Observing the Relief After Katrina

1) What were the biggest problems with the response to this urban disaster?

I strongly feel that the rescue mission at the beginning was very diorganized, there was a slow response, and there was lack of communication. The government did not know how to react to the situation, so they waited for the President to do his job. I honestly believe that President Bush should have taken responsibility from the start. He had no reaction of the situation until people started pointed their fingers at him; he is the Commander in Chief, so he should have done something from the start. "...the West Bank was not going to become New Orleans and there would be no Superdomes in their city. These were codes for if you are poor and black, you are not crossing the Mississippi River and you were not getting out of New Orleans." I think that the comment the sheriff made was bias. The person who wrote this article took his comment to mean one thing, but I saw it from a different perspective. I took his comment to mean that they did not want the West Bank to be packed with people, or to be like the Superdome because there was so much chaos and it was so disorganized at the Superdome.

2) What do you think the longterm impact will be on this city?

There was a great impact from day one. The longterm impact is worse than the situation right now. There will be a great impact on education, jobs, economic weakness. The urban economy probably feels betrayed by the government and most importantly by the President because of the slow response.

3) Do you feel the same kind of problems could arise if there were a disaster in LA (fire, earthquake, etc.) Why or Why not?

Eventhough California seems like a place with economic richness and seems more organized (take for example what happened with the power outtage from last week), chaos will still arise. The government might help everyone equally, but eventually the same thing that happened in New Orleans will happen here. I live in Pasadena, and felt an impact from the Northridge earthquake in 1994. I honestly think that this state handled things well with the devastation, eventhough it took a while for things to go back to normal. The city was quickly rebuilt, and now stands strong. There wasn't much damaged caused where I live, but the impact emotionally was strong. People