Editorial & Commentary

HURRICANE KATRINA

Editorial

Hurricane Katrina resulted in one of the worst disasters in U.S. history. Over one million people are said to have left their homes in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama.

     The city of New Orleans was ravaged by the storm. Thousands were left without food and fresh water for days. It's unclear what the final death toll will be now. But New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin has said that a figure of 10,000 dead is possible.

     In the days following the hurricane, CNN broadcast gut-wrenching images of thousands of people at the Louisiana Superdome without food and water. It was a scene many thought impossible in the United States.

     Federal relief was painfully slow to arrive for victims of the hurricane. This prompted New York Times columnist Paul Krugman to speak about the "lethal ineptitude" of federal officials.

     Interestingly, Krugman says federal officials could have used one resource in the days following Hurricane Katrina that would have made a difference. He's referring to the U.S.S. Bataan, which is equipped with six operating rooms, hundreds of hospital beds, and the ability to produce 10,000 gallons of fresh water a day. Krugman explains that the vessel was sitting off the Gulf Coast since the day of the hurricane --without patients.

     It was the poor and sick that suffered the most after Hurricane Katrina. How were people to leave New Orleans if they had no car? Where was the plan to evacuate the disabled, the elderly, and patients in hospitals?

     Some signs of hope did appear in the aftermath of the hurricane. People responded with donations to numerous relief organizations --both in the U.S. and around the world. It's estimated that private donations from Americans have reached the $400 million mark.

     In the days following the disaster, the Canadian government announced it would provide the U.S. with a large reserve of basic medical supplies to help cope with the victims of the hurricane. These supplies are part of a federal response that includes Red Cross workers, four Canadian ships, diving teams, and helicopters.

     Critics of the Bush administration's embarrassingly slow response to the disaster have come from a wide spectrum of the big media. To their credit, many in the news media have resisted the White House spin on the event. As BBC correspondent Matt Wells writes from Los Angeles: "Government has been thrown into disrepute, and many Americans have realized, for the first time, that the collapsed, rotten flood defences of New Orleans are a symbol of failed infrastructure across the nation."

     A week after Hurricane Katrina, President Bill Clinton and Senator Hilary Clinton called for a Congressional inquiry into the response to the disaster. That isn't likely to be a top priority for Congressional leaders. But at some point, an inquiry will definitely be needed.

     For now it's critical that relief supplies reach the victims of the hurricane. Thousand have been left with nothing --and they desperately need assistance.

     The long-term political consequences of the federal response to Hurricane Katrina will be significant. Tax cuts for the richest Americans will be a much tougher sell --and support for the privatization of Social Security will probably fizzle out. Also: an increasingly unpopular war in Iraq will be subjected to more serious questions. Especially given the new resources needed on the home front.

     The political culture in the U.S. is changing in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Americans aren't likely to forget the images they saw in the days following the hurricane. And they will be asking hard questions for a long time to come.