scholarly journals Social patterns of natural disasters: The case of hurricane Katrina

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 195-215
Author(s):  
Mirko Filipović ◽  
Sonja Žakula
Keyword(s):  
Natural Disasters ◽  
Hurricane Katrina ◽  
New Orleans ◽  
Public Perception ◽  
Black People ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
The Public ◽  
Social Patterns ◽  
Political Economic

Public perception and imagination tend to view natural disasters and catastrophes as phenomena that impact everyone equally. However, they do not occur in a historical, political, economic or social vacuum. Every phase and aspect of a disaster - its causes, vulnerability, preparedness, aftermath, response, reconstruction, the scope of the disaster and the price paid in the end are, to a lesser or greater extent, socially conditioned. Natural disasters actually replicate and amplify existing social inequalities and their effects. Such was also the case with hurricane Katrina. Black people, the poor, the elderly... remained in sunken New Orleans because their economic and social exclusion diminished their possibility to escape the disaster (the same way it diminished their opportunity to escape poverty). Had Katrina been a mere accident of geography and ecology, it would have been possible to peacefully await the resolution of its aftermath. However, because the inequalities which Katrina made apparent have deep socio-historical roots, it was illusory to expect that they would be repaired by the public policies on offer. Because of this, Katrina remains a powerful reminder to those advocating for a more just and democratic society.

scholarly journals Društveni obrasci prirodnih katastrofa: Slučaj Katrina

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 195
Author(s):  
Mirko Filipović ◽  
Sonja Žakula
Keyword(s):  
Natural Disasters ◽  
Hurricane Katrina ◽  
New Orleans ◽  
Public Perception ◽  
Black People ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Political Economic

 Public perception and imagination tend to view natural disasters and catastrophes as phenomena that impact everyone equally. However, they do not occur in a historical, political, economic or social vacuum. Every phase and aspect of a disaster - its causes, vulnerability, preparedness, aftermath, response, reconstruction, the scope of the disaster and the price paid in the end are, to a lesser or greater extent, socially conditioned. Natural disasters actually replicate and amplify existing social inequalities and their effects. Such was also the case with hurricane Katrina. Black people, the poor, the elderly... remained in sunken New Orleans because their economic and social exclusion diminished their possibility to escape the disaster (the same way it diminished their opportunity to escape poverty). Had Katrina been a mere accident of geography and ecology, it would have been possible to peacefully await the resolution of its aftermath. However, because the inequalities which Katrina made apparent have deep socio-historical roots, it was illusory to expect that they would be repaired by the public policies on offer. Because of this, Katrina remains a powerful reminder to those advocating for a more just and democratic society. 

Transnarodowa kwestia społeczna. Migracje i nierówności społeczne

2021 ◽  
pp. 21-40
Author(s):  
Thomas Faist
Keyword(s):  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Social Question ◽  
The Public ◽  
Ecological Aspects ◽  
The Social ◽  
Global North ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
And Migration ◽  
Political Economic

The social question is back. Yet today’s social question is not primarily between labour and capital, as it was in the nineteenth century and throughout much of the twentieth. The contemporary social question is located at the interstices between the global South and the global North. It finds its expression in movements of people, seeking a better life or fleeing unsustainable social, political, economic, and ecological conditions. It is transnationalized because migrants and their significant others entertain ties across the borders of national states in transnational social spaces; because of the cross-border diffusion of norms; and because there are implications of migration for social inequalities within national states. The first section discusses the structure of social inequalities in migration and the politics around it. It starts, first, by elaborating upon the commonalities and differences of the social question in the 19th and 21st centuries and then, second, asks whether the increasing relevance of location compared to class for income and life chances has replaced voice as a main response by exit. This is followed, third, by an elaboration of the nexus between social inequalities and migration, i.e. migration being both an antecedent and a consequence of social inequalities. Fourth, the focus moves to the main changes in migration control, its externalization from border control to remote control. This is followed, fifth, by a consideration of the other side of the coin, internalization processes in countries of destination and origin, driven by processes such as marketization and securitization of migration. The second section then moves on to sketch one of the main challenges, the need to include ecological aspects into the discussion of the social question. The analysis concludes with reflections on the shifting form of the transnationalized social question. Finally, the outlook discusses the role of social scientists in discussing the transnationalized social question in the public sphere.

Effect of Hurricane Katrina on the Incidence of Acute Coronary Syndrome at a Primary Angioplasty Center in New Orleans

2009 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 144-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandeep Gautam ◽  
Jonathan Menachem ◽  
Sudesh K. Srivastav ◽  
Patrice Delafontaine ◽  
Anand Irimpen
Keyword(s):  
Natural Disasters ◽  
Hurricane Katrina ◽  
New Orleans ◽  
Natural Disaster ◽  
Chronic Stress ◽  
Preventive Health Services ◽  
Primary Angioplasty ◽  
Contributing Factors ◽  
Coronary Syndrome ◽  
Tobacco Abuse

ABSTRACTBackground: In August 2005, New Orleans was hit by Hurricane Katrina, the costliest natural disaster in US history. Previous studies have shown an increase in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in the immediate hours to weeks after natural disasters. The goals of our study were to detect any long-term increase in the incidence of AMI after Katrina and to investigate any pertinent contributing factors.Methods: This was a single-center retrospective cohort observational study. Patients admitted with AMI to Tulane Health Sciences Center hospital in the 2 years before Katrina and in the 2 years after the hospital reopened (5 months after Katrina) were identified from hospital records. The 2 groups (pre- and post-Katrina) were compared for prespecified demographic and clinical data.Results: In the post-Katrina group, there were 246 admissions for AMI, out of a total census of 11,282 patients (2.18%), as compared with 150 AMI admissions out of a total of 21,229 patients (0.71%) in the pre-Katrina group (P < 0.0001). The post-Katrina group had a significantly higher prevalence of unemployment (P = 0.0003), lack of medical insurance (P < 0.0001), medication noncompliance (P = 0.0001), smoking (P = 0.001), substance abuse (P = 0.03), first-time hospitalization (P < 0.001), local residents rather than visitors affected (P < 0.0001), and people living in temporary housing (P = 0.003).Discussion: The role of chronic stress in the pathogenesis of AMI is poorly understood, especially in the aftermath of natural disasters. Our data suggest that Katrina was associated with prolonged loss of employment and insurance, decreased access to preventive health services, and an increased incidence of AMI. In addition, it appears that chronic stress after a natural disaster can be associated with tobacco abuse and medication and therapeutic noncompliance.Conclusions: We found a 3-fold increased incidence of AMI more than 2 years after Hurricane Katrina. Even allowing for the loss of some local hospitals after the disaster, this represents a significant change in overall health of the study population and supports the need for further study into the health effects of chronic stress. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2009;3:144–150)

Analyzing Mega-Disaster Hurricane Katrina

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arjen Boin ◽  
Christer Brown ◽  
James A. Richardson
Keyword(s):  
Hurricane Katrina ◽  
New Orleans ◽  
Crisis Management ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Federal State ◽  
Local Response ◽  
The Public ◽  
Scale Response ◽  
State And Local

The response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005 has been widely described as a disaster in itself. Politicians, media, academics, survivors, and the public at large have slammed the federal, state, and local response to this mega disaster. According to the critics, the response was late, ineffective, politically charged, and even influenced by racist motives. But is this criticism true? Was the response really that poor? This article offers a framework for the analysis and assessment of a large-scale response to a mega disaster, which is then applied to the Katrina response (with an emphasis on New Orleans). The article identifies some failings (where the response could and should have been better) but also points to successes that somehow got lost in the politicized aftermath of this disaster. The article demonstrates the importance of a proper framework based on insights from crisis management studies.

scholarly journals Blight Abatement of Vacant Land and Crime in New Orleans

2018 ◽  
Vol 133 (6) ◽  
pp. 650-657 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle C. Kondo ◽  
Christopher Morrison ◽  
Sara F. Jacoby ◽  
Liana Elliott ◽  
Albert Poche ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hurricane Katrina ◽  
New Orleans ◽  
Health Impact ◽  
Crime Rates ◽  
Physical Disorder ◽  
Vacant Land ◽  
Vacant Lots ◽  
The Public ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
And Control

Objectives: In 2005, Hurricane Katrina caused damage in New Orleans, Louisiana, and much of the land in low-resource neighborhoods became vacant and blighted. In 2014, New Orleans launched a program, Fight the Blight, which remediated properties in 6 neighborhoods. Our objective was to examine changes in crime rates near lots that were remediated (ie, debris removed and vegetation mowed). Methods: We used a quasi-experimental design to test whether crime rates changed from preremediation (January 2013–October 2014) to postremediation (July 2016–March 2017) near 204 vacant lots that were remediated compared with 560 control vacant lots that were not remediated between October 2014 and July 2016. We also examined differences between remediated lots that received 1 treatment (n = 64) and those that received ≥2 treatments (n = 140). Results: We found no significant differences between remediated and control lots in levels of violent, property, and domestic crimes from preremediation to postremediation. However, the number of drug crimes per square mile decreased significantly near all remediated lots (5.7% lower; P < .001) compared with control lots, largely driven by the significant decrease (6.4% lower; P < .001) in drug crimes found near lots that received ≥2 treatments. Conclusions: Investing in programs that improve neighborhood environments affected by high rates of physical disorder and vacancy may be a way to decrease violence. However, routine remediation may be needed to increase the public health impact of blight abatement programs in warmer climates, where weeds and vegetation grow rapidly.

Who Governs? How Shifts in Political Power Shape Perceptions of Local Government Services

2019 ◽  
Vol 56 (5) ◽  
pp. 1503-1528 ◽  
Author(s):  
Domingo Morel ◽  
Sally A. Nuamah
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Hurricane Katrina ◽  
New Orleans ◽  
Racial Differences ◽  
Political Power ◽  
The Public ◽  
Government Services ◽  
Traditional Public Schools

What factors influence citizens’ perceptions of local government services? To answer this question, we examine citizens’ perceptions of public education in post-Katrina New Orleans. Following Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans began to transform most of its traditional public schools into charters. Although studies show that test scores have improved since the mass adoption of charters post-Katrina, surveys show that most Black citizens in New Orleans do not perceive that the New Orleans schools have improved post-Katrina. A majority of White residents, however, perceive that the schools are better post-Katrina. Relying on a survey of New Orleans residents, we argue that local shifts in political power by race help explain the racial differences in perceptions of the public schools. The study’s findings suggest that perceptions of the quality of public goods are shaped by perceptions of “who governs?”

NEW ORLEANS IS NOT THE EXCEPTION: Re-politicizing the Study of Racial Inequality

2006 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Frymer ◽  
Dara Z. Strolovitch ◽  
Dorian T. Warren
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Hurricane Katrina ◽  
New Orleans ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Racial Inequality ◽  
The United States ◽  
Color Line ◽  
American Democracy ◽  
Normal Functioning ◽  
The Public

Although political science provides many useful tools for analyzing the effects of natural and social catastrophes such as Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, the scenes of devastation and inequality in New Orleans suggest an urgent need to adjust our lenses and reorient our research in ways that will help us to uncover and unpack the roots of this national travesty. Treated merely as exceptions to the “normal” functioning of society, dramatic events such as Katrina ought instead to serve as crucial reminders to scholars and the public that the quest for racial equality is only a work in progress. New Orleans, we argue, was not exceptional; it was the product of broader and very typical elements of American democracy—its ideology, attitudes, and institutions. At the dawn of the century after “the century of the color-line,” the hurricane and its aftermath highlight salient features of inequality in the United States that demand broader inquiry and that should be incorporated into the analytic frameworks through which American politics is commonly studied and understood. To this end, we suggest several ways in which the study of racial and other forms of inequality might inform the study of U.S. politics writ large, as well as offer a few ideas about ways in which the study of race might be re-politicized. To bring race back into the study of politics, we argue for greater attention to the ways that race intersects with other forms of inequality, greater attention to political institutions as they embody and reproduce these inequalities, and a return to the study of power, particularly its role in the maintenance of ascriptive hierarchies.

Who Dat Say (We) "Too Depraved to Be Saved"?: Re-membering Katrina/ Haiti (and Beyond): Critical Studyin'for Human Freedom

2011 ◽  
Vol 81 (2) ◽  
pp. 343-371 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joyce King
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Hurricane Katrina ◽  
New Orleans ◽  
Black Studies ◽  
Human Freedom ◽  
The Public ◽  
Media Reports ◽  
Disaster Narratives ◽  
Cultural Amnesia

In this essay, Joyce King attempts to interrupt the calculus of human (un)worthiness and to repair the collective cultural amnesia that are legacies of slavery and that make it easy—hegemonically and dysconsciously—for the public to accept myths and media reports, such as those about the depravity of survivors of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and the earthquake in Haiti. King uses examples of Black Studies scholarship within a critical studyin' framework to recover and re-member the historical roots of resistance and revolution and the African cultural heritage that New Orleans and Haiti have in common. Within this framework, teachers, students, and parents can combat ideologically biased knowledge, disparaging discourses of Blackness,and dehumanizing disaster narratives.

THE LAST LAST WAVE

2006 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 233-238 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Lie
Keyword(s):  
Native Americans ◽  
Hurricane Katrina ◽  
New Orleans ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Reconstruction Effort ◽  
Racial History ◽  
The Media ◽  
Governmental Response ◽  
Blind Spots

Hurricane Katrina was a horrible tragedy. Rather than reprising the obvious pitfalls of governmental response or the dire consequences of social inequalities, however, I pose a series of questions. In particular, I seek to highlight the blind spots and silences that the media frenzy generated. These range from the fate of the Native Americans and the complexity of New Orleans' racial history to the explanatory adequacy of the dominant narrative and the unreflective premise of the reconstruction effort. The precarious state of nature and civilization demands a way to think and act beyond short-term palliatives.

Impact of Hurricane Katrina on Healthcare Delivery for Pediatric Hematology Oncology Patients at Children's Hospital of New Orleans, 2005 - 2014

Blood ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 126 (23) ◽  
pp. 5589-5589 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chittalsinh M Raulji
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Natural Disasters ◽  
Hurricane Katrina ◽  
New Orleans ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
Oncology Patients ◽  
Pediatric Hematology ◽  
Hurricane Preparedness ◽  
Evacuation Plan

Abstract Hurricane Katrina was one of the worst natural disasters to hit the United States. Pediatric hematology/oncology patients, having unique physical and mental health needs, are particularly vulnerable to social and mental effects of natural disasters. We conducted a study one year after Katrina to determine the impact of the hurricane on those under our care for sickle cell disease and cancer, conducting a two-step survey-based study at Children's Hospital of New Orleans. The first survey was conducted 1 year after Katrina, attempting to identify gaps in healthcare services for pediatric hematology oncology patients that could be remediated in the event of another disaster such as Katrina, e.g., what barriers to care they encountered; and their opinions as to how hurricane preparedness could be improved. Utilizing responses to this survey, we then implemented a "Hurricane Action Plan". Each year, at the beginning of hurricane season, families were given a questionnaire, which asked them about pertinent patient identification data; about their evacuation plan if a hurricane were to fall; about the presence of a hospital in the area to which they would evacuate; which pharmacy they would be using. They were assisted with updating their child's roadmap and were asked to have this updated copy of the roadmap (or other health information) with them in the event of an evacuation. Information given about the child/family's evacuation plan was then scanned to a flash drive by medical staff along with the child's health information. The families were also given information as to where the pediatric hematology oncology clinic would be held in case of evacuation and were instructed on how to contact the caregivers. A subsequent survey was performed 7-8 years later to evaluate the efficacy of those measures taken. In our first post-Katrina survey, more patients were found to be in lower socioeconomic and educational strata. In the first survey, a majority of our patients had evacuated before or immediately after the storm and some were even separated from their children. Only half of the families in our study had an evacuation plan in place for the hurricane and a third of the families did not know where they were going when they evacuated. This uncertainty made it quite difficult for the families to seek pediatric hematology/oncology care in the place of displacement. There was inadequate time for arrangements for referral to be made, for the child's medications to be procured, for an alternate provider to be identified, or even for the health records of the child to become available. A majority of our patient cohort was already at a higher risk of mental health disorders, and more than half the caregivers reported some kind of emotional disturbance in the child after the hurricane. With the second survey 7 years after the "Hurricane Action Plan" came into effect, we found that in subsequent hurricanes affecting New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, a significant number of families were still being displaced. However, a majority of families (78%) had a plan in place for evacuation and care of their child. This was a significantly better response than prior to Katrina. Families were now more likely to have a store of medications to last for at least 2 weeks. 92 % found the information given to them about alternative facilities and other possible care providers to be extremely helpful. We have found that the communication between families and those of us at CHNOLA who provide care for these children to be vital and hurricane preparedness to be a success. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

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