrible scenes from the life of the Orleans can be seen at every turn. Daniel Edwards, 47, pointing to a dead woman in a wheelchair, barely covered by a blanket, said: "I don't even feel that way about my dog." Nearby, right on the grass, lies the body of an old man. Around him, hungry babies are screaming.
"We descended into hell - shared his impressions of what he saw the head of Jefferson County Aaron Broussard - this is complete and absolute lawlessness." Even 3 thousand soldiers of the National Guard could not restore order in the city. Initially, it was planned to transfer 30 thousand guardsmen to Orleans, but after the military ran into resistance from local residents and marauders, it was decided to stop the introduction of troops in order to avoid clashes with the civilian population. It remains to be hoped that 300 soldiers who have passed through Iraq will be able to cope with their unbridled compatriots.
we steal
Rapes, atrocities, robberies - these were the days of horror
The silence is deep, almost unreal. And then this smell - a strong, unbearable smell of decaying corpses. Everything is saturated with this smell: clothes, skin, it corrodes the eyes, it is felt in the mouth. New Orleans is the city of the dead. Dozens, hundreds, perhaps thousands. No one knows this and is afraid to pronounce the figure. "I think it's true," Mayor Ray Nagin says as he and reporters begin their new tour of the ghost town. "We have many, many dead. Of course, there are more of them than the victims of 9/11."
The stories of those who survived these four days of horror are shocking. These are scary stories. It was not just the violence of the stronger and better organized over the weaker and defenseless. These were physical and psychological tortures, maniacal claims, rules established by the leaders of gangster groups. Four days without law, turned into the apotheosis of cruelty. Very quickly, the bosses became the masters of this theater of suffering. Hundreds of frightened families, elderly people, accustomed to a measured and simple life, students, shop assistants, brides, boys and girls, mothers and fathers lived these four days and four nights with bandits and thugs.
In the hour after hour of chaos, with the mayor crying out for help and a handful of police officers who became refugees and prisoners themselves, life in the Superdome turned into a living hell. 200 of the 1,300 police officers who served in New Orleans deserted. They lost their homes, lost their relatives, dirty and exhausted, they were attacked by bandits. They did not patrol the streets and protect the city from robbers.
"I understand them," says local police chief Henry White Horn. "They didn't like how everything was organized, they lost everything and didn't want to lose a life." Even more dramatic is the following news: at least two firefighters and several police agents committed suicide.
There was no food at the Superdome, and what little there was was worth its weight in gold. The same can be said about water, cigarettes, blankets, pillows, medicines. "We had to get organized," says Dave, a 20-year-old student at the city's university. "To protect food, to sleep, to bathe. We were on duty to sleep. Someone brought a gun with them and they always kept it in sight."
But the real nightmare was the shower. There were 30 shower cabins, they are located on the basement floor of a large NBA stadium. They became the scene of attacks and rapes. It looks like a fantasy story, but the reports of the local police set out terrible facts. For example, 37-year-old Africa Broomfield, obviously dark-skinned - like the vast majority of those who found themselves face to face with a hurricane - casting aside shame, said the following. “Going to the shower alone was impossible,” she told the police, and then to reporters. “Whoever dared to go there alone risked being raped or killed.” And so the people, tired of the incessant violence, gained courage and rose up, doing justice themselves. The rapist was identified, captured, and lynched.
It took the intervention of the army, and the first three thousand soldiers arrived in the city after repeated calls from Mayor Neijin in order to restore order in this jungle. Within 24 hours, 25,000 people who lost their homes were transported by 40 planes to Texas and Arizona. Another 15 thousand will be taken out of the city in the coming hours. Gathered in a huge hangar, thousands of people survived the last night of the nightmare. Journalists talked to them and received new evidence of acts of violence.
There were many rapes. The victims were most often women, but there are reports of attacks on men and children. And not only in the soul. Very often in front of everyone. Locking up 23,000 people in a stadium for three days is like smoking in a powder magazine.
“There were no rules,” says 45-year-old Nick, a fisherman who repeatedly defended his 14-year-old daughter. “It was like being in prison. Worse than in prison. The strongest were in command. , watches, even medicines." The more organized left at night, taking advantage of the darkness, for prey. Then they returned to the Superdome and the trading began. There were constant skirmishes. “We were closed, locked in this hell,” recalls Nick. “Even if you wanted to leave, it was impossible. The shelter that saved us from the hurricane turned into a death trap.”
Arriving in the city of 50 thousand military and volunteers announced something like a curfew. They got a real license to kill. The reservists were especially hardened. In addition to boats, boats and even jet skis, they even equipped their jeeps with weapons and landed in New Orleans to restore order. Some even had to be sent back. The city arsenal was devastated, some armed with bazookas. Yesterday morning there was the last skirmish on the bridge: the patrol shot six or seven criminals who had provoked the fire.
The journalists met with the reservists. Calling yourself journalists meant being insulted. Only thanks to the police officers with whom the journalists spent the last days, they managed to avoid arrest or even a bullet. In America, everyone walks around with a weapon for self-defense. But what happened until last night is called murder. A 16-year-old boy was hit by a police car and shot in the head. The command is aware of such episodes. "We're doing our best," they say, "with the reserves we have, but most of it is in Iraq."
The international airport has already recorded 200 dead. But not everyone was a victim of Katrina. Dozens of disappeared people were declared missing, but then their bodies were found in ditches, on sidewalks, under bridges, in houses, in garbage containers. They were shot with rifles or pistols. They were swallowed up by the black hole of this apocalypse.
Robbery and fight against it
New Orleans authorities lost count of the dead
Konstantin OKHTIN, September 03A flooded and dilapidated city that has gone under water and plunged into chaos, America has been trying with all its might to bring itself to life for several days now. However, while efforts are in vain - anarchy reigns in New Orleans. Most of the city's districts are controlled by looters and robbers - by evening, sheer chaos begins on the streets of the city. The police and the National Guard are trying to take control of the situation, but the military fails to stop the excesses, despite the fact that thousands of soldiers are drawn into the city. National Guard squads carry out daily "raids" through the streets; the most severe measures are allowed to be applied to caught criminals.
Anarchy also reigns in the center of suffering - at the Superdome stadium, where several tens of thousands of residents were evacuated before the start of the storm - those who could not get out of New Orleans. Medicines have long been lacking, and the wounded have to be "sorted according to severity." The "captives" of the "Superdome" - among them many elderly people - also found themselves at the mercy of marauders. It is noteworthy that almost all marauders are African Americans. This not very pleasant fact is still being avoided by the American media. And yet - the fighters of the National Guard most often have to deal with black robbers.
"I saw elderly people evacuated from a nursing home. People in wheelchairs just sit and slowly die," said one of the correspondents working in the "Vale of Sorrow" - recall that New Orleans is located in a valley below sea level, and therefore " draining the city is a very difficult task.
The pace of evacuation is extremely slow, partly due to the fact that the authorities are afraid to cause a wave of panic: indeed, the exhausted and hungry Orleans rush to the helicopters with provisions, brawls and fights begin in the crowd - sometimes this leads to murders. As previously reported, the situation in the "Superdome" is unsanitary - none of the toilets work, those in distress have pitiful bits of fresh water and a tiny hope of salvation. Every hour, four planes depart from the only operating airport, Louis - - according to authorities, evacuation in this way could last several days. Now the Texas cities of Houston, Dallas and San Antonio are flooded with refugees - it is there that they are delivered by air. Now about 2 thousand people remain at the stadium, the evacuation has been temporarily suspended - according to representatives of the National Guard, this happened due to the fact that the bus service was suddenly interrupted. Whether it will be restored is not yet known.
The country's authorities are confident that they will be able to save, drain the city and eliminate anarchy in a short time. Mayor Ray Nagin angrily declared that the aid New Orleans was receiving was negligible and annoyed: "People are dying here."
However, military engineers intend to drain the Orleans swamp in 80 days. Moreover, General of the US Army Corps of Engineers Robert Creer said that this is the maximum term. If the military will work tirelessly, then it will be possible to clear the city in 36 days.
Specialists have already faced countless problems - water poured into New Orleans from all sides - the impact of the Katrina led to the fact that the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchantrain overflowed their banks and flooded the city "from the rear."
Now the soldiers are trying to strengthen the barrier structures - they fill up the gaps and gullies that have formed with sandbags in order to stop the rise in the water level in the city. In this they succeeded - the water really stopped coming.
But criticism of the military still has not weakened. Many believe that Orleans is recovering so sluggishly because the most effective and experienced units are now engaged in reconstruction work in Iraq and Afghanistan. But Lieutenant General Karl Strok does not accept criticism: "This does not mean that we are experiencing a shortage in human resources. We do not experience any problems with the budget." However, according to the latest data, the US Air Force still withdrew 300 troops from the Asian region. It turns out that a military base in Biloxi, Mississippi suffered from a hurricane.
So the rescue work continues. The total death toll in the states of Louisiana and Mississippi was, according to the latest data, 343 people. However, unofficial estimates are completely different: Louisiana state senator David Witter reported a terrifying figure - 10,000 people. Mayor Ray Nagin echoes him: in his opinion, there are now hundreds of unidentified dead on the streets of Orleans alone. In fact, the rescuers pull the corpses out of the water and put them on the pavement - there is no time for identification. But dozens of bodies of people and animals can remain in street streams - and many of them, most likely, have already begun to decompose.
The White House is told that about 234 thousand square kilometers are under water. It will be months before people can return to their homes. George W. Bush flew around New Orleans in a helicopter. "This storm requires immediate action, right now," he said. I want you to know that I will never forget what I saw, "the president said after this" tour. It is also worth noting that other countries, including Russia, have joined the rescue operations on the coast of Florida.
Marauders flood New Orleans
Daria OSRIKOVA, September 01
New Orleans was swallowed up by another element, but, unlike the previous one, the sea, it has a completely human nature. On the third day after Hurricane Katrina hit, a wave of looting swept the city. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin today ordered martial law in the city and the withdrawal of part of the rescue teams. About 1,500 police officers have been sent to fight the robbery on an unprecedented scale. The number of law enforcement officers called upon to stop looting is the same as that of the police force serving the whole of New Orleans in peacetime. Over the past 24 hours, New Orleans has continued to turn into chaos. On the flooded streets of the city, in addition to poisonous snakes, rats and sharks, numerous groups of marauders are in charge. Breaking shop windows, New Orleans of all stripes, ages and social status, not limited to basic necessities, sweep the contents of jewelry stores, clothing stores and electronics stores. "They got too close to the most densely populated part of the city, where there are numerous hospitals and hotels, and we simply have to stop them," Mayor Nagin said.
People break into the doors of grocery stores and take out so much food and drink that the loot falls to the ground, and there it remains as people scatter through the streets. Some whole boxes take out beer. But much worse is the fact that firearms stores are ruined. This immediately leads to disastrous consequences. Over the past day, skirmishes have already occurred three times, in one of them a police officer and, in fact, the looter himself were wounded in the head, but the lives of both are currently out of danger.
In another incident, the police pointed their weapons at the thieves, but did not shoot, and they immediately fled. One of the officers said that he was not going to arrest, let alone shoot people who steal food and water from stores, because he considered such actions quite excusable. In another case, armed looters opened fire on police officers. The efforts of the latter are aimed at combating those who rob electronic equipment stores, pharmacies, private homes and armed, already organized groups of looters.
One of these gangs attacked a nursing home, surrounded the building, and with threats to open fire drove 80 pensioners, even those in wheelchairs, out into the street. At the moment, the victims have already been taken to a safe place. But the director of the nursing home, outraged by the impudence of the marauders, now regrets that he took care to stock up only food, and not weapons.
Mayor Nagin explains that looting is very difficult to deal with, since everything starts with the looting of grocery stores, and you can’t argue with that, but then it develops into such chaos that people in a panic begin to drag electronics and everything they can take away.
The city authorities asked the White House to send National Guard detachments to reinforce not only the evacuation of people, but also to fight the rampant crowds. Their request was heard and granted: about 30,000 American National Guard soldiers from all states were sent to the affected area. "Most of these units will be in charge of law enforcement and fighting looters," said Gen. Russell Honor, who is in command of the joint rescue force.
Currently, about 1.5 thousand police officers are opposed to the looting of New Orleans. At the direction of Mayor Ray Nagin, they are no longer involved in the search and rescue operation, but keep order.
New Orleans - Social Darwinism
What is happening now in Louisiana was originally planned by the very system of capitalist society. If a person does not pay for insurance and does not have the means to save himself, no one will help him. Analogues of the Ministry of Emergency Situations in Pindosia eliminate the consequences: they collect the corpses of losers and bury them in mass graves, but they don’t care about the living, they don’t pay for it.
A "normal capitalist" regularly pays insurance for his property and listens attentively to the news. When the state offers to leave, he leaves and receives money for the property destroyed by the elements. And the one who is unable to pay is a consumer of resources and must be eliminated. What is happening now in Louisiana.
I spoke with the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the problem of water is solved in an elementary way: rubber cubic tanks are turned over by helicopters directly to the places of evacuation. In the flooded areas, ordinary punt barges are thrown by turntables and food is transported from them by motor boats. But no one does this, because no one will pay for it.
The Pindos are a colossus with feet of clay, in the event of even a few nuclear strikes on megacities, the national guard will not be enough for everyone, the country will plunge into chaos and anarchy. and they themselves have the world's largest arsenal of bombers with weapons of mass destruction and delivery vehicles
The Great Depression. The flood washed away the make-up of civilization from America
Peter Ilinsky 03.09.2005Reports from the disaster area caused by Hurricane Katrina are a reminder of how thin the superficial layer of civilization is and how easily it flies off even people living in the most industrial society known to history. It is worth depriving a person of a roof over his head, freedom of automobile movement, electricity (on which protection from the suffocating damp heat depends), restrict food and drink, and also remove the police from the streets, as he begins to behave as if driven by momentary instincts within 48 hours animal. Having nothing against our smaller brothers, let us recall that human society, if, of course, it wants to remain a society, differs from the herd precisely by the system of rules of community life, which is the more complex and sophisticated, the more sophisticated and complex the discussed society.
L. Fevre noted that the psychological differences between a modern person and an inhabitant of the Middle Ages are due, among other things, to how these individuals perceive natural forces. The latter is only afraid of them and is forced to put up with their most formidable, and simply inevitable manifestations. The former not only no longer builds his daily life depending on daylight hours, does not freeze too much in winter and does not overheat so much in summer, but is much less afraid of unforeseen vagaries of nature or natural disasters, because the walls of his dwelling are strong, and his property is secure. insured. With the help of this example, the historian wanted to show readers what it was like to live without all these amenities for our not-so-distant ancestors. "Katrina" turned this picture in the opposite direction and clearly showed us that this was an unsympathetic spectacle and that it is probably not worth it to amuse ourselves with the fact that we are enlightened and civilized people.
Reports of panic fueled by the most insane rumors, a crush for water, food and evacuation queues, fights that break out for no reason, robberies, violence, fires, actions that are completely mind-blowing (the shelling of rescue helicopters - eventually forced to drop cargo from a height), and even the most the sight of exhausted and very quickly driven to despair people proved once again how close we really are to the Middle Ages.
In fairness, it should be said that along with the rising waters of the Gulf of Mexico, many obvious problems of America proper have surfaced, which are not always discernible even by a critical outside observer. It is known that in the richest country in the world there are enough poor people - but this is often not seen, because there are much more citizens with a reasonable income, and people, even those who have spent their whole lives near them, get into quarters with chipped streets and ragged houses only by mistake, like dovlatov's heroes. It is also known that this poor people are mostly African American and that, alas, they do not differ in a high level of education. And so, when the elements hit almost the poorest areas of America, it turned out that tens of thousands of people either did not know about the evacuation, or did not have the opportunity to evacuate (the lack of an effective public transport system in many American cities is a separate issue), or simply do not believe what white men in ties and aunts in trouser suits say on TV.
Almost the most shocking thing in what is happening for the average American TV viewer is all the people in distress, whether on the flooded streets of New Orleans, or on the football stadium, where more than 20 thousand people have found shelter, now suffering from overheating, and from malnutrition, and from terrible unsanitary conditions; they all have the same skin color and that color is black. It is also obvious that social services, traditionally underfunded compared to Europe, have completely failed - among the dying in front of elderly African Americans who are completely chained to wheelchairs, in need of regular care (and in a normal environment, most likely, they received it). After all, someone had to evacuate them. Or did the mayor of the city think that they only needed to be informed - and then they would go on their own?
However, the almost complete unpreparedness for the catastrophe long predicted by scientists (boring, all the time muttering about global warming, people) was demonstrated by the authorities - both local and federal - it seems that FEMA (an analogue of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations) began to recover only a few days after disasters, and so far its activities have been very poorly coordinated. It did not add points to the authorities and the fact that most of the reserve of the National Guard in the affected states - the forces whose duty it is precisely to maintain order and organize emergency assistance - is located in Iraq and therefore cannot be involved.
Americans are by no means inclined to roll a barrel at their government for any improvised reason. In the end, "kings cannot cope with God's element." But the psychological blow was too strong - this can be seen from the comments coming from all sides of the political spectrum. Because Americans are accustomed to seeing themselves as tireless fighters, successfully overcoming even the most serious difficulties. Landing forces, rescuers, military engineering units, distribution of blankets, restoration of power transmission networks, emotional narratives of the lucky survivors - the country was ready for all this. But instead, she sees thousands of people almost abandoned to the mercy of fate: sometimes chanting: “Help!”, sometimes reaching the verge of spontaneous, incomprehensibly directed against whom, dozens (hundreds?) of uncleaned corpses, coroners identifying those who died on open car parking lots, for there is more sunlight, policemen, who are under orders to ignore looters, and crosses, which mark the roofs of houses in which victims are found - in order to remove their bodies when the turn comes to it.
We will not predict now whether the flood will have political consequences, and if so, what kind. But if the American population reacts to what happened, then this reaction may be as irrational as it was incredible what they saw in recent days. In a famous Swedish detective story, a killer eluded the detective heroes only to be sentenced to life in prison for a crime he did not commit. If the ax of American public opinion falls on Bush, it may not be because of his real sins, but because people will not believe in his sympathy for the poor and disadvantaged, because even in the eyes of neutral voters his family is strongly associated with the most hated today the institution of the American economy - the oil companies, which have inflated the price of gasoline to the limit in the last two days.
For some reason, I was especially touched, perhaps not too significant against the backdrop of so many dead, the story. There was a little boy on the New Orleans stadium evacuation bus who was not allowed to take his dog with him (animals are not allowed!). After that, the boy almost choked in a hysteria that ended in vomiting (the fact that the message about this got into the news bulletin already indicates the shock of both the journalist himself and the editor in charge) and only repeated: “Snowball, Snowball!” The scene is almost Faulknerian or Williamsian - by the way, both of the greatest American writers also went through an extraordinary, it is possible that the city of jazz, forever gone from mankind under water, the only frivolous buckle on the "Bible Belt" (Bible Belt) of the conservative southern states.
If everything happened as it is written, then the price of such salvation is small. After all, it is necessary to save not only in the physical sense, but, if possible, in the psychological one. Not from the roof of a burning house, after all, this bus was leaving, it was possible to make an exception for a child. For a person, other things being equal, the most important thing is sympathy, compassion. Because it is not so easy to manifest them, that is why they are so precious. It is easy to save a dying man from thirst if you have a bottle of water in your hands. And to help the desperate, who has lost hope, you can only imagine yourself in his place. By showing exactly those emotions (absent in any orders and manuals) that make a person a person. Even in the most medieval times.
Echoes of New Orleans. Riot among the soldiers of the American army of occupation in Iraq
03.09.2005From Iraqis working for the US Army of Occupation comes reports of disobedience and real riots among the soldiers of the US Army of Occupation in Iraq. (This is reported as Iraqis working for the occupiers at the Baghdad International Airport and in the so-called "Green Zone" of Baghdad.)
Three days ago, an American soldier went into a state of hysterics after learning of the deaths of three members of his family in New Orleans.
Corporal Nick Lancer suddenly yelled, “It's all about Iraq. My family paid for the crimes I committed here. Let us go home to help our families. Damn you Bush and Rumsfeld."
A real riot broke out after the officers tried to calm down Lancer. Other soldiers from this unit joined Lancer, who began to beat the officer. Tensions rose after other officers tried to intervene and prevent the beatings, and they were also beaten with forged military boots. American soldiers also beat senior officers of the puppet army who tried to help the American officers.
The soldiers shouted: "You pigs. We will hand you over to the Resistance fighters to finish you off. It is because of you that we are being killed here."
During this beating, one of the soldiers radioed a message to the other soldiers on the patrols to join them and return to the barracks.
A Marauder's Feast in an Ocean of Sorrow
"Welcome to Hell". This Hollywood slogan, used by Chechen gangsters in Grozny, returned to their homeland today.
Journalists who managed to get to New Orleans write that this city resembles hell.
Following the flood, the city is overwhelmed by another terrible wave - robberies, rapes, fires. Even those who escaped the flood are dying. First of all, these are children, the sick and the elderly. There are no essential medicines - antibiotics, painkillers. With a 40-degree heat, the threat of the onset of epidemics is great. Television shows heartbreaking footage of fainting babies and old people who died in wheelchairs, holding notes with the names of loved ones. According to the mayor of New Orleans, another 50,000 to 100,000 people must be urgently evacuated from the city, including patients from nine local hospitals and more than 7,000 prisoners.
Gangs of robbers, outnumbered by law enforcement and the national guard, broke into the safes of gun stores. Looters fire at rescue helicopters and even cars with a red cross, catch and rape young women. “This is not Iraq or Somalia,” an NBC commentator exclaimed in their hearts. “This is our country.”
The Pentagon is transferring the Harry Truman nuclear aircraft carrier to the disaster zone, which will house the disaster relief headquarters, as well as 8 ships, including a large floating hospital, and 50 aircraft.
In turn, Congress decided to provide assistance to the affected areas in the amount of 10.5 billion dollars. But this considerable money at first glance is just a drop in the ocean. US President George W. Bush and his predecessors Bill Clinton and George W. Bush appealed to the Americans to help the rescue operation with money. Washington agreed to accept foreign aid. At the Ramenskoye airfield near Moscow, there are Il-76 aircraft of the Russian Emergencies Ministry, which, as soon as the appropriate signal is given, will immediately fly to the United States.
It should be noted that Russian diplomats are acting clearly and very actively in a difficult situation. They managed to locate eight more citizens of the Russian Federation in the flooded New Orleans. These are students E. Boltushkina and T. Demina from Nizhny Novgorod, E. Koltsova and I. Sakryukina from Astrakhan, D. Rukavishnikov, S. Egorov, A. Dudka and S. Svir. According to available information, the condition of the students is normal.
How can something like this happen in the United States?
Kevin Sullivan 09/05/2005People all over the world cannot believe their eyes.
From Argentina to Zimbabwe, front-page newspapers carry pictures from New Orleans, either dead or desperate, almost all poor and black. These images undermined the notion of American power. How can this happen in a country whose wealth and power seem almost supernatural in many struggling corners of the world?
New Orleans is like Haiti, Baghdad, Sudan, Bangladesh or Sri Lanka. The footage of garbage, corpses, and empty eyes of those who managed to survive reminds people of any of these places, but not the United States.
"American Third World," was the headline of the London Daily Mail on Saturday.
“Law and order have evaporated, armed criminals roam wherever they want, raping and plundering, and people die of heart attacks and thirst, and their bodies are left to rot in the streets. Until now, such a hellish picture could only be imagined in a disaster zone in the third world However, this happened yesterday in America."
The international response has, in many cases, gone from shock, compassion and generosity to mounting vocal criticism of the Bush administration's handling of the Hurricane Katrina disaster. In countries where attitudes toward the US often range from admiration to contempt, many people view the chaos that has engulfed much of the Gulf Coast as incompetence at best and racism at worst.
Many analysts point out that President Bush's focus on Iraq has robbed the US of resources to deal with natural disasters; it is often argued that Katrina taught Bush a hard lesson in stubbornly resisting international efforts to combat global warming, which some experts believe contributes to such storms.
More than 50 countries and several international organizations have offered US assistance and technical assistance. The State Department has not yet accepted the aid, but said it was reviewing needs. Some countries have made direct donations to the American Red Cross.
Some of the world's poorest countries are also offering aid, indicating a kind of role reversal. El Salvador offered to send soldiers to restore order, and offers of help came from Bosnia, Kosovo and Belarus. The former Soviet republic of Georgia donated $50,000 to the Red Cross, while Sri Lanka, which received $133 million in tsunami relief from the United States, donated $25,000 to the Red Cross. Senators Tom Lantos and Jim Leach, who have just arrived in Beijing from North Korea's capital Pyongyang, said local officials are expressing their sympathy.
However, apart from compassion, the reaction of the world has been mostly critical of the actions of the US authorities and Bush, who is still unpopular in many places outside the US - primarily because of the war in Iraq. On Saturday, London's Independent newspaper published an article on the main page asking questions: "Where was the president when his country was having a rainy day?", "Why did it take him five days to get to New Orleans?", "Why was the US able to take over Iraq, a country of 25 million inhabitants, in three weeks, but could not save 25,000 of its own citizens who were in a sports stadium in a major American city?
Regarding Iraq, one Iraqi newspaper reported on the hurricane without editorial comment. The Arab television network al-Jazeera showed footage of rescue operations and reported on Bush's decision to send troops to the disaster area. At the same time, the Iraqis understand that the US administration is under pressure in connection with the return of soldiers to their homeland.
For their part, the French, who have deeper historical, cultural, linguistic and emotional ties to New Orleans than to any other American city, posted heartbreaking photos on the front pages. "Wrath of the Forgotten" was the title of a picture published in Saturday's edition of the Liberation newspaper, depicting a woman on her knees and screaming in despair. Le Figaro, in an editorial on Saturday, pointed to the paradox that the US military was able to arrive in Southeast Asia so quickly after the tsunami, but "couldn't do the same within its own borders."
Israel's most popular TV news program on Channel Two on Friday showed footage from New Orleans with uncovered corpses, accompanied by a comment that no one was guarding the bodies or taking care of their removal. Video footage was shown of Bush trying to find the right words before saying that he is unhappy with the actions of the government. The tone of the newscaster's story suggested that the Bush administration was more concerned with ensuring an uninterrupted flow of fuel than saving lives.
There were several articles on Chinese websites that covered the disaster in detail that compared the actions of the US in New Orleans and the Chinese army during the recent floods and earthquakes. “Hundreds of thousands of soldiers were sent to help the locals (in China), and they did a really good job,” one article said. “However, the US, the superpower, sent only a few thousand soldiers to help. What a shame!”
Elsewhere, observers have linked Hurricane Katrina to the dangers of global warming and Bush's opposition to the Kyoto Protocol. "This horror is the most terrifying way to convey the importance of climate change," Marcelo Cantelmi wrote August 31 in an editorial column for the Clarin newspaper in Buenos Aires. German Environment Minister Jurgen Trittin pointed out in an op-ed that Katrina should be a wake-up call for the Bush administration and a call for a change in policy on global warming.
Some point out that the looting and chaos in New Orleans is a reflection of the culture of violence in the US. The English-language newspaper Times of India on Saturday published a quote from Sajiva Chintak, a 36-year-old citizen of Sri Lanka, where the tsunami killed more than 30,000 people: where the civilized part of the world's population is located."
The issue of racism lies at the heart of the general outrage at the situation in New Orleans. The United States is considered a land of opportunity for a few, with less opportunity for people of color. Hundreds of thousands of Mexicans enter the US each year to work, while Mexican human rights organizations denounce US treatment of Hispanics. African refugees flee war and famine and start a new life in the United States, but here they find themselves in a society where minorities are the poorest segment of the population.
The issue resonated in East African countries such as Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya, where newspaper columnists and radio commentators lashed out at the US government for its slowness in helping the victims. Among the victims is "a disproportionate number of frankly impoverished blacks," Ambrose Murgunda wrote in the Kenyan Daily Nation on Saturday.
In Pakistan, the English-language newspaper The Nation opined that the US government "sitting idly by for three days in response to the plight of its people" and pointed out that the predominantly black casualties were indicative of "inequalities in wealth, a racial divide in the United States." , which is still preserved."
In Turkey, columnist Sami Cohen wrote in Friday's Milliyet newspaper that the looting "has shown a different face to the US. It has become clear that the number of poor and unemployed is very high and their problems are being ignored."
In the Daily Mail on Saturday, columnist Anthony Golden said his ties to the US have always been thwarted by the country's typical selfishness. The large number of poor and black victims of Hurricane Katrina, he said, showed that while prosperity has come to some African Americans and members of other minorities, many of them have been left out. "It's not often that such horrifying evidence of the dark side of the American dream has been so brutally exposed."
"KATRINA" DISPLACED THE MYTHS
Nikolai PakhomovSociologists and psychologists have long noticed that one of the main differences between emergency situations and everyday life is that crisis moments, like in a magnifying glass, show the characteristic features of both a society facing out of the ordinary events and the individuals that make it up. In this sense, the devastating hurricane Katrina, which swept over the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico, was no exception. This must be admitted, despite the fact that the picture that has opened up to the world turned out to be very unattractive and incompatible with the widespread image of the United States as a chosen successful nation standing at the forefront of human development.
For a while, let's leave the review of the rescue operation and the descriptions of the destruction brought by the elements, and think about how ordinary Americans and their state showed themselves in trouble. Many myths associated with the New World for decades or even centuries were dispelled by a hurricane, like the unreliable roofs of plywood houses bought on a long-term loan by New Orleans residents.
The list of such legends, which had both historical justifications and were created by American politicians, State Department ideologues or figures of American mass culture thoughtlessly in love with their country, but refuted by the action of the elements, can be very extensive and, perhaps, comparable to the huge list of what Washington is asking now as humanitarian aid from other peoples of the world. The right to freely acquire weapons and rational individualism, which for a long time strangely coexisted in the space of American myths with communal mutual assistance, religiosity and racial tolerance, federalism and the aforementioned life on credit, the power of the state and the law enforcement system, consciousness and organization, welfare and high development of communications, art administrative management and the sagacity of scientists - all this turned out to be just legends that have little to do with reality.
For each of the above points, it is now possible, perhaps, to defend more than one doctoral dissertation, which tells how Hurricane Katrina disproved the positive connotations of these phenomena and institutions. But even in this series, some things are more striking than others.
For example, the remaining - even in spite of the absurdity of American political correctness - the differences between the white and black population of the United States. It is clear that these differences are based on both facts and myths. Statistics tells about the former: the ancestors of 75% of the inhabitants of New Orleans arrived in America from Africa, while 27% of Orleans live - more precisely, after the destruction of the city, one might say, lived - below the poverty line (with an average figure for the United States of 9%). According to some reports, more than 50% of the townspeople could hardly read and write. Moreover, even from all-American statistics, it is known that among the black population, one in five men has been behind bars (for comparison, among whites, one in sixteen). As for the myths, one of the most respected think tanks in the world, RAND Corporation, recently conducted a survey among African Americans, which showed that 16% of black US citizens believe that AIDS was invented by the government to control the black population. Comments, as they say, are unnecessary.
The distant Iraqi War also influenced events on the Gulf Coast. A well-known fighter against the Bush regime, film director Michael Moore, in an open letter, has already asked the American president a question: where are the helicopters and National Guard soldiers needed for the rescue operation? "Maybe in Iraq?" - asks the following almost rhetorical question the creator of scandalous documentaries. It is known that the hurricane and its devastating consequences were predicted by scientists several years ago. Money was needed in order to take the necessary measures. However, as you know, there are no free funds in the American budget today: the process of democratization of Iraq is in full swing.
George W. Bush, speaking on Monday in Baton Rouge (Louisiana) in front of the rescuers and the rescued, has already stated that after the hurricane, Americans, having tested their strength of mind, will become stronger and better. But the residents of New Orleans, who still remain unburied, will not be able to do this. There may be 10,000 such people, according to the mayor of the city.
Police Marauders
27.10.2005In New Orleans, Louisiana, two people have been arrested as part of an investigation into police theft of nearly 200 Cadillacs following Hurricane Katrina. This was reported by the local authorities. Elroy Allen, 23, and Sean Franklin, 39, are accused of stealing cars from one of the dealers. Police, for their part, admit that some of the cars were borrowed after police patrol cars were flooded. At the same time, the press secretary of the police department notes that he would not consider it as a theft.
Civilization at the bottom
09.09.2005Most shocking are the accompanying circumstances. When tens of thousands of people - already after the end of the hurricane! - do not receive any help, literally dying of hunger and thirst. When a flourishing metropolis is at the mercy of marauders, with whom nothing can be done for a week. When the principle of survival in an animal pack is in full swing: "You die today, and I will tomorrow." And the most important thing is that all this is happening not in the jungles of Southeast Asia, not in the deceived expanses of the "former USSR", but on the territory of the richest country on the planet, the only world leader and so on and so forth - the United States of America ...
A few months after the Spitak earthquake in 1988, which claimed more than 30,000 lives, an earthquake of almost equal magnitude in California cost no more than a dozen and a half victims. Against the backdrop of the piles of concrete that remained from the Armenian Spitak, this was also striking - but at the same time it seemed natural. Tropical hurricanes for the inhabitants of the coast of the Gulf of Mexico are also a fairly routine thing (as are earthquakes for Californians). This year is still considered quite weak in terms of hurricanes: Katherine is only the 14th in a row, while in a "normal year" they are recorded up to forty.
What is characteristic: the hurricane itself was not so terrible and even at the last minute bypassed the "French Quarter" - the historical center of New Orleans. Catastrophic for the city was the fact that he damaged the dam system of the "capital of jazz", located below sea level. Over the past 100 years, about 1,200 miles of levees and water barriers have been erected in the Mississippi River basin to protect settlements and navigation routes. This led to the disappearance of natural barriers that traditionally protected against storm surges and hurricanes. Theoretically, this protection system is the most progressive in the world. But funding for the repair and construction of new dams for several years did not meet the needs - Washington transferred the requested funds to ... the fight against terrorism. As a result, some dams were damaged so seriously that the city of half a million was flooded and it was decided to evacuate it. Moreover, flooded not just with water, but with the so-called "witch's soup" - a mixture of heavy metals, chemicals, sewage, fuel and pesticides.
And here it turned out that all the power and wealth of the country are powerless in the face of human vices, the obvious negligence of officials, the absolute incompetence of the leadership of the city and the state. The situation was aggravated by the fact that New Orleans is a city dominated by the Negro population, and, for the most part, not rich. It is these people who do not have their own cars, inhabiting poor neighborhoods, were outside the attention of evacuation services. Deprived of the most necessary - shelter, water and food - they began to arbitrarily seize shops. And behind their backs, others began to smash shops with weapons, jewelry, and expensive equipment. Newspapers describe the resourcefulness of marauders who filled plastic trash cans with loot and floated it on the water. At the same time, they did not hesitate to contact rare policemen in cars with a proposal to deliver them with goods to the right address.
Unlike New York in 2001, where the authorities did their best from the first minutes of the disaster, their Louisiana counterparts seemed to be in a state of complete shock for several days. Many parts of the National Guard, which were supposed to take control of the situation, were in Iraq. The seventh day of work on the aftermath of the disaster brought reports that among the rescuers, policemen and firefighters employed in the work, suicides began. Some of them are mentally unable to withstand what they have to see in the disaster area. It is hard to imagine what a strong professional man must see at work in order to commit suicide. But newspapers are full of impressions of eyewitnesses who spent several days in the city stadium without water and food, where rapes and murders have become commonplace. Marauders even fired on helicopters with water and food, which because of this could not land and were forced to drop their cargo directly into the water. Skirmishes in the city do not subside to this day.
"Catherine" once again clearly confirmed the thesis about the slight vulnerability of the modern "high-tech" civilization. And also the fact that all the civilization of modern man easily disappears under the influence of serious trials. But something else is just as clear. A society where one of the main pillars of law-abiding is a police baton, in a matter of hours slides down to the level of an animal pack - if the baton is carried away by a hurricane. Or if she floats on the water.
Hurricane Katrina: the secrets of doctors
"I want you to know that I will never forget what I saw," said George BushHurricane Katrina struck not only the cities and population of the United States, but also the image of the Bush administration. The President of the United States "accepted" and took responsibility for the failures in government action in connection with the hurricane. The death toll rose to 657. There would have been fewer if not for the negligence of the authorities, who were warned in advance of the unprecedented danger of the approaching disaster.
Meanwhile, the Louisiana Attorney's Office has charged doctors with the negligent murder of 45 people and the owners of a nursing home in which 34 patients died during the hurricane.
The burden of responsibility
Numerous casualties and the lack of a normal organization of recovery and rescue work in the states affected by Hurricane Katrina caused a flurry of criticism of the government. The indignation is quite justified - after all, the authorities of the affected areas were warned in advance about the hurricane.
At a joint press conference with the President of Iraq, Bush admitted that the hurricane had raised a number of questions about the ability of the United States government to respond to natural disasters and terrorist attacks, RIA Novosti reported. "Hurricane Katrina highlighted serious challenges in the ability of every level of government to respond to challenges," the US president said.
In fact, Bush took responsibility for the failures in the actions of the US government in connection with Hurricane Katrina. “I would like to know what worked out right and what went wrong,” he added. In his speech, Bush tried to protect the rescuers from attacks, noting, however, that the complexity of the situation does not justify the poor organization of rescue operations. On Friday, Bush visited Mobile, Alabama, and Biloxi, Mississippi, and flew around New Orleans in a helicopter. “This storm requires immediate action, right now,” he said. "I want you to know that I will never forget what I saw."
The US Congress's $10.5 billion emergency relief package for all those affected by the hurricane will no longer repair the damage Katrina has done to the reputation of Bush and his administration. The impotence of the authorities in the organization of the rescue operation may adversely affect the results of the Republican Party in the congressional elections in 2006.
Bush will again travel to the disaster zone on Thursday, September 15, White House press secretary Scott McLellan said in Washington. This will be the president's fourth trip to areas affected by Hurricane Katrina. While in Louisiana, Bush also plans to give a televised address to the nation on Thursday to report on the situation in the disaster area and the progress of recovery efforts.
The number of victims is increasing
Meanwhile, in the United States, proceedings are beginning against the management of institutions that failed to organize the rescue of people. There would have been much fewer victims if it were not for ordinary negligence. Terrible facts are revealed - 45 dead were found in one of the New Orleans hospitals. During the hurricane, the clinic staff evacuated and the helpless patients were left alone.
The Louisiana State Attorney's Office has already charged doctors with negligent homicide, NTV reports.
The state attorney's office opened another criminal case against the owners of a nursing home in which 34 patients died during Hurricane Katrina. An investigation into the deaths at the St. Rita Nursing Home in the St. Bernard area began on September 8, according to the office of Louisiana Attorney General Charles Foti.
"We sought out the owners to ask them the main question: why did the residents of the home not receive assistance, while the owners of the medical facility were warned in advance of the impending hurricane," the prosecutor's office said. As Foti himself stated, before the hurricane "they were asked if they wanted to transfer patients, but they did not." He stressed that the inaction of the owners of the nursing home led to the death of people.
At the time when Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana, there were about 80 elderly people in the medical facility, about 50 of them were evacuated by rescuers after the hurricane.
The owners of the medical institution, Mabel Mangano and Salvador Mangano, voluntarily surrendered to the authorities and were taken into custody. Currently, the actions of the management of other medical institutions are being checked. At the same time, prosecutors are checking the conditions for accommodating evacuated patients.
Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco expressed dissatisfaction with the work of the US emergency department in the search and identification of those killed as a result of rampant disaster. In her opinion, the dead "deserve more respect than they are given." She also noted that she still has not signed a contract for the transportation of bodies with a firm based in Houston.
Blanco said the state would independently negotiate such a contract, despite the fact that it is the responsibility of the federal government, because "it is impossible to wait any longer." The governor of New Orleans predicted that the number of victims of the hurricane could reach several thousand people. Currently, according to the US Department of Health, the total number of victims of Hurricane Katrina in the United States has already reached 657 people. The death toll from the hurricane in Louisiana rose from 279 to 423. However, it is not reported where exactly the new victims were found.
America will be destroyed by the Americans themselves
Yesterday, the United States agreed to accept humanitarian aid from Russia for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Three flights of Il-76 transport aircraft of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations (MES) will deliver power generators, individual food rations, multi-person tents, blankets, drinking water and dressings to the United States. In parallel, deliveries of humanitarian aid to the United States from the EU countries begin. From food, drink and personal care products to technicians and emergency response specialists, Americans need literally everything to help the affected Americans. Thus, the US government de facto admitted its complete inability to cope with the consequences of tropical hurricane Katrina. For several days there was no power in New Orleans, and the city was dominated by bandits, rapists and murderers who terrorized the surviving residents and fired at the few rescue helicopters, fire brigades, workers and policemen. According to experts interviewed by RBC daily, the events in New Orleans have shown that in the event of terrorist attacks, American cities will plunge into chaos and war of all against all, and the authorities will not be able to cope with this.
Now, almost a week after Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana, it's clear that there was little the United States could do to avoid the devastating effects of the disaster. Moreover, apparently, they did not want to do anything for the sake of it. The Federal Agency for Emergency Management (an analogue of our Ministry of Emergency Situations) has demonstrated its complete helplessness. Even two days before Hurricane Katrina made landfall, weather officials knew it would be a major Category 5 hurricane and that sub-sea New Orleans was in serious danger of being flooded. However, a mandatory evacuation was not announced. Only people on private vehicles left the city on time. Mandatory evacuation was announced after the flooding of the city, when it was almost impossible to leave. Many consider the American authorities to be guilty of the fact of flooding. According to media reports, of the $60 million initially allocated for the repair and construction of new dams, $50 million was redirected to the war in Iraq.
However, the most terrible and unexpected was not even the blow of the elements and not the negligence of the authorities. The city immediately found itself in the grip of marauders, bandits and rapists. The guards just disappeared. In almost every county in New Orleans, between 20% and 60% of police personnel dropped out. Many wrote resignations, refusing to work. The rest barricaded themselves in their own areas and defended themselves. Meanwhile, on the streets of the city and in crowded places of destitute people, bandits freely robbed, killed and raped. In just one Convention Center, about 200 women and children disappeared. Robberies, murders and rapes did not stop at first, and the introduction of police units and the National Guard with a license to shoot bandits into the city. It looked very specific. White special forces crews drove through the streets of New Orleans and shot blacks, as in the worst years of apartheid in South Africa. Only the introduction of an additional seven thousand fighters made it possible to reduce the rampant violence in the city, which was destroyed, as after the war.
According to experts interviewed by RBC daily, the New Orleans lawlessness of the last few days is a sign of a severe crisis in American society. “In the United States, by the 1990s, explosive potential was released in society. This is due to the transition from an industrial to a post-industrial society,” PIR Center expert Dmitry Evstafiev told RBC Daily. A similar opinion is shared by the president of the Neocon consulting company, Mikhail Khazin. According to him, "as a result of the change in the economic system, the number of jobs, primarily low-paid ones, has decreased." “People turned out to be thrown out and useless,” Mr. Khazin told RBC daily. According to him, instead of solving the problem, they simply tried to buy people with “subsidies or benefits”, but there was not enough money for such social costs.” “Social strata that did not fit into the new post-industrial society were supported by law enforcement agencies and social subsidies. Even under Clinton, it was decided to increase the police force in order to control the poor. Geographic polarization has emerged in American big cities. The picture began to resemble the Middle Ages. The city center is a business center, downtown with offices and luxurious apartments - a kind of castle of the "collective" feudal lord. Around him are the neighborhoods of the poor, more or less wealthy people live in private houses in the suburbs. After the hurricane, the deterrents disappeared, and the inhabitants of the poorest neighborhoods began to rob and kill. Although, in fact, poverty is a relative concept. They can eat in peace, dance rap, play basketball, and still have something left in their pocket,” says Mr. Evstafiev.
Mikhail Khazin believes that New Orleans chaos and violence have not only social, but also ideological prerequisites. “Liberal ideology is cultivated in the USA. Its essence is that any ban is wrong. Society is politically correct - it does not have the right to condemn any action until the court has recognized it as a violation of the law. That is, it is not the crime itself that is condemned (this cannot be done, because it is “bad”), but only the violation of the law. The execution of the law requires the presence of the state - a certain procedure, the presence of witnesses, punitive bodies. If all this is not there, then you can do whatever you want. The law disappears - shooting and violence begin. There is no deterrent, internal “no”,” says Mr. Khazin. The head of the St. Petersburg analytical group "Designing the Future" Sergey Pereslegin believes that "internal, deep catastrophic processes that are very dangerous for the United States have begun." “The US is facing a challenge. New Orleans has shown that when citizens fail to cope with problems, they themselves destroy their cities. People get scared and start behaving like animals. This is a phase barrier. If it cannot be overcome, then most cities in the USA and in the world can be destroyed and civilization will roll back to the Middle Ages. Events in New Orleans are a harbinger of things to come,” Mr. Pereslegin told RBC daily.
This day in history:
The 2005 hurricane season began in the same way as the previous ones, and did not promise anything extraordinary, but Katrina turned out to be the hurricane from which the wounds healed for a very long time. A distinctive feature of the hurricane was that it originated on August 24 not in the center of the Atlantic Ocean, but near the Bahamas. Fueled by the energy of the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, the cyclone intensified at an accelerated pace to the 5th category, which forced the monitoring stations to declare an alarm.
On August 29, the hurricane moved north toward the United States. After standing for a while, he headed to the state of Louisiana, where he reached with the 4th category and a wind speed of 240 km / h. Further, the hurricane moved to the state of Mississippi. As it moved overland, it lost its strength, turning into a tropical area of low pressure in Tennessee. The further way lay to the north, to Canada, which also suffered a little from its destructive actions. A weakened hurricane disappeared in the Great Lakes region on August 31.
Strong winds blow the roof off the Backyard Grill restaurant in Kenner, Louisiana on Monday morning, August 29, 2005.
During this time, Katrina has generated about 40 tornadoes in America (especially in the state of Georgia), fortunately, for the most part, they are not dangerous. True, 1 tornado killed a person, another 12 people were injured in varying degrees. Up to 500,000 chickens died on one of the local farms. However, as a result of the natural disaster, severe floods occurred that flooded several settlements: almost 1 million residents were left without electricity, the number of victims reached 1,600 people, and several dozen went missing.
Economic damage from the activity of the hurricane amounted to about 130 billion dollars. Even a year after these events, approximately 100,000 displaced people were still living in trailers.
One of the most beautiful cities in the South of America, New Orleans, suffered the most from the elements. Although it is located in a zone of increased danger, previous hurricanes, by a lucky chance, practically did not touch it. The city was completely unprepared for this, which, of course, exacerbated the situation. The actions of both local and federal authorities were striking in their ill-conceivedness and slowness.
The roads from New Orleans were jammed for hundreds of kilometers with people leaving in their own cars. As a result, a giant traffic jam has formed. Moreover, the authorities were slow to evacuate and tens of thousands of residents were forced to seek shelter on the spot, suffering from lack of food and water.
A dam break along the Inner Harbor Navigation Channel near downtown New Orleans on August 30, 2005.
The locals have never seen anything like it: the whistling wind raised waves up to 8 m high on the Mississippi River, which, pouring over the dam, flooded the city. The depth of flooding reached 12 m. Hundreds of thousands of buildings were destroyed, and the bulk of the townspeople were left homeless. The city became like a ghost, in which only marauders were in charge.
The truly unique scale of the tragedy struck the authorities and disorientated them, forcing them to take unprecedented steps to evacuate the city of a million people after the disaster hit. Food, medicines were sent from all over the country, volunteers arrived to help, heavy equipment with all the necessary equipment arrived from everywhere. The international response was palpable. Even states as poor as Bangladesh helped America with the aftermath of the hurricane.
The natural disaster led to serious environmental consequences: oil products got into the reservoirs with drinking water, diseases were registered in some areas of New Orleans: dysentery, typhoid, stomach diseases, poisoning with stale food. Things could have ended even worse if Hurricane Rita, which came to the United States just a few days later, was as powerful as Katrina.
New Orleans underwater. In the background is smoke from fires that started in some houses. September 2, 2005
The events in New Orleans were very revealing and provoked warm responses from all over the world, which were associated not so much with sympathy for the affected locals, but with surprise at how the situation developed. And it developed rather unattractively for civilized America.
After the hurricane, the US government tried to deal with the crisis, but did it so indecisively that many experts around the world doubted the ability of the US authorities to properly respond to the problem. After 14 days, New Orleans continued to plunge into chaos due to the complete confusion at all levels of government.
The state machine was not ready to create an effective mechanism to eliminate the consequences of a natural disaster. Also, in America, which prides itself on the high level of private initiative that is allegedly encouraged at the highest level, the government itself has prevented individuals, companies, and charities from providing assistance faster than government services. As a result, New Orleans was so deeply and comprehensively (not only financially, but also psychologically) dependent on government assistance that its inhabitants were helpless in the face of a serious crisis and were unable to protect themselves and their loved ones under such conditions on their own.
If you look at what preceded this, then the bewilderment will become even stronger. Since September 11, 2001, when terrorist planes crashed into the towers of the World Trade Center, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has identified a terrorist attack on New York, a severe earthquake in San Francisco, and a hurricane in New York as the most likely sources of disaster. Orleans. Moreover, the last option was emphasized especially with a description of the scenario, painfully similar to that played out in real life.
The federal government responded by multiplying the budget of the newly formed Department of Homeland Security, which had a couple of hundred thousand employees distributing billions of dollars to who knows where.
The state of Louisiana (where the city of New Orleans is located) received more money than other states, but the state and local governments spent it on anything but flood prevention. And this is in a region of increased hurricane danger, where the authorities should have worked out schemes in case of a natural disaster. However, there were indeed such plans, but it seems that they did not provide for the strengthening of dams or the evacuation of the population.
When Katrina first appeared on US soil, Louisiana Governor C. Blanco assumed "emergency powers" in view of the impending emergency, apparently aware of the impending danger. She ran the local Department of Homeland Security, which prevented the Red Cross and the Salvation Army from supplying water, food and medicine. Doctors with licenses from other states were given permission to work in Louisiana only a few days after the tragedy.
When the hurricane hit the city in full force, the authorities actually withdrew themselves, leaving it to the marauders. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, seeing how the hurricane rages in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, issued a warning: "We urge everyone not to take any action to assist the regions affected by the hurricane."
Fearing that the situation would spiral out of control without proper coordination, the authorities followed the plan. As a result, any help from individuals and organizations was immediately rejected, for example, 3 trucks with water provided by a large American chain store were not allowed into the disaster area; the Coast Guard was prevented from delivering the fuel; agency employees, frightened by the emergency (as if it had not yet arisen at that time), cut the district communications line. The local police restored the line and guarded it from new encroachments.
The administration of New Orleans did not accept the proposal of the state rail carrier to evacuate the population before the hurricane approached, hundreds of aircraft pilots from neighboring states volunteered to help deliver humanitarian supplies, transport rescuers, and evacuate people, but they were not allowed. The same applies to the numerous firefighters who came from all over the country - they were detained in Atlanta and spent whole days training them on interethnic relations and sexual harassment.
The failure of the state was recognized even by the president, but he was hardly aware of its full depth. The disaster mainly affected the city's poorest residents, many of whom receive social benefits and are therefore completely dependent on it. The state could not come to their aid, and the people, left alone with the elements, were helpless.
In contrast to the state, private companies have shown foresight and efficiency in dealing with the consequences of the tragedy. They actively helped the victims. The Wal-Mart chain of stores was especially distinguished by purchasing a sufficient amount of necessary goods in advance. A few days after the hurricane, pharmaceutical companies also provided significant financial assistance, delivering a large amount of medicines and medical equipment. Churches and charities across states sent truckloads of clothing and food to the affected areas, and offered shelter to people who had lost their homes. Moreover, assistance was carried out in secret from the government, otherwise it would have tried to prohibit uncoordinated human impulses, but thanks to them, hundreds of thousands of victims of the hurricane found temporary homes.
Apparently, the state simply does not have sufficient incentives. Private companies, on the other hand, improve the quality of goods and services, gain the trust of customers so as not to lose customers. On the other hand, let the motivation be the pursuit of profit, the main thing is that it helps people in trouble. As a result, everything turned out in a certain way. In many cases, private initiative and independence proved to be more effective than government intervention.
However, this was only one aspect of the problem. Another became obvious when the authorities were clearly unable to cope even with their main function - protecting the lives and property of citizens from criminals. Local residents later recalled how the police joked sadly that if someone wants to kill someone, now is the right time. In the first days after the disaster, New Orleans made a strange impression: unusually quiet, partly burned, partly flooded, infected, gloomy. In some banks, the doors are broken - someone decided to take advantage of the situation. Emaciated citizens roam the streets, fires rage, dogs roar and tear carrion furiously. In such a state of emergency, many of the signs on buildings have been replaced with hand-written warnings: Marauders will be shot at without warning.
After the dams failed and the water flooded the city, the number of robberies, rapes, murders, and fires increased dramatically. The streets were filled not only with poisonous snakes and rats, but also with the joys of marauders. And there were more of them than all the city law enforcement officers combined. The bandits armed themselves by breaking into the safes of weapons stores, firing at rescue helicopters and ambulances, and raping women. Among them was a significant proportion of citizens of various ages, skin colors and wealth. From the empty stores, they took out not only essential products, but also jewelry, household appliances, clothes, and boxes of beer. The first 4 days after the arrival of Katrina became a real horror for the townsfolk, who then told terrible things, emphasizing that the degree of violence had grown incredibly.
Seeking shelter, thousands of people gathered at the local stadium, and it turned into the center of hell. There were no rules, the order was worse than in prison, the strongest commanded there, and you could sell and buy anything: drugs, weapons, food, various valuables, watches, medicines. At night, groups of organized marauders went out for prey. Armed skirmishes were constantly taking place, accompanied by shooting. The stadium turned into a trap, from which it was impossible to leave. Several dozen showers located on the basement of the stadium became the most nightmarish place where murders and rapes were committed. Mostly women were abused, but it happened that men and children also suffered. Quite often this happened in front of everyone. Once people could not stand it and lynched one of the rapists.
The government of the country eventually responded to the repeated calls of New Orleans Mayor R. Nagin to send troops to the city, but was afraid to undertake a large-scale cleansing so as not to provoke an armed conflict. Those of the police who did not desert, along with thousands of National Guard soldiers and volunteer reservists, tried to bring the situation under control, but at first they were unsuccessful, despite the permission to crack down on criminals, up to liquidation.
Watching what was happening in the United States, the whole world was in some shock. Doubts about the legend of American power intensified. In different parts of the world, people could not understand: how can this be in the most prosperous and influential country in the world? According to news reports and photographs, New Orleans resembled a city located in a third world country. The newspapers asked rhetorical questions about the whereabouts of President D. Bush on a tragic day for his country, if it took him 5 days to get to New Orleans, and about the paradoxical situation when Iraq with a population of 25 million was captured by the United States in 3 weeks , but at the same time they could not free 25,000 Americans locked in a small stadium in a metropolis on their own territory.
The international response to the tragedy in the United States was unusually strong. In addition to loud criticism, there were voices of support from the American people. More than 50 states offered their help, including poor Bosnia, Kosovo, Belarus, Georgia, Sri Lanka, and many international organizations, but the US State Department was in no hurry to accept it. Therefore, direct donations were received from some countries to the American Red Cross. Sympathy was expressed even by North Korean officials who do not have warm feelings for the United States.
What happened in New Orleans has become a fertile topic for psychologists, philosophers and other specialists in the study of man and society. The situation in America after Hurricane Katrina vividly reminded us that the superficial layer of civilization in man is surprisingly thin and instantly disappears, despite the fact that people do not live in dense jungles, but in a highly industrialized society. All it took was to deprive a person of shelter, freedom of movement, electricity (air conditioners that saved from the suffocating damp heat did not work), seriously cut food and water consumption, clear the streets of representatives of law enforcement agencies, and in two days the city turned into a kind of pen for animals driven by current needs and momentary instincts (some were predators, others prey). Gone are the systems of rules for coexistence in society, developed over the centuries, which are the stronger, the more developed society is.
Reports of panic intensified by many insane rumors, violent water and food stampedes, fights, shootings, robberies, violent acts, irrational behavior (rescue helicopters under fire dropping cargo from a height), the sight of exhausted and quickly despairing people showed everyone that we are not far removed from the Middle Ages.
Copy of someone else's materials
Hello dear readers! Welcome to my site security blog, let me tell you today how sometimes names can be deceiving. Especially if they are female. Especially if they are called hurricanes. Hurricane Katrina is one of the nightmares of the United States of America.
Let's try to understand in a little more detail how this nightmare appeared and how it annoyed the people of the United States. Ready? Then let's go!
In the early hours of August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast of the United States. When the storm made landfall, it was a Category 3 Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind and brought sustained winds of 100-140 mph and stretched 400 miles across.
The storm itself caused great damage and its consequences were catastrophic. The levee breaches resulted in widespread flooding, and many blamed the authorities for the federal government's slowness in helping people affected by the storm.
Hundreds of thousands of people in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama have been displaced from their homes, with experts estimating that Katrina has caused more than $100 billion in damage.
The tropical depression that became Hurricane Katrina formed in the Bahamas on August 23, 2005, and meteorologists were soon able to warn people in the Gulf Coast countries that a major storm was heading towards them.
By August 28, evacuations were carried out in the region. That day, the National Weather Service predicted that after the storm hit, "much of the [Gulf Coast] area would be uninhabitable for several weeks ... possibly longer."
New Orleans was at particular risk. Although about half of the city actually lies above sea level, its average height is about six feet below sea level, and it is completely surrounded by water. During the 20th century, the Army Corps of Engineers built a system of dikes to keep the city from flooding.
The levees along the Mississippi River were strong, but those built to contain Lake Pontchartrain, Lake Bornier, and the wetlands to the east and west of the city were far less reliable.
Before the storm, officials were concerned that the hurricane could raise the water level in some dams and cause temporary flooding, but no one predicted that the dams could collapse below their design height.
Those parts of the city that were below sea level, many of which were inhabited by the poorest, and therefore the least protected, were at great risk of flooding.
The day before Katrina struck, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin issued the city's first-ever mandatory evacuation order. He also stated that the Superdome, a stadium located on a relatively high point near the city center, will serve as a "shelter of last resort" for people who cannot leave the city. (For example, about 112,000 New Orleans residents out of nearly 500,000 people did not have access to a car.)
By dusk, almost 80 percent of the city's population had evacuated. About 10,000 people sought shelter in the Superhouse, while tens of thousands of others chose to wait at home for the storm.
Storm and flood
By the time the hurricane bearing the beautiful female name Katrina hit New Orleans in the early hours of Monday, August 29, it had been raining for hours.
As the storm surge rolled in (up to 9 meters in some places), it overwhelmed many of the city's unstable dams and drainage channels. Water seeped through the soil under some dams.
By 9 a.m. downstream, such as St. Bernard Parish and Ninth Ward, there was so much water that people had to take refuge on attics and rooftops. In the end, almost 80 percent of the city was flooded with water.
Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina
Many people acted heroically during the hurricane. The Coast Guard, for example, rescued some 34,000 New Orleanians, and many ordinary citizens from boats offered food and shelter and did their best to help their neighbors.
However, the government, especially the federal government, seemed unprepared for disaster. It took several days for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to carry out rescue operations in New Orleans, and even then there appeared to be no credible course of action. Officials, even including President George W. Bush, were unaware of just how bad things were in New Orleans: how many people were cut off from civilization or missing; how many homes and businesses were damaged; how much food, water and aid was needed. Katrina left behind what one reporter called a "complete disaster zone" where people "became absolutely desperate."
Katrina destroyed huge parts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, but the desperation was concentrated in New Orleans. Nearly 30 percent of its people live in poverty. Katrina exacerbated these conditions and left many of New Orleans' poorest citizens even more vulnerable than before the storm.
Overall, Hurricane Katrina killed about 2,000 people and affected about 90,000 square miles of the United States. Hundreds of thousands of evacuees are scattered around the world. Today much of New Orleans has been restored.
