What could not be predicted was that the city's infrastructure would so miserably fail the people of New Orleans.
As images of looting and stranded citizens filled the airways, taken from news helicopters, the city's police force had virtually abandoned their posts, and some were accused of participating in the looting that followed the disaster there was something noticeably missing in the images; there were no police rescues, no Red Cross, no fire department rescue teams and no National Guard. Journalist John McQuaid described it this way:
But Katrina was much more than a natural event; human hands played a role in the damage and in the storm's equally disastrous aftermath. Katrina exposed deep institutional flaws in the nation's emergency response, supposedly upgraded following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. It easily overwhelmed the federal levee system, built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, that protected New Orleans and its nearby suburbs; investigations showed afterward the system was considerably weaker than the Corps had claimed and that serious engineering errors had been made in its construction. Katrina also dealt a serious blow to the standing of President George W. Bush, who had staked his presidency on his ability to protect the citizenry, yet seemed unable to muster a robust response to the storm. (McQuaid 213)."
Volumes can be written about the inadequacy of response to Katrina by city, state, federal officials and even the Red Cross. It is perhaps the worst example of America's inability to cope with disaster.
2003 Blackout
In August of 2003, it was revealed the extent to which mankind had both become dependent upon technology, and was, at the same time, at the mercy of technological mechanisms controlling our lives.
Rae Zimmerman (2004) writes:
This second edge of the sword was felt in 2003 when history repeated itself with a number of electric power blackouts around the world of magnitudes rarely seen before - in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Italy, Sweden and Denmark....
In a number of those cases, cyber failures were not or have not yet been identified as initiators. But the blackout of August 14, 2003, that affected about 50 million people across the northeastern and mid-western U.S. And Canada making it the largest blackout, did have cyber origins in the form of software and computer failures according to the U.S.-Canada Power System Outage Task Force (2004:51-55)."
Unlike Katrina, the vital infrastructures were at least able to cope with this disaster. Emergency water was distributed, and communities set up centers where large numbers of people could go to be cooled by generator supported cooling systems.
Each of these events posed a challenge to American urban infrastructure, and federal government infrastructure too. At best, as on September 11, 2001, it demonstrates that humanity comes together in times of crisis; at worst, as happened with Katrina, it demonstrates how humanity fails one another. At the end of the, each of these events prove that America must devote more support and funding of vital infrastructures in America's urban centers.
Works Cited
http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5018509938
Andrews, Joseph L. "In Katrina's Wake: Healthcare Crises in New Orleans Dr. Joseph L. "Joel" Andrews Spent Two Weeks in the New Orleans Area in December 2005 as a Physician Volunteer for the American Red Cross Hurricane Katrina Disaster Relief Programs. Three Months after the Hurricane Had Hit, He Witnessed Firsthand the Storm's Devastating Effects on Residents in the City's Various Communities." The Humanist Nov.-Dec. 2006: 32+. Questia. 14 Dec. 2007 http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5018509938.
A www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5016986456
Mcquaid, John. "Katrina's Assault on New Orleans." World Watch Sept.-Oct. 2006: 13+. Questia. 14 Dec. 2007 http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5016986456.
Zimmerman, Rae, and Thomas Horan, eds. Digital Infrastructures. New York: Routledge, 2004. Questia. 14 Dec. 2007 http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=107998839.
