Mississippi and Louisiana governors declare states of emergency. Follow a day-by-day account of Hurricane Katrina's wrath, from its birth in the Atlantic Ocean to its catastrophic effects: flooded streets, flattened homes,. We arent looking for a handout, but its hard to believe that the city that we love (and everyone lovesthe Mardi Gras, the jazz, the hospitality!) "[I] got to the president. At 1:30 in the morning, Denise Thornton walked with her group up to the helipad, out in the open air, and there it was. Nobody cared.". I don't think that's the proper thing to do. The price tag has not yet been determined. " Troops poured in to restore order after almost a week of near-anarchy. Since many New Orleans streets are still filled with stagnant, fetid waters smelling of garbage and raw sewage, the military was considering using planes to spray for mosquitoes.". Driving in from the popular suburb of Metairie, it's the first building you pass. For my part, I am still going out into the streets every day to talk to people about their experiencesI call it getting phyllisophical. Other people call me the Dr. Phil of the streets. Your email address will not be published. [Governor Blanco] probably should have asked sooner. "I admit that rapes are underreported," Benelli says. Abandoned cars remain on Interstate 10 in front of the heavily damaged Superdome September 14, 2005 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Some parishes order mandatory evacuations. At daybreak, rescuers set out on boats to help others still stranded. After suffering heavy damage during Hurricane Katrina, the Superdome was re-opened on September 25, 2006 for the Saints' Monday night game against the Falcons. The storm flooded New Orleans, killed more than 1,800 people, and caused . In Louisiana, New Orleans is of particular concern because much of that city lies below sea level. Later, his charred remains were discovered on the banks of the Mississippi River, inside a car that had apparently been set on fire. Anastasia is a petite, 25-year-old hairdresser who asked that her last name be omitted. Hurricane Katrina created enormous public health and medical challenges, especially in Louisiana and MississippiStates with public health infrastructures that ranked 49th and 50th in the Nation, respectively. I think we both should have asked sooner.". Female victims, now displaced from New Orleans, are slowly coming forward with a different story than the official one. Visit us at HISTORY.com for more info. You'll receive access to exclusive information and early alerts about our documentaries and investigations. Newly rescued people are still being brought to the Superdome. National Hurricane Center director Max Mayfield tells the Times-Picayune newspaper, "This is scary this is the real thing." Remembers Covering Katrina Preserving History After Hurricane Katrina Katrina's Affect on Charter schools quiz: 10 Questions on Katrina. Crime is at an all-time high. But the problem was that because of the fear that resulted from the civil unrest, the bus drivers said, 'We're not going in there to pick these people up unless you put a law enforcement official on every one of the buses, because we're afraid. In downtown New Orleans, some streets were merely wet rather than swamped. He also announces that the Superdome will be "a shelter of last resort for evacuees with special needs." After her rape, Lewis says, there were no clinics open, so she washed herself with bleach. "It was that terrible. FEMA National Situation Update: Exacerbated by the recent BP oil spill in the region, the storm and its aftermath remains an open wound for local residents and others affected . With Glovers story as a jumping-off point, FRONTLINE partnered with the Times-Picayune and ProPublica in 2010 to investigate six questionable shootings by police revealing that, in the midst of post-Katrina chaos, law-enforcement commanders issued orders to ignore long-established rules governing the use of deadly force. The 42 reports include assaults that happened inside New Orleans and outside the city, for instance, in host homes. At 7 pm it makes landfall north of Miami. Hurricane Katrina becomes Category 2 by 11 am, with 100 mph maximum sustained winds. The Army Corps of Engineers projects it could take 80 days to pump the water out of the city. 5 Must-See Documentaries About Hurricane Katrina. "And so now I think it's swung the other direction and it's underreported. Around this time 17 years ago, Hurricane Katrina bore down on New . A New Orleans house submerged in floodwaters. She sits on the edge of a bed in a dingy, dimly lit room in a motel in Baton Rouge. Rescuers drop them off wherever there is high ground; many are dropped at interstate overpasses and the Superdome. A timeline of the warnings, some of the decisions leading up to the disaster, and what went wrong with the government's response. This escapism was part of the gift the Saints gave the city following Hurricane Katrina. But more and more people were being evacuated from their rooftops after being in the sun for long periods or overnight and being put on highways on high ground. FEMA was doing what it's supposed to be doing. And I said [to the president], "Here's my piece of paper. Exploring the experiences of a black member of the New Orleans Police Department and assorted other New Orleans residents during their stay in the Louisiana Superdome during and after Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans in 2005. One woman told me she was going to commit suicide after Katrina, and that she saw Spike Lees documentary, and I saved her life. And he basically asked me, 'Mr. Jon and Jo Ann Hagler on behalf of the Jon L. Hagler Foundation. Mayor Mitch Landrieu last week hailedNew Orleans as Americas comeback city,citing efforts to reduce crime, decrease homelessness and improve educational outcomes for area students. HBO. [Mayor Nagin] was upset with everything. Watch it: For a powerful story of resilience and determination in the face of tragedy. And then somebody came and called me and said, 'The president would like to see you.' National surveys show that half of all sexual assaults are never reported. "I remember reading [that New Orleans had dodged a bullet]. "We did meet with [Mayor Nagin] Tuesday morning. Visit us at HISTORY.com for more info. We have Brad Pitt and Chris Rocks wife here now, and I think collectively its making a huge, huge difference. Ms. Blanco, she left and walked out. "A close eye will be kept this system could strengthen ". We, Yahoo, are part of the Yahoo family of brands. He came right back and he said, I dont know why, but theres probably a foot of water on Claiborne Street, Landreneau said. Commander Dave Lipin says they saw two women who said they'd been raped -- different women than those the police attended to. Michael Brown, FEMA director: Half of telephone service is back. But by late morning, when FEMA director Michael Brown arrives in Baton Rouge, water is already coming over levees in the 9th Ward and there are reports of breaks in the Industrial Canal and 17th Street Canal levees. She made a report to a local sheriff's office; it has not yet passed the report on to the New Orleans police. I said, 'All of us are going to leave right now, and they're going to work this out right now. "I'm telling you the number of reported rapes we had.". Theme Foto Blog by, Hundreds Evacuated as Vanuatu Braces for Second Cyclone in 2 Days. The outer ends of the hurricane also produced tornados . Over 1,800 people lost their lives in the hurricane and an estimated 1 million people were displaced from their homes. Michael Brown, FEMA director: When Hurricane Katrina forced New Orleans poet Shelton Alexander to evacuate his home, he took his truck and video camera to the Superdome. FRONTLINE home+WGBH+PBS, FRONTLINE is a registered trademark of wgbh educational foundation. The only person I saw from FEMA was basically this guy named Marty [Bahamonde]. Henry Glover was last seen alive in the backseat of a white Chevy Malibu on Sept. 2, 2005, days after Katrina hit. Lewis and others had taken refuge in the Redemption Elderly Apartments, in the Irish Channel section of New Orleans. Kathleen Blanco. Phone service and electricity to some 770,000 people in the area is cut off. By the end of the day, there are 30,000 people at the Superdome. Per this CNN Money report, a Brian Williams' Katrina tale appears to have evolved somewhat dramatically over the course of just one year.In 2005, Williams reported in a documentary that he had "heard the story" of a man killing himself in the Superdome. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration warning: Hundreds of people already have been rescued. "I realized how serious things were on Sunday. The National Guards didn't want to hear it.". Through their world-class scientists, photographers, journalists, and filmmakers, Nat Geo gets you closer to the stories that matter and past the edge of what's possible.Get More National Geographic:Official Site: http://bit.ly/NatGeoOfficialSiteFacebook: http://bit.ly/FBNatGeoTwitter: http://bit.ly/NatGeoTwitterInstagram: http://bit.ly/NatGeoInstaHurricane Katrina Day by Day | National Geographichttps://youtu.be/HbJaMWw4-2QNational Geographichttps://www.youtube.com/natgeo Expressed my concerns, my frustration He needed to really get us resources to save people. And I said [to the president], 'Look, we talked about that option, and then we also talked about another option, that we would federalize, and the governor said she needed time to think about it. He Says He Paid a Price. Victims of Hurricane Katrina fight through the crowd as they line up for buses to evacuate the Superdome and New Orleans, Sept. 1, 2005. It took me too long and I worked too hard to build what I had here.. Pack carefully. William E. Brown Jr. -. They lost 15 high-water trucks with mobile communications packages. In New Orleans chaos . He announces FEMA is moving supplies and equipment into the hardest hit areas. Buckles, who wrote and directed the documentary . When we didn't get any assistance from the state or from FEMA in the time period that we thought was appropriate, I got someone in an automobile and said, 'Go to Baton Rouge, go find out. In Louisiana, New Orleans is of particular concern because much of that city lies below sea level. If we arent talking about what we still need, how can we be sure people wont forget? More than 1 million more in the Gulf region were displaced. He says his team only saw a fraction of the desperate people who sought assistance. I began to believe that no buses had been ordered. Locals adopt it in their idea of the city. And Mayor Nagin expressed his concerns. By afternoon, officials issue a citywide call for more boats to help. , "Law and order all but broke down in New Orleans over the past few days. And he had flown in a helicopter. Instead, officers at the compound arrested Glover. And they both shook their heads and said, 'Yes, you're right.' hurricane katrina ripped through the Gulf Coast, claiming 1,800 lives. Now, other than media reports, I don't know what's happening at the other end. "Some bad things happened, you know. When Hurricane Katrina forced New Orleans poet Shelton Alexander to evacuate his home, he took his truck and video camera to the Superdome. We all did. It hit land as a Category 3 storm with winds reaching speeds as high as 120 miles per hour. Kathleen Blanco: After the genocide in Rwanda and atrocities in Srebrenica, Bosnia, in the 1990s, the world vowed never again. Then came the conflict in Darfur, Sudan, which began 20 years ago. Power outages will last for weeks water shortages will make human suffering incredible by modern standards.". "Louis Armstrong International Airport served as a massive clearing house for some of the storm's sickest victims Saturday. Note: In the last hours before Katrina made landfall, dozens of copies of the Hurricane Pam report are distributed to emergency planners. We do our video conference calls before and during disasters. But they're designed for short hauls.". Web Site Copyright 1995-2023 WGBH Educational Foundation. In New Orleans last year, there was a rape every other day on average. The city's buses have been positioned around the city in locations that have never been flooded. More than four days after the storm hit, the caravan of at least three-dozen camouflage-green troop vehicles and supply trucks arrived along with dozens of air-conditioned buses to take refugees out of the city. Exclusive: A Former MPD Lieutenant Reported Another Cop. Ultimately, more than 300 soldiers would be trapped inside their own headquarters. (Weather forecasters classify hurricane strength on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the strongest.) "The fact that something wasn't reported to the police doesn't mean it didn't happen," Benitez says. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin says he'll follow the state evacuation plan and will not call for mandatory evacuation until 30 hours before projected landfall. The Louisiana Superdome, once a mighty testament to architecture and ingenuity, became the biggest storm shelter in New Orleans the day before Katrina's arrival Monday. They were making suggestions about we need to do this and that. And if you dont trust the system to deliver the money to the right places, call a school yourself and ask them what they need. Mayor Ray Nagin orders the total evacuation of New Orleans due to the dangers posed by the contaminated standing water. We'd sent them all the information they needed. Inside the four triage tents, medical personnel tended to people who had gone for days without their medication. An Unfiltered View: Producers of Police on Trial on What the Documentary Reveals 2 Years After the Murder of George Floyd, From the Archives: How the World's Deadliest Ebola Outbreak Unfolded, Russias Invasion of Ukraine, One Year Later, War Crimes Watch Ukraine: More Than 650 Documented Events, From the Archives: How the U.N. & World Failed Darfur Amid "the 21st Century's First Genocide". I just sent President Obama 10 letters the other day ( I remember Oprah saying persistence pays off) saying that since Katrina, we still only have two medical trailers in this part of town, and they arent equipped to handle emergencies or even basic lab work. President Bush's Sept. 15th address to the nation. special video+discussion+teacher's guide+readings & links New Orleans, Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina, as seen in the new documentary Katrina Babies. Michael Brown, FEMA director: I went to the Adjutant General [Landreneau] and I went to Gov. My sense now is there are victims out there whose stories haven't been heard.". The top-notch special effects are alarmingly realistic and frightening, particularly when the 17th St. Canal levee breaches and when Katrina rips the roof from the Superdome, where in the days . Its efforts fail. Ten years ago this Saturday, Hurricane Katrina made landfall on the Gulf Coast. "I think that that was probably over-reported," he says. The National Weather Service writes that Hurricane Katrina is "one of the five deadliest hurricanes to ever strike the United States." Hurricane Katrina caused up to $161 billion worth of damage, largely due to the fact that the breached levees led to flooding in 80% of New Orleans. FEMA organizes 475 buses to be sent in to transport many of the estimated 23,000 people from the Superdome to the Houston Astrodome. According to a New York Times article of September 29, "During six days when the Superdome was used as a shelter, the head of the New Orleans Police Department's sex crimes unit, Lt. David . And he was the first guy that told us about the amount of devastation and the levee breaches. Trapped on Airline Drive in a traffic jam in his gas-depleted pickup truck, he didn't think he would reach his destination of Baton Rouge. The Katrina images we see in the film -- people on rooftops, the Superdome being shredded by hurricane winds, dogs stranded in attics -- are ones that once would have been guaranteed to put lumps . Listen 7:57. Law-enforcement authorities dismissed early reports of widespread rapes in New Orleans during the lawless days following Hurricane Katrina. I've expressed many times that we're willing to investigate any sexual assaults that happened in this city at any time. Marty Bahamonde/FEMA. The following year, during an interview with Tom Brokaw at Columbia Journalism School, Williams said, "We watched, all of us watched . New Orleans resident climbing through roof of house. Evacuating hospitals is a top priority: Patients and staff are stranded and supplies and power are dwindling. Exploring the experiences of a black member of the New Orleans Police Department and assorted other New Orleans residents during their stay in the Louisiana Superdome during and after Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans in 2005. At 7 am Katrina is a Category 5 with 160 mph maximum sustained winds. Top subscription boxes right to your door, 1996-2023, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. And I forget whether it was on Saturday or Sunday, I told my staff that I was sick to my stomach because I could see that some things weren't looking quite right. Blanco tours the area Tuesday evening and announces that the Superdome should be evacuated. Where is water? As the 10-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina approaches, explore three different FRONTLINE documentaries about the disaster, its lingering aftermath and the lessons learned. New Orleans residents are still trapped by the floodwaters, and dispatchers receive about 1,000 emergency phone calls from people needing to be rescued. / HBO Around this time 17 years ago, Hurricane Katrina bore down on New Orleans, and permanently changed life for thousands of people across the country. On June 4, 2006, Pamela Mahogany was interviewed for her personal experience involving the events following Hurricane Katrina. And the bosses say, 'Oh, okay. Stranded victims of Hurricane Katrina rest inside the Superdome September 2, 2005 in New Orleans. Phyllis Montana-Leblanc is a Hurricane Katrina survivor. And the guard unitspent most of the next 24 hours saving itself. Where is all the things that we need to get out of here?"' It doesn't make any sense.". But we need something really big, like a hospital, that shows where the $25 billion in recovery money is going. The majority of industrial buildings will become non functional. Around 9:30 a.m. Mayor Ray Nagin issues a mandatory evacuation. Some electrical substations serving downtown New Orleans are repaired, but Entergy, the local energy utitlity, must first ensure that buildings can receive the electricity safely before the power is restored. Not Just the Levees Broke: My Story During and After Hurricane Katrina. But problems persist. Flooding grows as water surges over levee breaks from Lake Ponchartrain; the 9th Ward is almost entirely submerged. I laid that out for him. Storm refugees reported being raped, shot and robbed, gangs of teenagers hijacked boats meant to rescue them, and frustrated hurricane victims menaced outmanned law officers. That's the attitude I would take if I was operating in the dark too. Reports stream in from people needing rescue. And based upon that ["Hurricane Pam" planning exercise], I knew they needed to evacuate. She requests President Bush to declare a state of emergency in Louisiana. Panels blew off and the roof was severely damaged, but it was the only shelter . And I knew it wasn't true, because 8:00 or 10:00 that morning, I received a report from one of my staffers that either a levee had been topped or had actually broken. I've never seen a hurricane like this in my 33-year career. Do You Have News to Share? Benitez and others interviewed for this report believe that police authorities -- who were anxious to discount initially exaggerated reports of mayhem -- are downplaying violent crimes that happened in the anarchy after the storm. The spot urges victims to report their assault by calling 1-800-656-HOPE. Theres a river of water moving into this area.'. Gov. ". And they hadn't. The police department -- reeling from desertions, flooding and the immensity of the disaster -- was in a survival mode itself. To get food out. August 27, 2015, 2:18 PM. There was nobody there to protect you," Lewis says. Hurricane Katrina, tropical cyclone that struck the southeastern United States in late August 2005. And he said definitively, "Mr. Mayor, the storm is headed right for you. The death toll in the city is not known, but the dying continues as people succumb to illness, exhaustion and days without food and water. Documenting evidence of potential war crimes in Ukraine. They lost power. He escaped the chaotic shelter a few days . "Drug and alcohol use is another contributing factor, and no police presence to prevent them from doing whatever they wanted to, to whomever they wanted to.". "I didn't see any police officers -- I could have gotten away with murder," she says. Walter Maestri, Jefferson Parish emergency manager: In one notorious incident known as the Danziger Bridge case, police opened fire on a group of civilians, who were later found to be unarmed and searching for food and medicine. Airborne debris will be widespread and may include heavy items such as household appliances and even light vehicles. Katrina Babies is an assertion of presence, a proclamation that the devastating hurricane is not simply a past story, but a present one too. [Congressman] Bobby Jindal is there, the senators Landrieu and [David] Vitter, and Congressman [William] Jefferson. Since many New Orleans streets are still filled with stagnant, fetid waters smelling of garbage and raw sewage, the military was considering using planes to spray for mosquitoes.". And why it wasnt stopped sooner. FRONTLINE is a registered trademark of WGBH Educational Foundation. "There was a period of days when we weren't sure who was directing the federal response and were all the actions being taken. hurricane katrina anniversary: 40 powerful photos of New Orleans after the storm. The mistake that I made was not doing that sooner and not giving them the orders that we needed them to do all of that immediately. We began search-and-rescue missions using local state resources, waiting for the federal cavalry to arrive and believing that it would be here in 48 to 60 hours. Walter Maestri, Jefferson Parish emergency manager: Richard Falkenrath, Homeland Security Adviser (2001-2004): In Fight Against ISIS, a Lose-Lose Scenario Poses Challenge for West. Orders volun-tary evacuation where residents in low-lying areas encouraged to evacuate Sunday, August 28, 2005: Hurricane Katrina becomes a Category 5 storm with 160 mph winds Superdome opens as a shelter of last resort Acadian personnel are deployed to the Superdome to help triage special needs patients and staff the rst aid station Nagin . The population of New Orleans was about 400,000 by 2020, some 20 percent below its population in 2000. And he passes, literally, hundreds of school buses lined up to come and get these folks. The death toll in the city is not known, but the dying continues as people succumb to illness, exhaustion and days without food and water. A hurricane warning is issued for north central Gulf Coast including New Orleans. Hurricane Katrina first made landfall on Aug. 25, 2005, in Florida, weakening to a tropical storm as it briefly passed over land. She says she tried to report the assault at the time, but authorities weren't listening. Under the best of circumstances, rape is one of the hardest crimes to solve. Phyllis Montana-LeBlancthe breakout star of Spike Lees When the Levees Broke documentary and author of Not Just the Levees Broke: My Story During and After Katrina (and a consultant on David Simons new post-Katrina HBO drama)writes below about why viewers should still care about New Orleans four years later, and why Trouble the Water just may be the wakeup call we need. People begin arriving at the Ernest M. Morial Convention Center seeking shelter, food, and water. During Hurricane Katrina, then known as the Louisiana Superdome, the arena was used as . In what looked like a scene from a Third World country, some people threw their arms heavenward and others nearly fainted with joy as the trucks and hundreds of soldiers arrived in the punishing midday heat. We have got to start getting people out.' Anastasia says thugs were still wandering the streets of her neighborhood more than a week after the flood. During Hurricane Katrina, around 20,000 people took refuge in the Superdome. Throughout the day, emergency responders and public officials complain that communication links are very poor. Go up there, face to face and say, "What is happening here? New Orleans, Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina, as seen in the new documentary Katrina Babies. Pack as though you're going on a camping trip. Four were wounded, and 17-year-old James Brisette and 40-year-old Ronald Madison were killed. Most residents have evacuated the city and those left behind do not have transportation or have special needs. Kimberly Roberts is the star of the filmif you can call her thata 24-year-old aspiring rapper who did not have the finances to get the hell out of New Orleans when Katrina hit, and still, she managed to film all of her harrowing experiences on a Hi-8 camerathe water rising, being trapped in the attic with her husband and neighbors, the fear they felt. Funding for FRONTLINE is provided through the support of PBS viewers and by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. 1. The vast majority of them were elderly. There was all kinds of crime taking place on a much higher level than usual. By the end of the day, it is upgraded to Tropical Storm Katrina, with 50 mph maximum sustained winds. Police Chief Eddie Compass admitted even his own officers had taken food and water from stores. One of the victims is Ms. Lewis, a 46-year-old home health-care worker from New Orleans East, who asked that her first name not be used. They didn't have water. The film features 15 minutes of live hurricane video shot by Kimberly Roberts, an aspiring rapper whose family was too poor to leave New Orleans, and follows Kims family and others through the horrific aftermath of the storm. Note: The Earlier Warnings -- In 2001, FEMA identified the three most likely disasters facing the U.S.: an earthquake in California, a hurricane in New Orleans and a terrorist attack in New York City. New Orleans, Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina, as seen in the new documentary Katrina Babies. With camera lenses and lights abounding, the . TV-PG. And Michael Brown tells FRONTLINE that in order to quell panic, he misled the public in saying that everything was going fine at the local level. Hurricane Katrina made landfall off the coast of Louisiana on August 29, 2005. The hurricane and its aftermath claimed more than 1,800 lives, and it ranked as the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history. People continue to head towards the Superdome, which is now surrounded by water. And I wanted to cut to the chase because I knew what the real issue was. so you had a very dynamic situation.". Thats just one of the chain of catastrophes at the local, state and national level brought to vivid life in FRONTLINEs Emmy Award-winning 2005 documentaryThe Storm. Neville says she was sexually assaulted early the morning of Aug. 31st, while she was sleeping on the roof of Drew Elementary School in the Bywater Neighborhood, where she and others had taken refuge. As Katrina hit, Alexander found himself in a desperate situation. So I finally just walked up to Danny and said, Mr. By. Michael Brown, FEMA director: Buses have started evacuating people at the Superdome, but at the Convention Center thousands are still waiting and conditions continue to deteriorate there. I gave people clues on how to pack. Television reporters, live on the scene at the Convention Center, report on the growing crisis. So I went to the premiere, knowing Danny Glover was hosting it, and I couldnt get into the screeningso I texted Spike Lee, who directed When the Levees Broke, the documentary I was in, and asked him to pull some strings, but he didnt have Dannys number. Gov. She describes . Thousands of troops poured into the city September. After Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated the Gulf Coast, Congress appropriated an unprecedented $126.4 billion for relief, recovery and rebuilding efforts. Refuge of last resort: Five days inside the Superdome for Hurricane Katrina. In an effort to get victims to come forward, the Louisiana Foundation Against Sexual Assault asked Charmaine Neville, a popular New Orleans jazz singer, to tape a public service announcement for national airplay. Military planners are considering setting up a permanent rapid reaction unit designed to respond to domestic disasters. Katrina becomes a Category 3 with 115 mph maximum sustained winds. Thats whats going to help us rebuild the mosttalking about what happened and how we can move onand why documentaries like Trouble the Water are still so relevant. "What we did -- under Louisiana law the parish presidents, the head of the counties, have the authority to use private resources.

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