New Orleans: After the Storm

On the 29th of August, 2005, a Category 3 Hurricane swept crosswise the state of Louisiana and dealt major damages to the City of brand-new Orleans, a tragedy never to be forgotten by the American Nation. though the hurricane never hit the city itself, through its huge rainfall content, it has precedentd levee breaches which had dealt the around damage as natural spring devastated the city, and was thus dubbed as the wrap up engineer disaster in the history of the United States (Kilpatrick & Dermisi, 2007). Lost of lives and property were dealt during the incident, as the crime rates hiked up due to the disorder caused by the hurricane, and images of criminals savory grand theft auto were seen live on television, as structures were enthusiastic or world wrecked by the flood.Critics continue to blame various groups, individuals and positionors for the terrible incident which has scarred the peoples hearts and minds, and has terrorized and affected both individuals and th eir pets who were nonmigratorys of the city, still learning who to blame, and macrocosm tight in release funds for insurance insurance shoots, and learning whether the state should pay for the damages or not. Yet, whether damages were paid or remain unpaid, and whether individuals who should be cursed were blamed or left unquestioned, it must be realized that beyond restoring the monetary resource of the people and giving due furtherice, healing the wounds of each and every resident of juvenile Orleans who currently suffer from the emotional, and psychological baggage which consequence each and every one of them must be realized and given due priority.Faulty Urban Planning. The development of cities and industries has caused the increase of community in states practiced industrial zones in consideration to the convenience brought about by being near to the jobs present in the ara. The continuing increase in the tribe and demand for cheap homes feel been the critica l featureors in pursuing the building of homes in marshlands, swamps, reclamation areas, and other low grunge areas by the g all overnment led United States the States Corps of Engineers, in the City of rising Orleans. After the construction of the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal in 1940, the state closed the commercial waterways which were used before for waterborne commerce, leash to the drastic lowering of the citys water table.The US Army Corps of Volunteers then built a levee system around the area covering much of the citys marshlands and swamps, without consideration to the possible remission of sin brought about by the compression of underlying soils. These brought about land settling of up to 8 feet or 2 meters in approximately areas which were repossess by the US disposal. A recent study of the Tulane University notes that 49% of New Orleans is below sea level, with the majority of the population on the higher(prenominal) ground. However, the mean elevation of the city has become between 1 and 2 feet below the sea level, with around parts as high as 16 feet and rough parts as deep as 10 feet. The city is as well bordered by the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain, and is marbled with canals and bayous (Galle, 2007) which mayhap considered geologically hazardous.Moving on. Two years after the incident, the residents of New Orleans are still trying to cope up with the emotions, and the losses which they have incurred during Hurricane Katrina. For some individuals, moving on might be a very gentle thing to do, especially if they have some other place to can on to. Yet for some, the typhoon was just the beginning, especially if theyre homes have been wash out or burned by some thug or all their assets and even their pets are gone. A year after the typhoon businesses in the high ground started to bloom again, as most of the restaurants are open, the conclave Center began to have bookings, and almost all of the premium mutilateice bl ank shell in the business district is occupied, and the Port of New Orleans is or so back to normal.Tourists have too started to come back, and almost half of New Orleans pre-Katrina population is back mostly crowded into the high ground along the river (Ydstie, 2006). For some individuals, the damage dealt by Hurricane Katrina was something that has made them further down, as insurance companies refused to pay some victims due to some loopholes within the insurance policies such as the wind vis--vis flood, and the flood vis--vis hurricane policies. Some insurance companies claim that individuals could not be compensated for their wrecked homes if their insurance policy says that their houses are insured for hurricane since it was the flooding that has caused the house to be destroyed, a heartless consideration that gives no consideration to the logic that there would be no flood if there was no hurricane at all. Worse are the insurance companies who contend that wind was the ca use for the houses roofs to come off and the flooding did not cause it, thus they would entirely pay partially for the damages.These defenses and loopholes of insurance companies made things worst for Katrina Victims, and should be condemned. opus most of the individuals suffer from more stressful damages brought about by such insurance companies, what should be stressed for them is the fact that, the first rule of insurance policy construction is that ambiguous policy language is interpreted against the drafter (contra proferentem) which in most cases are the insurance companies, and also that, insurance agents, must also then be sued for their negligence towards their jobs of qualification such loophole-full policies (Abraham, 2007). Also individuals who lost their houses are troubled by some policies such as the high ground policy which forces them to make their houses higher, individuals who have problems with stairs such as those suffering from arthritis are troubled by this .Pets after Katrina. During the Hurricane, the residents of New Orleans initially saving their lives left their pets behind. Cats and dogs of variant breeds and species were lost, and were forced to roam a world which was unknown to them, while being thirsty and unfed, and while some residents were trying to find back their pets some individuals were arrogant about them such as the cop who threw out a dog named snowball out of a bus ( increase Snowball, 2005). A year after the incident, organizations such as the North rim Animal League of America, helped retrieved pets of New Orleans residents. Initiatives to house some of the pets which no one claimed, however there has been a lack of credible population to adopt such pets.Lessons learned. Some individuals say that the carry on Hurricane Katrina has dealt is comparable to the impact of the Oakland Firestorm which hit Oakland California in 1991, which then, was a large urban firing which occurred in the northern Oakland, Califor nia, and which has killed 25 people and injured 150 others. temporary hookup some issues of Hurricane Katrina are comparable, such as the amount of damage dealt, and the fact that most of the victims of the Oakland Firestorm were somewhat unaware of their insurance policies just like the victims of Katrina, the issues of complacency and uncompetitive planning are the factors which make the circumstances of the two incidents different. While the damages dealt by Hurricane Katrina were due to the lack of mitigation, and the lack of competitive avail in wrong of planning, the damages brought about by the fire in Oakland California were mainly due to the complacency of the residents and the local municipality in terms of controlling the fire.Reflections. While it holds true that acts of God could never be controlled by man, it must always be taken into consideration, that God has given us our brains for us to analyze and think about what we can do just in case. In the case of Hurric ane Katrina, the damage could have been avoided if there were only complete mitigation done, such as holding studies about the geographics and the soil composition of the area, and taking a close monitor over the movements of the soil and the water levels, and making detailed and well thought off engineering measures to prevent such incident from happening again. It must also be taken into account that there have been not enough measures to provide emotional support for the victims of the typhoon, and such emotional stress and accent must be given consideration and priority by the government and other support groups.ReferencesAbraham, K.S. 2007. In Brief The Hurricane Katrina Insurance Claims. Virginia LawReview, 93, 157-164.Bach, A., & Miller, C., 2003. Lessons Shared from Oakland-Berkely Hills. Retrieved September14, 2007, from http//www.hillsemergencyforum.org/docs/Media-LessonShared.pdfGalle, J. 2007. superfluous Reports Vulnerable Cities. Retrieved September 15, 2007 fromht tp//www.weather.com/newscenter/specialreports/hurricanes/vulnerablecities/neworleans.htmlKilpatrick, J.A., & Dermisi, S. 2007. The Aftermath of Katrina Recommendationsfor genuine Estate Research. Journal of Real Estate Literature.Snowball Snowball The Little Dog Who Broke A Nations cheek Hurricane KatrinasLittlest Victim. 2005. Muttshack Animal Rescue Foundation, posted Sept. 6 2005. Retrieved, September 14, 2007 from, http//www.muttshack.org/2005/09/snowball-snowball-little-dog-who-broke.html Ydstie, J. 2006. Katrina Victims Still throw together to Find Way Home. Retrieved September14, 2007 from http//www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5720114