Differences in Responses for Pentagon Attack and Hurricane Katrina
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Differences in Responses for Pentagon Attack and Hurricane Katrina
Damon Bradshaw
Differences in Responses for Pentagon Attack and Hurricane Katrina
According to Jonkman et al. (2009), over 1,000 individuals died due to Hurricane Katrina that hit Louisiana in September 2005. Many of the fatalities occurred outside the flood-prone areas. Jonkman et al. (2009) note that most of the fatalities were caused by the effects of the floods on public health. These factors led to over 60% of the victims (Jonkman et al., 2009). Similar to historical flood events, the mortality rate was highest in areas with high water depth. On the other hand, Stewart (2017) pointed out that the 9/11 attack on Pentagon resulted in 184 fatalities who have been compensated up to $1.2 billion and repairs costing $500 million. Stewart (2017) note that the structural robustness of the Pentagon building contained most of the damages through its energy absorbing, redundancy, and continuity capacity.
Despite the preparations, there are significant differences between how the emergency response for the two catastrophes was conducted. Vanderford et al. (2007) indicated that emergency response to the New Orleans flooding was delayed, with no one helping Hurricane Katrina victims, compared to the response of firefighters immediately after the Pentagon was attacked. Further differences pointed out by Vanderford et al. (2007) include the funding distribution among the victim of Katrina was not equally distributed to the affected person. On the contrary, soon after the 9/11 attacks, organizations and charities raised more than $657 million, the majority of which went to the victims’ families and survivors. Vanderford et al. (2007) noted that Katrina victims were made to provide proof of identity to receive government aid, which was not evident after the 9/11 attacks.
Jonkman, S. N., Maaskant, B., Boyd, E., & Levitan, M. L. (2009). Loss of life caused by the flooding of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina: Analysis of the relationship between flood characteristics and mortality. Risk Analysis: An International Journal, 29(5), 676-698.
Stewart, M. G. (2017). Risk of progressive collapse of buildings from terrorist attacks: Are the benefits of protection worth the cost?. Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities, 31(2), 04016093.
Vanderford, M. L., Nastoff, T., Telfer, J. L., & Bonzo, S. E. (2007). Emergency communication challenges in response to Hurricane Katrina: Lessons from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 35(1), 9-25.
Respond Kindly to Student #2
Roxanne Donaghy
According to some, Hurricane Katrina was the first time the Department of Homeland Security proved itself after the 9/11 attacks. However, unlike the Pentagon assault, Hurricane Katrina was caused by a natural catastrophe, making the two events wholly distinct. Both of these tragedies might have been prevented or handled better, yet the human toll was still tremendous. Even New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin said that a mandatory evacuation order issued earlier may have saved more lives. When the floods began in New Orleans, the reaction was slow. When Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, no one assisted the victims. Firefighters from the Pentagon rushed to the site only moments after the jet impacted. Where was the assistance when New Orleans was flooded? Who was there to save the drowning people? Hurricane Katrina relief funds should have been distributed more effectively if the government had a stronger plan in place. The money donated to help the victims was not distributed fairly. There should have been money for moving, burial financing (so the dead may be buried), training, and assistance with the victims’ medical and mental health requirements. The government’s Victims Compensation Fund said claimants would receive payouts averaging $1.6 million from the fund. Katrina victims had to deal with a lot more paperwork than Pentagon victims. In order to obtain government help, Katrina victims had to confirm their identities. When your whole existence has vanished in front of your eyes, how can you possibly prove your identity to government officials? Katrina’s devastation in New Orleans caused many people to lose their identity and social security cards. There is no way.
It is pitiful how we assist other countries and dispatch forces all over the globe but aiding our citizens to be a low priority. In reality, the government’s reaction to Hurricane Katrina proved that, since the Pentagon attacks, the emphasis of so-called anti-terrorist preparations had been the development and training of plans to declare martial law and military authority. As a result, when the magnitude of the hurricane’s damage became apparent, the federal government had no significant preparations to react effectively and instead relied on the one option prepared, the military option (WSWS, 2005). Response agencies immediately developed a unified command system to organize crucial duties at the Pentagon, including the Arlington Fire Department, the FBI, and others. These tasks included detecting, treating, and evacuating casualties, putting out the fire, discovering and preserving evidence, and stabilizing the structure. Unfortunately, there was no unified command system during Katrina. Why was the response for the Pentagon different for Katrina? At the time Katrina happened, the government was more concerned about terrorist attacks. Therefore, a natural disaster took second fiddle, and many lives were lost because of it.
References
Martin, P. (2005, September 12). Hurricane Katrina and the meaning of September 11. WSWS. https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2005/09/911-s12.html
Topic 3: Advanced Preparation Steps
In the event that they could have been improved, what advanced preparation steps should have been taken by the local, state, and federal agencies prior to Hurricane Katrina? How could the response been better if these improvements were implemented?