Social Vulnerabilities and Hurricane Katrina: An Unnatural Disaster in New Orleans

Abstract

A B S T R A C TSocial science research on natural disasters documents how a natural hazard such as a hurricane becomes a disaster through social processes and social structures that place human populations in general, and certain segments in particular, at risk. After a description of Hurricane Katrina and its impact, we describe how patterns of land development, and the economic and political history of New Orleans, set the stage for this disaster. An overview of past research findings on the relationship between citizen vulnerability and poverty, minority status, age and disability, gender and tenancy is followed by evidence of the extent to which each risk factor was present in the pre-Katrina New Orleans population. The authors then cite evidence of how social vulnerability influenced outcomes at various stages of the Hurricane Katrina catastrophe, including mitigation, preparation, evacuation, storm impacts, and recovery. The concluding section discusses how the goal of disaster resilient communities cannot be reached until basic issues of inequality and social justice are addressed.

Vulnerability of fishery-based livelihoods to the impacts of climate variability and change: insights from coastal Bangladesh

“…can underpin livelihood vulnerability (Dyson 2006;Laska and Morrow 2006). These results are in line with arguments contending that vulnerability to climate change varies between places, communities, and social classes (Adger 2003;Smit and Wandel 2006).…”

Urban Transitions: On Urban Resilience and Human-Dominated Ecosystems

“…In New Orleans, hurricane Katrina sparked novel collaborations and an interdisciplinary knowledge production that meshed urban planning with coastal science, ecology, engineering, architecture, and landscape architecture (Birch and Wachter 2006;Costanza et al 2006;Laska and Morrow 2006;Lopez 2006;Blakely 2007;CPRA 2007;LRA 2007;Rodiek 2007;Meffert 2008;Törnqvist and Meffert 2008). Given that deltaic cities like New Orleans will likely experience 3-10 mm per year of relative sea level rise in the next 50 years , current expert debates concerning the re-organization of the city emphasize: planning with the regional hydrology and propensity for flooding in mind (high-density residential areas on higher ground and lower in floodable areas); remake landscapes through ''natural'' processes (e.g., divert the Mississippi River to rebuild coastal wetlands in protection of storm surges); increase local flood disaster preparedness through landscape interventions on a neighborhood scale with terraces, polders, and drainage enhancements (bayous, canals, and permeable surfaces); and maximize community participation to restore and nurture social capital (CPRA 2007;LRA 2007).…”

Community exposure to potential climate-driven changes to coastal-inundation hazards for six communities in Essex County, Massachusetts

“…Demographic attributes can amplify an individual's sensitivity to hazards (Morrow, 1999;Laska and Morrow, 2007); therefore, in addition to general population counts, we calculated the number of residents in hazard zones according to age (for example, individuals less than 5 and more than 65 years in age) and household structure (for example, renter-occupied households and individuals in group quarters). Additional demographic attributes for residents in hazard zones were characterized using American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year data for 2009-2014, including individuals that may be living in mobile homes, be living in poverty, be unemployed, have no phone, speak mainly English as a second language, have only high-school degrees, have disabilities, or have no vehicles (U.S. Census Bureau, 2016).…”