Hurricane Katrina

One year ago today was Hurricane Katrina. Thankfully the media is replaying all the footage from last year to remind everyone how horrible that time was. I had forgotten, I'm sure I'm not the only person who really hasn't thought about New Orleans or Mississippi; there are plenty of other things to think about. This should stay fresh in our minds for two reasons; these were Americans who were suffering, in America and because this could happen to any one of us. No, I'm not expecting a hurricane in Ohio but one thing I have learned is each area of the country has their own unique weather to deal with.

I was in New Orleans 6 months before the hurricane hit so I think it was more personal for me. I loved New Orleans, it was a beautiful city with friendly people and music on every street corner. Watching the news during the hurricane, I could pick out places I had been and recognized. The big questions left by hurricane Katrina were; why didn't everyone evacuate and why didn't the government's emergency action plans work?

My husband and I have been through 4 hurricanes; one medium, one big and two small. I would have left New Orleans but we didn't evacuate for any of the hurricanes we encountered while in NC. In fact, it was virtually impossible to evacuate unless you left days in advance because the traffic was so horrible getting out of the city. So better just to batten down the hatches and have a big pitcher of margaritas ready. Not everyone can evacuate and I don't think we can fault people for not having the means to help themselves. Look at all the people who followed directions, went to the Superdome and Convention Center, things didn't turn out that well for them either.

I don't know what happened with the government's emergency plan. Everyone blames someone else, no one will take the accountability to say "it was my fault". Having a government that can't help it's citizens is scary but the real answer I want is...Why didn't you help? I specifically remember an interview with a nurse at one of the hospitals, she was crying, begging for help for the staff and patients. Where was everyone? We are a supernation who can't take care of it's own citizens.

Hurricane Katrina is what got me interested in blogging. I read the blogs posted by newspeople down on the Gulf Coast daily, just to see what was really going on. That blog has since closed down but did give a good assessment of the people and situation, not just in New Orleans but the entire Gulf Coast.