hurricane katrina: superdome documentary

"[On Air Force One] we gave the president a briefing on everything that had gone on. "Coastal residents jammed freeways and gas stations as they rushed to get out A direct hit could wind up submerging New Orleans in several feet of water At least 100,000 people in the city lack transportation to get out Louisiana and Mississippi make all lanes northbound on interstate highways". Judy Benitez, of the Louisiana rape crisis group, says the non-report rate would be far higher given the nightmare of Katrina. Refuge of last resort: Five days inside the Superdome for Hurricane Katrina. " Troops poured in to restore order after almost a week of near-anarchy. I went to the Adjutant General [Landreneau] and I went to Gov. Expressed my concerns, my frustration He needed to really get us resources to save people. Locals adopt it in their idea of the city. Sept. 27, 2005, 12:58 PM PDT / Source: The Associated Press. background photo copyright 2005 corbis 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. The Army Corps of Engineers attempts to plug breaches in the 17th Street Canal and Industrial Canal levees. 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!) ', So they went into another section of the plane, had a meeting. Experts say it was the perfect environment to commit a crime, and the worst environment to report a crime. President Bush arrives in New Orleans and holds a meeting on Air Force One with federal and local officials. I don't know why. It was called "Hurricane Pam" and the exercise was conducted with state and local emergency managers. Police Chief Eddie Compass admitted even his own officers had taken food and water from stores. In October 2005, The Historic New Orleans Collection initiated Through Hell and High Water: Katrina's First Responders Oral History Project, partnering with local, state, and federal agencies to document their experiences. 1) At least 1,800 people died due to Hurricane Katrina. - Severe flooding damage to cities along the Gulf Coast, from New Orleans to . 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. A decade later . The groups went in shifts, sneaking down over to the garage, up the stairs and to the helipad. They didn't have water. She gripped my arm at the store, and she told me, the way you shared with everybody so openly, you helped me to heal. At a press conference in Baton Rouge, 80 miles away, Gov. Mayor Ray Nagin orders the total evacuation of New Orleans due to the dangers posed by the contaminated standing water. The following year, during an interview with Tom Brokaw at Columbia Journalism School, Williams said, "We watched, all of us watched . Met in the little office at the Super Dome where the heliport is. I gave the governor two options. Around this time 17 years ago, Hurricane Katrina bore down on New Orleans, and permanently changed life for thousands of people across the country. I had all the police, the firefighters in rescue mode, so the looting thing started to rear its head. Katrina Babies is an assertion of presence, a proclamation that the devastating hurricane is not simply a past story, but a present one too. She made a report to a local sheriff's office; it has not yet passed the report on to the New Orleans police. A timeline of the warnings, some of the decisions leading up to the disaster, and what went wrong with the government's response. He came right back and he said, I dont know why, but theres probably a foot of water on Claiborne Street, Landreneau said. At 7 am Katrina is a Category 5 with 160 mph maximum sustained winds. She says she tried to report the assault at the time, but authorities weren't listening. But for five days in the midst of the storm, about 20,000 of these . 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. 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. 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. Victims of Hurricane Katrina fight through the crowd as they line up for buses to evacuate the Superdome and New Orleans, Sept. 1, 2005. Twenty-five thousand miserable people - many of whom lost their homes to Hurricane Katrina - hunkered down with little food and little water, overflowing toilets, stifling heat and the . 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. I laid that out for him. During Hurricane Katrina, then known as the Louisiana Superdome, the arena was used as . 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.". Officers were walking off the job by the dozens. 11.1.2005. "What we did -- under Louisiana law the parish presidents, the head of the counties, have the authority to use private resources. The 42 reports include assaults that happened inside New Orleans and outside the city, for instance, in host homes. ", Michael Brown, FEMA director: Civil order had completely broken down. Evacuating hospitals is a top priority: Patients and staff are stranded and supplies and power are dwindling. "There was a period of days when we weren't sure who was directing the federal response and were all the actions being taken. ". And in my opinion, it was this whole 'who has ultimate authority' and whether the federal government is going to come in and impinge upon the state's authority. 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. She was featured in Spike Lee's documentary When the Levees Broke and is author of Not Just the Levees Broke: My Story During and After Hurricane Katrina. And [FEMA Director] Michael Brown was with me at that time. We can only deal with what we know.". FEMA National Situation Update: She requests President Bush to declare a state of emergency in Louisiana. What I hope people will realize when they see Trouble the Water is that we still have so much to do here, and that Katrina really changed so many lives, but we are a really resilient people and we want our city to come back. I aint about to leave, Gettridge said. "I realized how serious things were on Sunday. He didn't care where the help came from, he just wanted it to be there. Their communications center was useless. But they're designed for short hauls.". 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.' Gov. [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.]. She describes . ', And we left and had a press conference. Crime is at an all-time high. ". New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin says he'll follow the state evacuation plan and will not call for mandatory evacuation until 30 hours before projected landfall. 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. 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. In Louisiana, New Orleans is of particular concern because much of that city lies below sea level. 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. 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. 11:09. Find out in the 2015 documentary Outbreak, newly available to stream on FRONTLINEs YouTube channel. Rapid Transit Authority buses pick up citizens and bring them to the Superdome, where the Louisiana National Guard has stocked enough MREs to feed 15,000 people for three days. 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. To get food out. Do You Have News to Share? 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 . If you would like to customise your choices, click 'Manage privacy settings'. Around this time 17 years ago, Hurricane Katrina bore down on New Orleans, and . Jon and Jo Ann Hagler on behalf of the Jon L. Hagler Foundation. Your email address will not be published. ", 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. Producer Martin Smith: Were they going back and forth with each other? Trachelle Addison cuddles her 2-week-old son, Jirra-e, in the stands of the Superdome, where some 25,000 refugees took shelter after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans. Sept. 15, 2005, 7:50 AM PDT. "They didn't have no food. Watch it: To understand what went wrong in the governments response to Katrina. Under the best of circumstances, rape is one of the hardest crimes to solve. Tonight, the Oscar-nominated Trouble the Watera documentary by filmmakers Tia Lessin and Carl Deal, premieres on HBO. The Times-Picayune reports that an estimated 112,000 people do not own cars. 5 Must-See Documentaries About Hurricane Katrina. Katrina first made landfall in South Florida. "At that stage, we had mission-assigned the Department of Defense to start giving us everything they could in terms of air-lift capability. Michael Brown, FEMA director: When Hurricane Katrina forced New Orleans poet Shelton Alexander to evacuate his home, he took his truck and video camera to the Superdome. Victims of Hurricane Katrina fight through the crowd as they line up for buses to evacuate the Superdome and New Orleans, Sept. 1, 2005. FEMA Situation Update: "As I have said, I think that one of the biggest mistakes that I made as the FEMA director during Katrina was not immediately turning to the military and saying: 'We have been overwhelmed. In all honesty, we begin looting. New Orleans, Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina, as seen in the new documentary Katrina Babies . 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. [2] Approximately 10,000 residents, along with about 150 National Guardsmen, sheltered in the Superdome anticipating Katrina's landfall. Inside the four triage tents, medical personnel tended to people who had gone for days without their medication. And there seems to be this dance about who has ultimate authority. Throughout the day, emergency responders and public officials complain that communication links are very poor. will never be the same. Phyllis Montana-LeBlancthe breakout star of Spike Lees When the Levees Broke documentary and author of Not Just the Levees Broke: My Story During and After Katrina (and a consultant on David Simons new post-Katrina HBO drama)writes below about why viewers should still care about New Orleans four years later, and why Trouble the Water just may be the wakeup call we need. Kathleen Blanco, governor of Louisiana: To get medical teams and search teams out the door and get 'em down there. The city's buses have been positioned around the city in locations that have never been flooded. Then, the airman hesitated a minute, and asked Landreneau to hold. And if you dont trust the system to deliver the money to the right places, call a school yourself and ask them what they need. That is why the first place we picked to do an exercise and planning was New Orleans. Thats why films like Trouble the Water are so important, and why its great that its making it to a wide audience via HBO. At least 1,800 lives were lost in Hurricane Katrina, often considered one of the worst hurricanes in US history. "We know about all the other things that happened, all the thefts, all the robberies. Kathleen Blanco. Watch it: To learn about questionable police shootings and cover-ups in Katrinas wake. "I went into New Orleans and stood beside Mayor Nagin and emphasized the need to leave. ', We immediately did turn to the military and mission-assigned them to start doing airlifts, start bringing things in. The expected storm surge is 15 to 20 feet, locally as high as 25 feet. Years later, much of the money committed to New Orleans residents had yet to reach them. "All I know is on Wednesday night I was convinced that there were no FEMA buses. [Mayor Nagin] was upset with everything. Funding for FRONTLINE is provided through the support of PBS viewers and by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Required fields are marked *. 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. "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. More than 1 million more in the Gulf region were displaced. 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. Law-enforcement authorities dismissed early reports of widespread rapes in New Orleans during the lawless days following Hurricane Katrina. But we were working frantically to get it out. Rentals include 30 days to start watching this video and 48 hours to finish once started. They were very civil and very cordial. ", Mayor Ray Nagin: Several thousand National Guard troops start reaching the thousands of evacuees at the Convention Center and elsewhere. Visit us at HISTORY.com for more info. "[I] got to the president. ". Hundreds of people already have been rescued. Copyright All rights reserved. 1. 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. We, Yahoo, are part of the Yahoo family of brands. Then we kind of figure out ways that we could coordinate. Military planners are considering setting up a permanent rapid reaction unit designed to respond to domestic disasters. Blanco tours the area Tuesday evening and announces that the Superdome should be evacuated. Female victims, now displaced from New Orleans, are slowly coming forward with a different story than the official one. Hurricane Katrina made landfall off the coast of Louisiana on August 29, 2005. As Katrina hit, Alexander found himself in a desperate situation. Hurricane Katrina Superdome. Floodwaters from Hurricane Katrina fill the streets near downtown New Orleans, La., on Aug. 30, 2005. 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. And based upon that ["Hurricane Pam" planning exercise], I knew they needed to evacuate. Rescue efforts are delayed because of the inability of rescuers to communicate with each other. And why it wasnt stopped sooner. Last September, when Trouble the Water first premiered in New Orleans, I remember thinking, "I have to go down to Canal Place Cinema and support this." Producer Martin Smith: So, although you said that, you didn't feel that way at that time? FEMA Situation Update: 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. And he passes, literally, hundreds of school buses lined up to come and get these folks. I gave people clues on how to pack. August 29, 2005. At 7 am Katrina is a Category 5 with 160 mph maximum sustained winds. Flooding grows as water surges over levee breaks from Lake Ponchartrain; the 9th Ward is almost entirely submerged. The Army Corps of Engineers projects it could take 80 days to pump the water out of the city. And they both shook their heads and said, 'Yes, you're right.' 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. There are still areas that look like Katrina hit yesterday. We could either go with your suggestion' -- which, my suggestion was, if you don't give me the final authority give it to Gen. [Russel] Honor. There's this lunch. ISIS is in Afghanistan, But Who Are They Really? '", Michael Brown, FEMA director: It regained strength as its path turned northwest. After her rape, Lewis says, there were no clinics open, so she washed herself with bleach. Kathleen Blanco: New Orleans residents are still trapped by the floodwaters, and dispatchers receive about 1,000 emergency phone calls from people needing to be rescued. They lost 15 high-water trucks with mobile communications packages. And the president comes, and we have this meeting. Producer Martin Smith: So we're just eating sandwiches and making nice while people are stranded on rooftops? And it is injurious to the president. Michael Brown, FEMA director: I spoke to an airman [over the phone] he told me that it had rained very little and there was justexcept for just a few puddles of water in the parking lot, there just was no water, the guards commander, Maj. Gen. Bennett Landreneau, who was monitoring the situation from Baton Rouge, recalled in an interview with FRONTLINE. People can say that writing a check doesnt mean anything, but honey, it does. 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 A final, official tally of those killed in the disaster is still not in. And that this could potentially be the big one that we had planned for in Hurricane Pam.". "Katrina will regenerate on Friday over Gulf of Mexico, head west-northwest then turn northward. Concerned over unreported and underreported rapes, her organization, together with the National Sexual Violence Resource Center -- which is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention -- created a national database to track sexual assaults that happened after Katrina. "We did meet with [Mayor Nagin] Tuesday morning. These three documentaries and nearly 190 more are all streaming online at pbs.org/frontline. Web Site Copyright 1995-2023 WGBH Educational Foundation. A spokesperson with the Resource Center said the number is steadily growing. The storm traveled the Gulf of Mexico and then made landfall on the Gulf Coast in southeast Louisiana near the town of Buras, on Aug. 29, 2005. Her husband [Raymond Blanco] is there. We knew what had to be done. . " I said, 'All of us are going to leave right now, and they're going to work this out right now. Not Just the Levees Broke: My Story During and After Hurricane Katrina. He Says He Paid a Price. FEMA National Situation Update: Television reporters, live on the scene at the Convention Center, report on the growing crisis. And nothing happened. By midday, water levels between the city and Lake Ponchartrain have equalized. 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. ', And the president was a little stunned, and he kind of stepped back, and he recovered. hurricane katrina ripped through the Gulf Coast, claiming 1,800 lives. "I admit that rapes are underreported," Benelli says. ", President Bush arrives in Louisiana. "Louis Armstrong International Airport served as a massive clearing house for some of the storm's sickest victims Saturday. We had pre-positioned supplies, medical teams, Meals Ready To Eat, and food in the Superdome. Mississippi and Louisiana governors declare states of emergency. [He] came on site, I think it was Monday after the event. I am still going out into the streets every day to talk to people about their experiencesI call it getting phyllisophical. And then they'd gone around the room, and everybody's talking to the president and giving their opinions. Plus, if you lived in a FEMA trailer for three years like I did, the last thing you want to do is go to a trailer for medical care. Because of the ensuing . The Times-Picayune reports the Convention Center evacuees are still being loaded onto buses and evacuated and search-and-rescue operations continue. The Times-Picayune reports that Jefferson Parish residents are allowed to return to the area to inspect the damage to their homes.The breach in the 17th Street Canal is finally repaired, and engineers continue to work on other levee breaks. FEMA National Situation Update: There was all kinds of crime taking place on a much higher level than usual. Note: In the last hours before Katrina made landfall, dozens of copies of the Hurricane Pam report are distributed to emergency planners. In downtown New Orleans, some streets were merely wet rather than swamped. With a death toll of more than 1,800, Katrina was the third-deadliest hurricane in US history after Galveston in 1900 (which killed 8,000 to . And he basically asked me, 'Mr. Lewis says that later in the week, national guardsmen forced evacuees out of the building at gunpoint. But while the Superdome has been reclaimed, those stories of trauma remain, and some roil pretty close to . The Coast Guard mobilizes to respond after the storm hits. I think the American Red Cross already had shelters and was already feeding people. to support FEMA disaster relief efforts, but it will be two days before the troops arrive in the city. Top subscription boxes right to your door, 1996-2023, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. Anastasia is a petite, 25-year-old hairdresser who asked that her last name be omitted. Henry Glover was last seen alive in the backseat of a white Chevy Malibu on Sept. 2, 2005, days after Katrina hit. He also announces that the Superdome will be "a shelter of last resort for evacuees with special needs."

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