Personal Narrative: My Life During Hurricane Katrina

September, 1938 off the coast of Africa a storm was brewing and was heading towards the coast of Florida.

Being somewhat curious, I asked Cousin John how he survived Katriana. With a big smile on his face, he said, “If I have survived Mardi Gras festivities for all these years, then Katrina was a cakewalk” (Personal Interview). According to the mayor of New Orleans, it is estimated that about 100,000 people had returned, of the 485,000 who lived in New Orleans before the storm. Forty percent of the homes were still without electricity and — again, according to the mayor — half the small businesses, 57,000, may have been lost for good (New Orleans Jazz Funeral).

In August of 2005, the eye of Hurricane Katrina hit the area near Buras, Louisiana, with winds reaching over 140mph. Hurricane Katrina was a Category 4 hurricane that caused destruction and chaos across the regions of southern Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama (Starling, 2011). The Katrina hurricane was one of the worst disasters to hit the United States and occurred unfortunately, despite the warnings of experts of the “flood dangers faced by New Orleans” much of which is under sea-level (p. 149). The aftermath of Katrina caused blame and finger pointing among the state and federal governments and had many questioning who was responsible for the thousands of people, who were left stranded after the hurricane.

The wind was so strong that when I would open the door to peer outside, the wind would snatch the door knob from my hands, slamming the door against the wall. I remember glaring at the television when the signal was not out from the storm and seeing what was going on back at home. There were families stuck on roofs and walking or swimming in the streets all crying hopelessly for safety and shelter. All I could do was pray for my friends, my family, and the people who stayed behind for this catastrophe. Frantically, everyone constantly dialing loved ones back home trying to get through to find out whether or not they were safe. A few days after my dad and brother arrived home, we were able to talk on the phone with them briefly. He sternly told my mother not to come home until he lets us know that it was safe enough. Several friends and family members were staying at our house, sleeping in our beds because they had no place to lay their head at

Galveston Hurricane: September 8, 1900. On September 8, a Category 4 hurricane ripped through Galveston, killing an estimated amount 6,000 to 8,000 people. A 15-foot storm flooded the city, which was then situated at less than 9 feet above sea level, and numerous homes and buildings were destroyed.

Another Hurricane that impacted U.S. was Hurricane Katrina which hit August 23, 2005 – August 31, 2005. The destruction was largely

Hurricane Ivan was a large, long-lived, Caped Verde-type hurricane that caused widespread damaged in the Caribbean and the United States. It was category 5 hurricane. It was a really bad storm. It happened in 2004, I was nine years old. I remember being without lights, and eating sandwiches for weeks. Hurricane Ivan did some real bad damage to Mobile, Alabama. I was young, but I recall a lot. The events of Hurricane Ivan transpired between the dates of September 2, 2004 – September 24, 2004.

I was born in a really poor place in the Caribbean called Haiti. When I was 9 years old, my family moved to the United States, because I was doing things I am not proud of. Later on, I went back to Haiti after an earthquake ravaged my homeland and left nothing, but destruction and sadness in the people’s lives. Some of my family were also still there. I called them to ask them how they were and to make sure they weren’t hurt. My family was safe and none of them died, but in some ways I was still unhappy with the look of the people, nation, and the land. It was really not a good time for me. I planned with my family to help them as much as I was able. Damage was everywhere. I was only ten or eleven years old and the earthquakes were still happening, so I couldn’t stay in Haiti for long.

Hurricanes can be powerful storms that form over ocean water in the tropics. Hurricane Sandy occurred in 2012 along the east coast along the United States. Hurricanes cause wide havoc to many coastal cities and inland cities and are very dangerous.

There are some natural disasters that shake up the world and make people depressed, but Hurricane Katrina was like no other. Even though warnings were given and evacuations were held nearly 2,000 people died because of this hurricane. During the storm winds were as fast as 175 mph with heavy rain all through out. People were stranded and about 8,000 homes were destroyed. People had to wait five days at the superdome full of many New Orleans residents. It took 160 billion dollars to make the city beautiful again. Hurricane Katrina changed what the world thought about hurricanes completely.

The storm flooded whole streets in the suburban areas, shutdown subway lines, left millions of homes without power for weeks, closed major airports, and resulted in the evacuation of over 370,000 people in the city (Dolnick NYTimes). Experts believe that the storm also created mini-tornadoes causing even more untold damage that totaled to 15.8 million dollars in damages (Dolnick NYTimes). This storm, that stuck about one year before Sandy, was many New Yorkers’ first experience of a storm that violent. When Irene made contact with New York, it was downgraded to a tropical storm, not a hurricane. This storm is important because it resulted in many policy changes in New York’s legislation in terms of storm preparation and preparedness. Even after these changes were enacted, they were nowhere near the preparations needed to combat a storm as violent as Hurricane Sandy

Over the summer, I read the book called 1 Dead in the Attic. The book was about the author Chris Rose personal story about Hurricane Katrina. He described what he did during the hurricane considering he was a newspaper writer. The book consist of many short stories that Chris Ross wrote about Hurricane Katrina and the months afterward including the rebuilding process. I think this book was good because he described his personal story about Katrina.

Throughout the history of the United States Military, historians recorded the heroic actions of Soldiers, Airman, Sailors, and Marines that won countless battles in various conflicts around the world. In modern times, the role of the military changed drastically, especially in regards to the military’s role within natural disasters. Therefore, a National Guidance of Preparedness was developed, which reinforces response readiness and provides guidelines for the sharing of responsibility between all levels of government. After a review of the actions in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2006, federal, state, and local governments aided in the development of the guidelines, which shape and support preparedness

“Millions of lives were changed in a day by a cruel and wasteful storm” (George W. Bush). George W. Bush said this quote after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf Coast. Hurricanes are deadly natural disasters that affect people every year. They have a very complex way of forming, and each storm is distinguished by its characteristics. After hurricanes, people and the environment are deeply harmed. From Katrina to Matthew, there are many notable hurricanes that have hit the United States mainland. The idea of hurricanes is very frightening and an interesting part of nature.

With winds reaching more than 175 miles per hour this was the strongest winds the city of New Orleans had ever seen. With the winds came lots of water, some areas of New Orleans seen more than 20 feet of water. My home was in an area that was greatly impacted by the water. I remember watching the news and seeing all the damage caused by the hurricane. The system that was in place to protect the city had failed. It broke my heart because I couldn’t believe the city I was born in and had memories was just washed away. At this point, I knew there was no returning home for my family and me. This life-altering event made me see how blessed I was and at any moment I could I have been stranded on the rooftop, or just trying to make it to higher ground because of the rising waters. There were many casualties as a result of Hurricane Katrina and still hundreds of people haven’t been found. It took a few weeks for the water to recede and then people were allowed to return home to inspect the