By Mya Trujillo
Hurricane Katrina was one of the worst storms Louisiana has seen, claiming the lives of nearly 1,400 people, displacing millions and causing about $125 billion worth of damage.
Now, 20 years after the catastrophe devastated New Orleans and the surrounding areas, representatives, scientists and those directly affected by the storm are concerned about how future storms will affect Louisiana and other states amid recent funding cuts to agencies like the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
“Katrina was not just a storm; it was a test of our humanity, our infrastructure and our government’s commitment to its people,” said District Director of Louisiana’s Second Congressional District Demetric Mercadel on behalf of Representative Troy Carter (D-LA). “It showed us the consequences of when federal support fails us.”
Winds that reached 140 miles per hour raised sea levels 25 to 28 feet above normal along the Mississippi coast and 10 to 20 feet along the Louisiana coast, causing 80% of New Orleans to be severely flooded two days after Katrina’s landfall. The extreme flooding was also partly due to and exacerbated by the poor maintenance of the area’s levees and pump stations, for which many federal, state, local and parish agencies were responsible.
The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Hurricane Katrina External Review Panel stated in a report following the storm that, due to the utilization of incorrect information during construction, the area’s levees were built one to two feet lower than needed to effectively protect from floodwaters.
Other factors that led to such severe submergence included: weak pump stations that couldn’t endure the storm, the piecemeal construction of the area’s hurricane protection system and a lack of meticulous inspection of said system.
“No single agency was in charge of hurricane protection in New Orleans,” the ASCE reported. “This lack of inter-agency coordination led to many adverse consequences from Hurricane Katrina.”
As FEMA Pulls Back, Katrina Survivors Face Renewed Uncertainty
Since the onset of his second term, President Donald Trump has announced that his administration plans to dismantle FEMA following the 2025 hurricane season, which concludes on Nov. 30, stating that the agency has not been successful thus far. Programs crucial to safeguarding vulnerable areas from inclement weather have been cut, which could increase the risks of hurricane season.
“The agency’s current trajectory reflects a clear departure from the intent of the PKEMRA (Post-Katrina Emergency Reform Act),” former and current FEMA staffers wrote in a public letter to Congress on Aug. 25. “Our shared commitment to our country, our oaths of office, and our mission of helping people before, during, and after disasters compel us to warn Congress and the American people of the cascading effects of decisions made by the current administration.”
In April, FEMA announced it would cut the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program, which provided states, local and territorial governments and Tribal Nations with grants necessary to help initiatives aimed toward mitigating the risks of natural disasters. The agency also cut programs like the Youth Preparedness Council (YPC), which engaged young leaders who wanted to be involved in protecting their communities by supporting disaster preparedness.
The cessation of these precautionary measures frustrates not only scientists but New Orleans natives as well.
“We have a very deep and rich culture, and we deserve to be protected just as much as anyone else, and so having that funding cut means that lives are at risk,” Reaux Peters-Roussell told The Informer. “So many people died or were traumatized… by Hurricane Katrina, by other natural disasters that have hit our area, so to cut that funding is just like another punch to the gut.”
Although Peters-Roussell, 21, was only a baby when the storm devastated her hometown, she can still see the effects of the trauma of losing loved ones, homes and valuables has had on the community around her. She told The Informer the catastrophe’s aftermath still affects how people parent and move around their houses.
“When you’re growing up, they’re always holding onto things, always clinging onto things– even hoarding– because they’re scared that they might lose those memories,” she recounted.
Peters-Roussell’s family evacuated to Spring, Texas, when the storm hit, alongside 250,000 other people who fled to Houston and the neighboring areas. Young, her sibling, grandmother, and family friends left together, determined to survive. Most of Young’s family returned to New Orleans, but others decided to remain in Houston.
Afterwards, she and her family moved to Baton Rouge, but approximately 100,000 evacuees stayed in Houston permanently, including Young’s family.
Even though Young, 23, doesn’t remember everything surrounding the storm, she does remember leaving New Orleans and the chaos of evacuation.
“It was really about survival and then trying to rebuild life from scratch once we got to Houston,” Young told The Informer. “For many, it was about finding a way to start over, get back into a routine and regain a sense of stability.”
Communities at Risk Again as Storm Defenses Deteriorate
Following Katrina and its aftermath, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Flood Protection Authority-East enhanced the preventative structures like floodwalls, floodgates and levees in New Orleans and surrounding areas. These enhancements should have brought the structures up to a standard of protection from a 100-year storm, but a recent study from Tulane University found that New Orleans and its floodwalls are sinking.
Per the analysis, certain neighborhoods and sections of floodwalls sink more than one inch per year, and some areas go down by nearly two inches. This loss of elevation puts New Orleans and its residents even more at risk of severe flooding than they already are. Without proper funding, these risks could become more intense.
“Not enough has substantially changed regarding building the city back up or giving people resources,” Peters-Roussell told The Informer. “We’re just continuing to denigrate as a city because we’re not receiving the actual support and care we need.”
Young believes the funding cuts to storm-preparedness initiatives are a disservice to the communities vulnerable to severe weather, and that without these precautionary programs, people will be forced into chaos again if a storm as bad as Katrina hits.
“Katrina already showed what can happen when infrastructure fails and people aren’t prepared,” she told The Informer. “Reducing funding for disaster prevention and environmental monitoring only increases the risk of future storms being just as deadly or even worse.”
The post Hurricane Katrina 20th Anniversary Highlights Growing Risks as FEMA Funding Declines appeared first on The Washington Informer.