No, they weren't. Mississippi and Louisiana governors declare states of emergency. Water Supply when Disaster Strikes: A Look Back at Hurricane Katrina Shelton Alexander: Surviving in the Superdome During Hurricane Katrina Michael Brown, FEMA director: Nature Documentary hosted by Helen Baxandale, published by Channel 4 in 2010 - English narration Cover Information . In downtown New Orleans, some streets were merely wet rather than swamped. 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. Police Chief Eddie Compass admitted even his own officers had taken food and water from stores. Katrina caused more than $160 billion in damage. In New Orleans chaos . He had been shot by a rookie police officer while walking through the parking lot of a run-down strip mall, and his brother had brought Glover who was curled up and bleeding from a gunshot wound to the chest to a temporary SWAT compound seeking medical attention. There are still gangs of armed criminals roaming the city; police and National Guard, now numbered at 16,000, have a better handle on the situation than earlier in the week. He didn't even know what efforts had been made on his behalf because he had no lines of communications open to him. In New Orleans last year, there was a rape every other day on average. But while the Superdome has been reclaimed, those stories of trauma remain, and some roil pretty close to . "I was told that they could mobilize immediately 2,500 National Guards members. She insists other women were raped in the same apartment building over the next four nights, but her claim could not be checked out. Katrina Babies is an assertion of presence, a proclamation that the devastating hurricane is not simply a past story, but a present one too. "To cries of 'Thank you, Jesus!' Throughout the day, emergency responders and public officials complain that communication links are very poor. And Mayor Nagin expressed his concerns. Commander Dave Lipin says they saw two women who said they'd been raped -- different women than those the police attended to. With all due respect, Mr. President, if you and the governor don't get on the same page, this event is going to continue to spiral down, and it's going to be a black eye on everybody -- federal, state and local.' Heres What the Claims Say and Where They Stand. Katrina becomes a Category 3 with 115 mph maximum sustained winds. Where is food? 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. Around this time 17 years ago, Hurricane Katrina bore down on New Orleans, and permanently changed life for thousands of people across the country. Now, other than media reports, I don't know what's happening at the other end. FEMA National Situation Update: "We'd heard the story of a man killing himself, falling . 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. New Orleans, Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina, as seen in the new documentary Katrina Babies. Newly rescued people are still being brought to the Superdome. The Mercedes-Benz Superdome is a landmark in the city of New Orleans. Locals adopt it in their idea of the city. Here's all these thousands of people that don't have any way to get out of the city. Their back-up generators flooded. Her husband [Raymond Blanco] is there. 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. The Army Corps of Engineers renews work to fix the breach in the 17th St. Canal. We'll put a couple of medical teams on standby. National surveys show that half of all sexual assaults are never reported. And we need to get these people out of the Superdome because it's a shelter of last resort, and they only have a limited amount of resources.". Around 6 a.m., Category 4 Hurricane Katrina strikes the Gulf Coast with 145 mph maximum sustained winds. Hurricane Katrina Day by Day | National Geographic - YouTube By the end of the day, the projected storm surge is 18 to 22 feet, locally as high as 28 feet. Additional funding is provided by the Abrams Foundation; the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation; Park Foundation; the Heising-Simons Foundation; and the FRONTLINE Journalism Fund with major support from Jon and Jo Ann Hagler on behalf of the Jon L. Hagler Foundation, and additional support from Koo and Patricia Yuen. These defenses held for Hurricane Ida, a category 4 storm, in August 2021. We'd sent them all the information they needed. She requests President Bush to declare a state of emergency in Louisiana. And there seems to be this dance about who has ultimate authority. 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. After her rape, Lewis says, there were no clinics open, so she washed herself with bleach. 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. The price tag has not yet been determined. Katrina Cop in the Superdome | Apple TV And I think 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. Gallery. Hurricane Katrina Superdome New Orleans National Guard - ESPN Virtually all communication systems are out. Your email address will not be published. ", Michael Brown, FEMA director: "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.". 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. The storm initially formed as a tropical depression southeast of the Bahamas on August 23. Henry Glover was last seen alive in the backseat of a white Chevy Malibu on Sept. 2, 2005, days after Katrina hit. Military planners are considering setting up a permanent rapid reaction unit designed to respond to domestic disasters. In the first few hours after Katrina hit, many people believed that New Orleans had dodged a bullet. Marty Bahamonde/FEMA. Reports stream in from people needing rescue. . " And they both shook their heads and said, 'Yes, you're right.' ", Richard Falkenrath, Homeland Security Adviser (2001-2004): "Media reports attribute Katrina with four fatalities [in Florida], more than a million customers were without electricity". Messed Up Things That Happened During Hurricane Katrina - Grunge.com A decade later . Walter Maestri, Jefferson Parish emergency manager: Trapped in the Superdome: Refuge becomes a hellhole Mayor Nagin estimates 50,000 to 100,000 people remain in the city. There's no question.". They were finally able to leave the city on Saturday. 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. By Chris Edwards. Why haven't the bosses decided to move the people out?' Hurricane Katrina: Caught on Camera - DocuWiki 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. Then we kind of figure out ways that we could coordinate. [Note: The information in this timeline is drawn from the news and government agencies' reports, as published daily during the crisis, and from FRONTLINE's research and reporting.]. background photo copyright 2005 corbis That she could turn this 15 minutes of footage into an Oscar-nominated documentaryIm amazed by it. Civil order had completely broken down. 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. Female victims, now displaced from New Orleans, are slowly coming forward with a different story than the official one. "What we did -- under Louisiana law the parish presidents, the head of the counties, have the authority to use private resources. At least 1,800 lives were lost in Hurricane Katrina, often considered one of the worst hurricanes in US history. William E. Brown Jr. -. FRONTLINE reports from Iraq on the miscalculations and mistakes behind the brutal rise of ISIS. 'Katrina Babies' is a reminder of what was lost and what - Andscape Years later, much of the money committed to New Orleans residents had yet to reach them. City officials say 80 percent of New Orleans is flooded. "I remember reading [that New Orleans had dodged a bullet]. Brian Williams: From 'Heard' Of To 'We Watched' Katrina Superdome Suicide I've heard some terrible stories since that the stuff wasn't getting there. Its efforts fail. The majority of industrial buildings will become non functional. Web Site Copyright 1995-2023 WGBH Educational Foundation. 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. And they hadn't. Katrina documentary 'Mine' recounts pet owners' post-storm trials - NOLA Later, his charred remains were discovered on the banks of the Mississippi River, inside a car that had apparently been set on fire. [He] came on site, I think it was Monday after the event. Saints came marching in: How football helped Katrina revival - CNBC Gov. Several thousand National Guard troops start reaching the thousands of evacuees at the Convention Center and elsewhere. Blanco tours the area Tuesday evening and announces that the Superdome should be evacuated. Nearly two decades after Hurricane Katrina, Edward Buckles Jr. asks what happened to the generation of kids who grew up with that trauma in the documentary "Katrina Babies" on HBO Max. "We're not downsizing anything," Benelli says. 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. Hurricane Katrina: Caught on Camera Over three days in August 2005, a cataclysmic storm brought flooding and disaster to the Gulf Coast of America, leaving over 1,800 people dead in Louisiana and Mississippi. "We know about all the other things that happened, all the thefts, all the robberies. 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!) Lt. Dave Benelli, commander of the sex crimes unit with the New Orleans Police Department, denies that. ', And we left and had a press conference. '", Michael Brown, FEMA director: There is a belief that the city has avoided a direct hit. We've all feared a catastrophic hurricane striking New Orleans. Even $20, if thats all you can afford in the recession, that helps. And then somebody came and called me and said, 'The president would like to see you.' Other people call me the Dr. Phil of the streets.. to support FEMA disaster relief efforts, but it will be two days before the troops arrive in the city. Years after Hurricane Katrina, a new documentary asks: What happened to Michael Ainsworth/The Dallas Morning News/epa/Corbis But prosecutors have struggled to hold officers accountable. And we said, "Plan your route carefully. I gave people clues on how to pack. And it is injurious to the president. At landfall, Katrina's maximum winds were about 125 miles per hour (mph) to the east of its center. And the bosses say, 'Oh, okay. Mississippi and Louisiana governors declare states of emergency. By the evening of August 25, when it made . "A week after Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans state officials and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers say once the canal level is drawn down two feet, Pumping Station 6 can begin pumping water out of the bowl-shaped city. Watch Katrina Cop in the Superdome | Prime Video 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 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 . Walter Maestri, Jefferson Parish emergency manager: ", At that time, I thought we had done a pretty good job because we had gotten about 80 percent of the people out. FEMA was doing what it's supposed to be doing. New Orleans, Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina, as seen in the new documentary Katrina Babies. 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.". When Hurricane Katrina forced New Orleans poet Shelton Alexander to evacuate his home, he took his truck and video camera to the Superdome. ", In Washington, President Bush publicly acknowledges the inadequacy of the federal government's response: "Many of our citizens simply are not getting the help they need, especially in New Orlenas. Inside the Superdome: A toxic biosphere - NBC News Not Just the Levees Broke: My Story During and After Hurricane Katrina. Timeline: Rebirth in New Orleans - NFL After Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated the Gulf Coast, Congress appropriated an unprecedented $126.4 billion for relief, recovery and rebuilding efforts. "Katrina will regenerate on Friday over Gulf of Mexico, head west-northwest then turn northward. "A close eye will be kept this system could strengthen ". 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. Years after Hurricane Katrina, a new documentary asks: What happened to Ray Nagin, mayor of New Orleans: Two national crime-victims' groups have reported a spike in the number of reported rapes that happened to storm evacuees. In the six weeks since the Web site has been up, with almost no publicity, it has received 42 reports of sexual assaults. 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. And nothing happened. "I realized how serious things were on Sunday. My sense now is there are victims out there whose stories haven't been heard.". NIGHTMARE OF ROBBERY, FILTH, DEATH & RAPE IN SUPERDOME - New York Post A Tropical Depression with 35 mph maximum sustained winds is located 250 miles east-southeast of southeast Florida. It was late August, and some of the staff of the NREMT and I were attending the combined NAEMT conference and EMS Expo in New . Rescuers drop them off wherever there is high ground; many are dropped at interstate overpasses and the Superdome. Producer Martin Smith: So, although you said that, you didn't feel that way at that time? Buckles, who wrote and directed the documentary . 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. Gov. And I wanted to cut to the chase because I knew what the real issue was. The following year, during an interview with Tom Brokaw at Columbia Journalism School, Williams said, "We watched, all of us watched . And that rap song she sings at the end of the film about growing up so poor, with her mother on drugs and being forced to stealit just shows that she is a strong woman, and so honest, real, determined, courageous, and intelligent. The groups went in shifts, sneaking down over to the. A suicide did occur inside the Superdome, . FRONTLINE home+WGBH+PBS, FRONTLINE is a registered trademark of wgbh educational foundation. And that is unacceptable. But a growing body of evidence suggests there were more storm-related sexual assaults than previously known. 'Katrina Babies' Review: HBO Doc Is a Moving Study of Ongoing Trauma Anastasia is a petite, 25-year-old hairdresser who asked that her last name be omitted. The police department -- reeling from desertions, flooding and the immensity of the disaster -- was in a survival mode itself. 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. That's where Katrina Babies comes in. I am still going out into the streets every day to talk to people about their experiencesI call it getting phyllisophical. Issues of race, class, government response and responsibility, and political rivalries . The Most Risky Job Ever. Reporting on ISIS in Afghanistan. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip). Thats why films like Trouble the Water are so important, and why its great that its making it to a wide audience via HBO. "I'm telling you the number of reported rapes we had.". / 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. We knew we were gonna have to shelter people. Thousands of displaced residents take cover from Hurricane Katrina at the Superdome in New . First categorized as a tropical storm, Katrina hit New Orleans, flattening buildings, breaking levees, and flooding the city with terrifying 125 mph winds. People continue to head towards the Superdome, which is now surrounded by water. At daybreak, rescuers set out on boats to help others still stranded. 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 Kathleen Blanco: And then finally I just stopped and said: 'Excuse me, but time is of the essence. A hurricane warning is issued for north central Gulf . I've never seen a hurricane like this in my 33-year career. 49 But it was the subsequent flooding of New Orleans that imposed catastrophic public health conditions on the people of southern . Recalling her attack, she sobs, "They just left us to die. Blanco announces New Orleans must be evacuated because of the still- rising water and uninhabitable conditions. Evacuating hospitals is a top priority: Patients and staff are stranded and supplies and power are dwindling. I immediately hung up the phone, called my city attorney because they had always advised that you can't do a mandatory evacuation. There are still areas that look like Katrina hit yesterday. Effect of Hurricane Katrina on the Louisiana Superdome Stranded victims of Hurricane Katrina rest inside the Superdome September 2, 2005 in New Orleans. Mayor, what do you need?' That's the attitude I would take if I was operating in the dark too. An estimated 25,000 angry and exhausted people are still at the Convention Center; buses begin arriving to evacuate them. Go up there, face to face and say, "What is happening here? 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. 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. - Severe flooding damage to cities along the Gulf Coast, from New Orleans to . Thousands more were unable to evacuate, including the nearly 25,000 who sheltered in the Superdome. Blanco is there. Historic Disasters - Hurricane Katrina | FEMA.gov But we need something really big, like a hospital, that shows where the $25 billion in recovery money is going. But problems persist. The interviews done as part of this project reflect the disaster's painful, chaotic, and murky aftermath. Most residents have evacuated the city and those left behind do not have transportation or have special needs. Within five hours I start to get reports from my staff members, who are out doing assessments, the water's rising. 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. 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. The outer ends of the hurricane also produced tornados . And the guard unitspent most of the next 24 hours saving itself. 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. A New Orleans house submerged in floodwaters. 1) At least 1,800 people died due to Hurricane Katrina. Visit us at HISTORY.com for more info. In the decade since Katrina, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) which came under harsh criticism for its response to the storm says it has improved its preparedness for future natural disasters. ', And the president was a little stunned, and he kind of stepped back, and he recovered. 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.". Left to right: Mayor Ray Nagin, President Bush, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, FEMA Director Michael Brown, Gov. The Army Corps of Engineers attempts to plug breaches in the 17th Street Canal and Industrial Canal levees. Phyllis Montana-Leblanc is a Hurricane Katrina survivor. We have got to start getting people out.' A hurricane warning is issued for north central Gulf Coast including New Orleans. 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. I began to believe that no buses had been ordered. During Hurricane Katrina, around 20,000 people took refuge in the Superdome. Pack carefully. Hurricane Katrina - 64 Parishes Some parishes order mandatory evacuations. ", Leo Bosner, FEMA watch officer: I said, 'If you guys don't get together and work this out, this is going to get worse.' Expressed my concerns, my frustration He needed to really get us resources to save people. Get It Published. I wasnt poor before Katrina, and Im certainly not poor afterward, but Trouble the Water pisses me off all over again, in a good way. HBO. At 7 pm it makes landfall north of Miami. Katrina anniversary: Inside the Superdome during Katrina. FEMA National Situation Update: More Stories Emerge of Rapes in Post-Katrina Chaos : NPR Conditions are deteriorating with bathrooms overflowing, no power for air conditioning and little food and water. By afternoon, officials issue a citywide call for more boats to help. The choice was either run the risk of becoming stranded or take a detour to wait the storm out for a day or two in the Superdome. But I am happy to help, even if it takes me an extra two hours at the grocery store. Copyright All rights reserved. "All I know is on Wednesday night I was convinced that there were no FEMA buses. And when I saw it then, and watching it again now, I think that Trouble the Water is an amazing accomplishment, and something everyone should see about the people who had to live through what we all went through here in New Orleans. And he said: 'No, you don't have to leave. Mayor Ray Nagin orders the total evacuation of New Orleans due to the dangers posed by the contaminated standing water. 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 . Several parishes and the city of New Orleans announce emergency responders will stop venturing out once the wind exceeds 45 mph. 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. He didn't care where the help came from, he just wanted it to be there. 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