Katrina Research

I would just like to take some time to reflect on the research I've been doing on Hurricane Katrina. I knew the severity of the disaster was unlike anything before it, but it doesn't become real until you see photographs or read personal accounts. News stories simply don't do justice for the people of New Orleans. Up until now I knew only what was in the news. I hadn't gone out of my way to read personal accounts or blogs of Hurricane Katrina victims. I am actually glad I've been assigned to finally do so because my eyes have been opened to much more. I feel like I now have a much deeper understanding of what occurred in 2005. It's easy for us, as outsiders, to have sympathy for the millions of people that lost everything to Hurricane Katrina but it's hard to have empathy. After reading these personal accounts I can now say I thought I had empathy but there's no way I felt the same way I do now. One of the articles I read was written by an EMT who stayed and lent help for as long as he could. However, unlike Zeitoun, he knew in order to live he had to leave the city. He left before it was too late and had to live with the regret of that decision. Thousands of people had to make the hardest decisions of their lives during that time. Through my research I have also learned that despite the passing of five years, New Orleans is not nearly close to being back to "normal." Thousands of people are still struggling to live and are still homeless. The city has made immense progress but still has a lot of work to do. We can only hope a disaster such as Hurricane Katrina is a once in a lifetime occurrence.