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. We'd sent them all the information they needed. What happened next was more than just a natural disaster especially in New Orleans, where the failure of the cityslevees unleashed flooding that left roughly80 percent of the city underwater. And that is unacceptable. A suicide did occur inside the Superdome, . 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. As Katrina hit, Alexander found himself in a desperate situation. "I'm telling you the number of reported rapes we had.". 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. Ten years ago this Saturday, Hurricane Katrina made landfall on the Gulf Coast. The expected storm surge is 15 to 20 feet, locally as high as 25 feet. Hurricane Katrina Horror Stories At the peak of the Katrina recovery effort, 51,039 National Guard soldiers from all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and three territories worked in Louisiana and Mississippi, making Katrina by far . The storm that would later become Hurricane Katrina surfaced on August 23, 2005, as a tropical depression over the Bahamas, approximately 350 miles (560 km) east of Miami. 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. I've got to know. My sense now is there are victims out there whose stories haven't been heard.". "[On Air Force One] we gave the president a briefing on everything that had gone on. Gallery. 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 Kim's family and others through the . Brian Williams' reporting on Katrina: What we know - CNNMoney The Ghosts of the New Orleans Superdome | GQ 'Nobody asked if we were okay': The lost children of Hurricane Katrina Team members said they delivered babies, treated gunshot and stab victims, and ultimately fled for their own safety. New Orleans, Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina, as seen in the new documentary Katrina Babies. Why would we think there was less rape typical of any given week in the city? As a shocking New Orleans documentary airs on HBO tonight, Phyllis Montana-LeBlancbestselling author and gutsy survivorexplains why the city is still drowning. Even $20, if thats all you can afford in the recession, that helps. Her husband [Raymond Blanco] is there. And why it wasnt stopped sooner. But there were also profane jeers from many in the crowd of nearly 20,000 outside the Convention Center, which a day earlier seemed on the verge of a riot, with desperate people seething with anger over the lack of anything to eat or drink. Hurricane Katrina first made landfall on Aug. 25, 2005, in Florida, weakening to a tropical storm as it briefly passed over land. "Media reports attribute Katrina with four fatalities [in Florida], more than a million customers were without electricity". By the end of the day it is 335 miles from the mouth of the Mississippi River. On Monday, Aug. 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina made its historic landfall on the Gulf Coast, hitting a number of cities along the Louisiana-Mississippi border, with the eye . His goal: To make it possible for his wife of 65 years, Lydia who had gone to live with one of their nine children in Wisconsin after Katrina to return home. and catcalls of 'What took you so long?,' a National Guard convoy packed with food, water and medicine rolled through axle-deep floodwaters Friday into what remained of New Orleans and descended into a maelstrom of fires and floating corpses. Michael Chertoff, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, says he is "extremely pleased with the response of every element of the federal government and federal partners to this terrible tragedy." 11:09. And he basically asked me, 'Mr. At 7 pm it makes landfall north of Miami. The Superdome is an intrinsic part of the city of New Orleans. WGBH educational foundation, "A close eye will be kept this system could strengthen ", "Media reports attribute Katrina with four fatalities [in Florida], more than a million customers were without electricity", "Katrina will regenerate on Friday over Gulf of Mexico, head west-northwest then turn northward. Dave Cohen was one of the few reporters to stay in New Orleans as Katrina bore down on the city, and continued broadcasting as the . Producer Martin Smith: So we're just eating sandwiches and making nice while people are stranded on rooftops? Web Site Copyright 1995-2023 WGBH Educational Foundation. Around this time 17 years ago, Hurricane Katrina bore down on New . Here in New Orleans East, we desperately need a hospital. William E. Brown Jr. -. Lurid reports of rape, murder in Katrina's aftermath exposed as frauds And the impression given in those four days is basically indelible. PBS is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. But for five days in the midst of the storm, about 20,000 of these . They were very civil and very cordial. and catcalls of 'What took you so long?,' a National Guard convoy packed with food, water and medicine rolled through axle-deep floodwaters Friday into what remained of New Orleans and descended into a maelstrom of fires and floating corpses. "I got a call, I think Saturday afternoon [from] Max Mayfield, the hurricane director. "At that stage, we had mission-assigned the Department of Defense to start giving us everything they could in terms of air-lift capability. Why Hurricane Katrina Was Not a Natural Disaster / 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. authenticate users, apply security measures, and prevent spam and abuse, and, display personalised ads and content based on interest profiles, measure the effectiveness of personalised ads and content, and, develop and improve our products and services. 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. By the end of the day, the projected storm surge is 18 to 22 feet, locally as high as 28 feet. "And so now I think it's swung the other direction and it's underreported. Refuge of last resort: Five days inside the Superdome for Hurricane Katrina. "We know about all the other things that happened, all the thefts, all the robberies. She made a report to a local sheriff's office; it has not yet passed the report on to the New Orleans police. The storm initially formed as a tropical depression southeast of the Bahamas on August 23. FEMA Situation Update: The city floods further. ", Michael Brown, FEMA director: We go to Sam's and Wal-Mart and Winn-Dixie and gather up food and water and start distributing it because we had 60 hours' worth of resources that we had stored, but now we're out of it. But one man then-82-year-old Herbert Gettridge was determined to rebuild the house he had built more than 50 years earlier in the Lower Ninth Ward, with or without government support. The California Disaster Medical Assistance Team spent 24 hellish hours inside the Superdome. And they both shook their heads and said, 'Yes, you're right.' When presented with the additional cases collected by victims' advocates groups, Benelli acknowledges that the police simply doesn't know the extent of sex crimes after the storm. 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. Some 11,000 National Guardsmen are now on duty in Louisiana and increased security begins to have an effect on lawlessness in New Orleans, although some violence continues. You have responded to my calls." By Chris Edwards. 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. Another group, Witness Justice, a Maryland-based non-profit that assists victims of violent crimes, claims to have received 156 reports of post-Katrina violent crimes; about a third of those involved sexual assaults. Michael Brown, FEMA director: It is 45 miles northwest of Florida Keys. The Mercedes-Benz Superdome is a landmark in the city of New Orleans. Officials said the complete evacuation of New Orleans two days earlier was necessary, citing the prospect of diseases caused by rotting bodies and polluted waters as well as other risks caused by Hurricane Katrina. New Orleans, Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina, as seen in the new documentary Katrina Babies. He Says He Paid a Price. If you do not want us and our partners to use cookies and personal data for these additional purposes, click 'Reject all'. 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. - Severe flooding damage to cities along the Gulf Coast, from New Orleans to . But a growing body of evidence suggests there were more storm-related sexual assaults than previously known. Its just rawits a look at the poorest people of the Ninth Ward, and those who couldnt afford to leave, and if you have a heart in your body, you will feel this film 100 percent. In television interviews, Michael Brown, FEMA director, states that he only just heard about the suffering at the Convention Center, when in fact, he tells FRONTLINE, he misspoke; he was told the previous day about the situation. Years after Hurricane Katrina, a new documentary asks: What happened to Within five hours I start to get reports from my staff members, who are out doing assessments, the water's rising. And based upon that ["Hurricane Pam" planning exercise], I knew they needed to evacuate. Blanco announces New Orleans must be evacuated because of the still- rising water and uninhabitable conditions. Its efforts fail. ", Richard Falkenrath, Homeland Security Adviser (2001-2004): The hurricane and its aftermath claimed more than 1,800 lives, and it ranked as the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history. Visit us at HISTORY.com for more info. Several thousand National Guard troops start reaching the thousands of evacuees at the Convention Center and elsewhere. And [FEMA Director] Michael Brown was with me at that time. 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 . Katrina Babies is an assertion of presence, a proclamation that the devastating hurricane is not simply a past story, but a present one too. 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 . Years later, much of the money committed to New Orleans residents had yet to reach them. 5 Must-See Documentaries About Hurricane Katrina. 'Katrina Babies' documentary explores the childhood impact of Hurricane Blanco and said, 'We've got to move National Guard troops in there. Messed Up Things That Happened During Hurricane Katrina - Grunge.com "A close eye will be kept this system could strengthen ". Panels blew off and the roof was severely damaged, but it was the only shelter . National Hurricane Center director Max Mayfield tells the Times-Picayune newspaper, "This is scary this is the real thing." More than 1,800 people died in what was the costliest . Where is water? The Katrina survivors who fled devastation only to freeze in Texas She says as she watched New Orleans descend into chaos after Katrina, she knew what would happen. The spot urges victims to report their assault by calling 1-800-656-HOPE. She insists other women were raped in the same apartment building over the next four nights, but her claim could not be checked out. Glover, you dont know me, but Im Phyllis, and I was in another Katrina documentary and I have to see this film! He grabbed onto me and I wouldnt let go until I got a seat insidethats the way I am. The skies darkened, and the wind started to pick up. NBC probing Brian Williams's reports on Iraq, Hurricane Katrina In fact, at the headquarters of the Louisiana National Guard, located in the Lower NinthWard, soldiers were not yet aware that the levees were giving way. There is a documentary about . The storm flooded New Orleans, killed more than 1,800 people, and caused . I mentally moved on from the storm after I wrote the last page of my book, but this documentary has opened some old wounds and moves me to action, and I can only hope it does the same for others. At landfall, Katrina's maximum winds were about 125 miles per hour (mph) to the east of its center. Michael Brown, FEMA director: I've heard some terrible stories since that the stuff wasn't getting there. Phone service and electricity to some 770,000 people in the area is cut off. So many people have Katrina Fatigue, as I like to call itthe hurricane is four years out, and I applaud anything that brings another testimony into the public conversation; that shows people how bad it was, and how bad it still is. 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. We have Brad Pitt and Chris Rocks wife here now, and I think collectively its making a huge, huge difference. Stranded victims of Hurricane Katrina rest inside the Superdome September 2, 2005 in New Orleans. 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. A decade later . Through Hell and High Water: Katrina's First Responders Oral History The Department of Defense's "Joint Task Force Katrina" -- 4,600 active-duty military headed by Army Lt. Gen. Russel Honor -- sets up at Camp Shelby, Miss. Kathleen Blanco: Hurricane Katrina: Lessons Learned - Chapter Five: Lessons - Archives On August 28, 2005, at 6 am, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin announced that the Superdome would be used as a public shelter. People begin arriving at the Ernest M. Morial Convention Center seeking shelter, food, and water. The groups went in shifts, sneaking down over to the. 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. A final, official tally of those killed in the disaster is still not in. I just expressed to her my concern about the lack of unified command, and the need to have more of a structure of what was going on. ", At that time, I thought we had done a pretty good job because we had gotten about 80 percent of the people out. HBO. Television reporters, live on the scene at the Convention Center, report on the growing crisis. Katrina Cop in the Superdome. Katrina Cop in the Superdome. We knew what had to be done. August 29, 2005. Mahogany describes her actions before deciding to evacuate her home, her trip to the New Orleans Saints' Superdome, her horrific time at the Superdome, and finally her decision to leave New Orleans. I was able to get Governor Blanco to sit with me several times in the office that she had and talk about what needed to be done. 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. hide caption. Crime is at an all-time high. Watch Katrina Cop in the Superdome | Prime Video Hurricane Katrina Statistics Fast Facts | CNN Having largely emptied the cavernous Superdome, which had become a squalid pit of misery and violence, officials turned their attention to the Convention Center, where people waited to be evacuated as corpses rotted in the streets. We, Yahoo, are part of the Yahoo family of brands. "I think that that was probably over-reported," he says. Hurricane Katrina: Superdome Survivor | History - YouTube When Hurricane Katrina ripped the Superdome's rubber seal off, tore open the steel roof paneling and penetrated the stadium, it shed light on the conjoined problems of concentrated poverty, socialized and environmental racism, and America's ability to ignore the suffering of its own citizens. And we said, "Plan your route carefully. FRONTLINE reports from Iraq on the miscalculations and mistakes behind the brutal rise of ISIS. Military and Coast Guard helicopters flew a steady stream of evacuees from hospitals and rooftops to the airport southwest of downtown. Theres a river of water moving into this area.'. On Sept. 15, 2005, in an address to the nation, President Bush declares, "It is now clear that a challenge on this scale requires greater federal authority and a broader role for the armed forces -- the institution of our government most capable of massive logistical operations on a moment's notice.". Effect of Hurricane Katrina on the Louisiana Superdome Required fields are marked *. Later, his charred remains were discovered on the banks of the Mississippi River, inside a car that had apparently been set on fire. 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. "I at least wanted a mandatory evacuation of New Orleans and the surrounding parishes [on Saturday]. [Governor Blanco] probably should have asked sooner. FEMA Situation Update: They cast a wide net over this important event and There was nobody there to protect you," Lewis says. Blanco says, "Mr. President, thank you thank you, thank you. Just last week, a federal court ordered a new trial for five officers convicted of the Danziger Bridge shootings. Very shortly, he said, Cars are beginning to float out of the parking lot. Some parts of the city already showed slipping floodwaters as the repair neared completion, with the low-lying Ninth Ward dropping more than a foot. 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. Judy Benitez is executive director of the Louisiana Foundation Against Sexual Assault, a statewide coalition of rape crisis centers. He also announces that the Superdome will be "a shelter of last resort for evacuees with special needs." It hit land as a Category 3 storm with winds reaching speeds as high as 120 miles per hour. Gettridge,a fifth generation New Orleanian, would go on to die from a heart attack in 2014 at the age of 91 at the home he had successfully rebuilt. FRONTLINE is a registered trademark of WGBH Educational Foundation. Hurricane Katrina facts and information - Environment The numbers are not dramatic, but they are significant when seen in light of the official number of post-Katrina rapes and attempted rapes: four. The Louisiana National Guard's Jackson Barracks flood. The groups went in shifts, sneaking down over to the garage, up the stairs and to the helipad. A hurricane warning is issued for north central Gulf . Henry Glover was last seen alive in the backseat of a white Chevy Malibu on Sept. 2, 2005, days after Katrina hit. 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. will never be the same. "Most of the area will be uninhabitable for weeks perhaps longer. But there were also profane jeers from many in the crowd of nearly 20,000 outside the Convention Center, which a day earlier seemed on the verge of a riot, with desperate people seething with anger over the lack of anything to eat or drink. Remembering the Superdome's role during Hurricane Katrina By midday, water levels between the city and Lake Ponchartrain have equalized. Saints came marching in: How football helped Katrina revival - CNBC Years after Hurricane Katrina, a new documentary asks: What happened to In downtown New Orleans, some streets were merely wet rather than swamped. Under the best of circumstances, rape is one of the hardest crimes to solve. 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. There is a belief that the city has avoided a direct hit. to support FEMA disaster relief efforts, but it will be two days before the troops arrive in the city. And he said definitively, "Mr. Mayor, the storm is headed right for you. On Sept. 1, with desperate Hurricane Katrina evacuees crammed into the convention center, Police Chief Eddie Compass reported: "We . "What you had was a situation where you've got a tremendous number of vulnerable people, and then some predatory people who had all of the reasons to take their anger out on someone else," Benitez says. Crimes after Katrina may have been overblown - NBC News 'Rebirth in New Orleans' reflects on . Watch it: For a powerful story of resilience and determination in the face of tragedy. The police department -- reeling from desertions, flooding and the immensity of the disaster -- was in a survival mode itself. I probably should have asked sooner. After Katrina, the spectacle of a Black refugee population in the Superdome, along with the short-lived plan from Mayor Nagin's committee to wipe out some Black neighborhoods, revived these . FRONTLINEs documentary The Old Man and the Storm followed Gettridge for 18 months as he worked to rebuild his home, which took on 10 feet of water when the levees breached. So I finally just walked up to Danny and said, Mr. It took me too long and I worked too hard to build what I had here.. Around this time 17 years ago, Hurricane Katrina bore down on New Orleans, and permanently changed life for thousands of people across the country. Military planners are considering setting up a permanent rapid reaction unit designed to respond to domestic disasters. At 10 a.m., the Thorntons headed together to the Superdome. Why haven't the bosses decided to move the people out?' Historic Disasters - Hurricane Katrina | FEMA.gov I went to the Adjutant General [Landreneau] and I went to Gov. The Times-Picayune reports that the breaches in the 17th Street and Florida Avenue Canals have been repaired and power is restored to the Warehouse and Central Business Districts. Walter Maestri, Jefferson Parish emergency manager: This escapism was part of the gift the Saints gave the city following Hurricane Katrina. Reports put the population there in the tens of thousands. [2] Approximately 10,000 residents, along with about 150 National Guardsmen, sheltered in the Superdome anticipating Katrina's landfall. "We're not downsizing anything," Benelli says. The Army Corps of Engineers renews work to fix the breach in the 17th St. Canal. Oh, absolutely not. The Army Corps of Engineers projects it could take 80 days to pump the water out of the city. And Michael Brown tells Louisiana officials, "What I've seen here today is a team that is very tight knit, working closely together, being very professional and making the right calls.". The price tag has not yet been determined. President Bush's Sept. 15th address to the nation. "Some bad things happened, you know. so you had a very dynamic situation.". Lewis says she was raped on Monday, Aug. 29, the day of the storm. If we arent talking about what we still need, how can we be sure people wont forget? I n the HBO documentary Katrina Babies, young teen Meisha Williams recollects her experience surviving the 2005 hurricane that displaced approximately 200,000 New Orleans residents.