By. "The police was stressed out themselves," Lewis says. The National Guards didn't want to hear it.". " After Katrina passed, we thought we're pretty much out of the woods. I've heard some terrible stories since that the stuff wasn't getting there. And when I saw it then, and watching it again now, I think that Trouble the Water is an amazing accomplishment, and something everyone should see about the people who had to live through what we all went through here in New Orleans. ", Richard Falkenrath, Homeland Security Adviser (2001-2004): and catcalls of 'What took you so long?,' a National Guard convoy packed with food, water and medicine rolled through axle-deep floodwaters Friday into what remained of New Orleans and descended into a maelstrom of fires and floating corpses. The Mercedes-Benz Superdome is a landmark in the city of New Orleans. And I knew it wasn't true, because 8:00 or 10:00 that morning, I received a report from one of my staffers that either a levee had been topped or had actually broken. William E. Brown Jr. -. One woman told me she was going to commit suicide after Katrina, and that she saw Spike Lees documentary, and I saved her life. They lost power. Glover, you dont know me, but Im Phyllis, and I was in another Katrina documentary and I have to see this film! He grabbed onto me and I wouldnt let go until I got a seat insidethats the way I am. Recalling her attack, she sobs, "They just left us to die. Orders volun-tary evacuation where residents in low-lying areas encouraged to evacuate Sunday, August 28, 2005: Hurricane Katrina becomes a Category 5 storm with 160 mph winds Superdome opens as a shelter of last resort Acadian personnel are deployed to the Superdome to help triage special needs patients and staff the rst aid station Nagin . Phyllis Montana-LeBlancthe breakout star of Spike Lees When the Levees Broke documentary and author of Not Just the Levees Broke: My Story During and After Katrina (and a consultant on David Simons new post-Katrina HBO drama)writes below about why viewers should still care about New Orleans four years later, and why Trouble the Water just may be the wakeup call we need. Around this time 17 years ago, Hurricane Katrina bore down on New Orleans, and permanently changed life for thousands of people across the country. Rescue efforts are delayed because of the inability of rescuers to communicate with each other. I've got to know. Reports put the population there in the tens of thousands. There are still gangs of armed criminals roaming the city; police and National Guard, now numbered at 16,000, have a better handle on the situation than earlier in the week. National Hurricane Center director Max Mayfield tells the Times-Picayune newspaper, "This is scary this is the real thing." Looting breaks out in parts of the city. In television interviews, Michael Brown, FEMA director, states that he only just heard about the suffering at the Convention Center, when in fact, he tells FRONTLINE, he misspoke; he was told the previous day about the situation. And they both shook their heads and said, 'Yes, you're right.' I n the HBO documentary Katrina Babies, young teen Meisha Williams recollects her experience surviving the 2005 hurricane that displaced approximately 200,000 New Orleans residents. Conditions are deteriorating with bathrooms overflowing, no power for air conditioning and little food and water. "We're all looking at each other like, 'Why aren't we getting orders to move on this? Gov. Around 9:30 a.m. Mayor Ray Nagin issues a mandatory evacuation. We arent looking for a handout, but its hard to believe that the city that we love (and everyone lovesthe Mardi Gras, the jazz, the hospitality!) The following year, during an interview with Tom Brokaw at Columbia Journalism School, Williams said, "We watched, all of us watched . President Bush declares Louisiana and Mississippi major disaster areas. Get as many people out as possible. In all honesty, we begin looting. It is 45 miles northwest of Florida Keys. Refuge of last resort: Five days inside the Superdome for Hurricane Katrina. In a documentary aired in October 2005 on the Sundance Channel, "In His Own Words: Brian Williams on Hurricane Katrina," Williams said, . FEMA National Situation Update: Michael Brown, FEMA director: Ten years ago this Saturday, Hurricane Katrina made landfall on the Gulf Coast. The hurricane caused billions of dollars of damage to the city, and killed thousands. Believing the authorities abandoned her after the storm, she wonders why they would care about her now. On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast, causing catastrophic flooding as numerous levees failed around New Orleans. At 10 a.m., the Thorntons headed together to the Superdome. ', And we left and had a press conference. Blanco and said, 'We've got to move National Guard troops in there. They lost 15 high-water trucks with mobile communications packages. As of Nov. 22, 2005, more than 900 people are known to have died in New Orleans. Top subscription boxes right to your door, 1996-2023, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. In what looked like a scene from a Third World country, some people threw their arms heavenward and others nearly fainted with joy as the trucks and hundreds of soldiers arrived in the punishing midday heat. ", Leo Bosner, FEMA watch officer: He came right back and he said, I dont know why, but theres probably a foot of water on Claiborne Street, Landreneau said. Exploring the experiences of a black member of the New Orleans Police Department and assorted other New Orleans residents during their stay in the Louisiana Superdome during and after Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans in 2005. 1. Your email address will not be published. The Times-Picayune reports that Jefferson Parish residents are allowed to return to the area to inspect the damage to their homes.The breach in the 17th Street Canal is finally repaired, and engineers continue to work on other levee breaks. She made a report to a local sheriff's office; it has not yet passed the report on to the New Orleans police. ", In Washington, President Bush publicly acknowledges the inadequacy of the federal government's response: "Many of our citizens simply are not getting the help they need, especially in New Orlenas. hurricane katrina ripped through the Gulf Coast, claiming 1,800 lives. Producer Martin Smith: Were they going back and forth with each other? Michael Chertoff, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, says he is "extremely pleased with the response of every element of the federal government and federal partners to this terrible tragedy." "They didn't have no food. Michael Ainsworth/The Dallas Morning News/epa/Corbis Rescuers drop them off wherever there is high ground; many are dropped at interstate overpasses and the Superdome. We'd sent them all the information they needed. Theres a river of water moving into this area.'. "I went into New Orleans and stood beside Mayor Nagin and emphasized the need to leave. Mahogany describes her actions before deciding to evacuate her home, her trip to the New Orleans Saints' Superdome, her horrific time at the Superdome, and finally her decision to leave New Orleans. He also announces that the Superdome will be "a shelter of last resort for evacuees with special needs." And if you dont trust the system to deliver the money to the right places, call a school yourself and ask them what they need. New Orleans, Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina, as seen in the new documentary Katrina Babies. Later, his charred remains were discovered on the banks of the Mississippi River, inside a car that had apparently been set on fire. so you had a very dynamic situation.". Plus, if you lived in a FEMA trailer for three years like I did, the last thing you want to do is go to a trailer for medical care. To get food out. FEMA Situation Update: He announces FEMA is moving supplies and equipment into the hardest hit areas. Widespread looting continues. It doesn't make any sense.". . "The fact that something wasn't reported to the police doesn't mean it didn't happen," Benitez says. I went to the Adjutant General [Landreneau] and I went to Gov. Already, these preliminary cases show a high number of gang rapes and rapes by strangers, both unusual characteristics. The Louisiana National Guard's Jackson Barracks flood. Mayor, we had a good meeting. Theme Foto Blog by, Hundreds Evacuated as Vanuatu Braces for Second Cyclone in 2 Days. The Times-Picayune reports that the breaches in the 17th Street and Florida Avenue Canals have been repaired and power is restored to the Warehouse and Central Business Districts. Around 8 a.m. the storm's eye passes eastern New Orleans. I think the American Red Cross already had shelters and was already feeding people. The Katrina images we see in the film -- people on rooftops, the Superdome being shredded by hurricane winds, dogs stranded in attics -- are ones that once would have been guaranteed to put lumps . In one notorious incident known as the Danziger Bridge case, police opened fire on a group of civilians, who were later found to be unarmed and searching for food and medicine. Thousands of displaced residents take cover from Hurricane Katrina at the Superdome in New . The Coast Guard mobilizes to respond after the storm hits. Two national crime-victims' groups have reported a spike in the number of reported rapes that happened to storm evacuees. Hurricane Katrina, tropical cyclone that struck the southeastern United States in late August 2005. And the president comes, and we have this meeting. I spoke to an airman [over the phone] he told me that it had rained very little and there was justexcept for just a few puddles of water in the parking lot, there just was no water, the guards commander, Maj. Gen. Bennett Landreneau, who was monitoring the situation from Baton Rouge, recalled in an interview with FRONTLINE. Evacuating hospitals is a top priority: Patients and staff are stranded and supplies and power are dwindling. Five officers were ultimately indicted: one for the shooting, and four additional officers on charges related to burning Glovers body and obstructing a federal investigation. I just sent President Obama 10 letters the other day ( I remember Oprah saying persistence pays off) saying that since Katrina, we still only have two medical trailers in this part of town, and they arent equipped to handle emergencies or even basic lab work. "I think that that was probably over-reported," he says. FRONTLINE is a registered trademark of WGBH Educational Foundation. At 7 pm it makes landfall north of Miami. Thousands more were unable to evacuate, including the nearly 25,000 who sheltered in the Superdome. Its efforts fail. Buses have started evacuating people at the Superdome, but at the Convention Center thousands are still waiting and conditions continue to deteriorate there. City officials say 80 percent of New Orleans is flooded. The two of us are going to leave. We could either go with your suggestion' -- which, my suggestion was, if you don't give me the final authority give it to Gen. [Russel] Honor. web site copyright 1995-2014 A timeline of the warnings, some of the decisions leading up to the disaster, and what went wrong with the government's response. Inside the four triage tents, medical personnel tended to people who had gone for days without their medication. In New Orleans chaos . Why haven't the bosses decided to move the people out?' He escaped the chaotic shelter a few days later with a truckload of people and video documentation of history.Check out exclusive HISTORY content:Website - http://www.history.com?cmpid=Social_YouTube_HistHomeTwitter - https://twitter.com/history/postsFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/HistoryHISTORY, now reaching more than 98 million homes, is the leading destination for award-winning original series and specials that connect viewers with history in an informative, immersive, and entertaining manner across all platforms. The price tag has not yet been determined. Anastasia says thugs were still wandering the streets of her neighborhood more than a week after the flood. He didn't care where the help came from, he just wanted it to be there. "We did meet with [Mayor Nagin] Tuesday morning. Producer Martin Smith: So, although you said that, you didn't feel that way at that time? New Orleans residents are still trapped by the floodwaters, and dispatchers receive about 1,000 emergency phone calls from people needing to be rescued. Half of telephone service is back. With a death toll of more than 1,800, Katrina was the third-deadliest hurricane in US history after Galveston in 1900 (which killed 8,000 to . Very shortly, he said, Cars are beginning to float out of the parking lot. An Unfiltered View: Producers of Police on Trial on What the Documentary Reveals 2 Years After the Murder of George Floyd, From the Archives: How the World's Deadliest Ebola Outbreak Unfolded, Russias Invasion of Ukraine, One Year Later, War Crimes Watch Ukraine: More Than 650 Documented Events, From the Archives: How the U.N. & World Failed Darfur Amid "the 21st Century's First Genocide". Sept. 15, 2005, 7:50 AM PDT. Blanco says, "Mr. President, thank you thank you, thank you. We do our video conference calls before and during disasters. The groups went in shifts, sneaking down over to the garage, up the stairs and to the helipad. The Times-Picayune reports the Convention Center evacuees are still being loaded onto buses and evacuated and search-and-rescue operations continue. We need you to take over logistics, distribution of commodities, etc. But by late morning, when FEMA director Michael Brown arrives in Baton Rouge, water is already coming over levees in the 9th Ward and there are reports of breaks in the Industrial Canal and 17th Street Canal levees. ", "Coastal residents jammed freeways and gas stations as they rushed to get out A direct hit could wind up submerging New Orleans in several feet of water At least 100,000 people in the city lack transportation to get out Louisiana and Mississippi make all lanes northbound on interstate highways", Note: In the last hours before Katrina made landfall, dozens of copies of the, "To cries of 'Thank you, Jesus!' TV-PG. Every little thing helps. What happened next was more than just a natural disaster especially in New Orleans, where the failure of the cityslevees unleashed flooding that left roughly80 percent of the city underwater. We have got to start getting people out.' Nearly two decades after Hurricane Katrina, Edward Buckles Jr. asks what happened to the generation of kids who grew up with that trauma in the documentary "Katrina Babies" on HBO Max. FEMA Situation Update: The Army Corps of Engineers attempts to plug breaches in the 17th Street Canal and Industrial Canal levees. More women are coming forward with stories of sexual . U.S. Cities and States Are Suing Big Oil Over Climate Change. They cast a wide net over this important event and And I had a piece of paper where I wrote down like a five-point plan of the things that we needed to do. Twenty-five thousand miserable people - many of whom lost their homes to Hurricane Katrina - hunkered down with little food and little water, overflowing toilets, stifling heat and the . Through their world-class scientists, photographers, journalists, and filmmakers, Nat Geo gets you closer to the stories that matter and past the edge of what's possible.Get More National Geographic:Official Site: http://bit.ly/NatGeoOfficialSiteFacebook: http://bit.ly/FBNatGeoTwitter: http://bit.ly/NatGeoTwitterInstagram: http://bit.ly/NatGeoInstaHurricane Katrina Day by Day | National Geographichttps://youtu.be/HbJaMWw4-2QNational Geographichttps://www.youtube.com/natgeo When Hurricane Katrina ripped the Superdome's rubber seal off, tore open the steel roof paneling and penetrated the stadium, it shed light on the conjoined problems of concentrated poverty, socialized and environmental racism, and America's ability to ignore the suffering of its own citizens. Where is water? The top-notch special effects are alarmingly realistic and frightening, particularly when the 17th St. Canal levee breaches and when Katrina rips the roof from the Superdome, where in the days . August 28, 2005. By the end of the day, there are 30,000 people at the Superdome. Explore FRONTLINEs collected and ongoing reporting on Russia's war on Ukraine. Within five hours I start to get reports from my staff members, who are out doing assessments, the water's rising. The outer ends of the hurricane also produced tornados . Where is all the things that we need to get out of here?"' ", Leo Bosner, FEMA watch officer: [Secretary of Homeland Security Michael] Chertoff is there. In New Orleans last year, there was a rape every other day on average. "At that stage, we had mission-assigned the Department of Defense to start giving us everything they could in terms of air-lift capability. His goal: To make it possible for his wife of 65 years, Lydia who had gone to live with one of their nine children in Wisconsin after Katrina to return home. Jon and Jo Ann Hagler on behalf of the Jon L. Hagler Foundation. [2] Approximately 10,000 residents, along with about 150 National Guardsmen, sheltered in the Superdome anticipating Katrina's landfall. New Orleans, Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina, as seen in the new documentary Katrina Babies. And I think thats whats going to help us rebuild the mosttalking about what happened and how we can move onand why documentaries like Trouble the Water are still so relevant. I probably should have asked sooner. I am still going out into the streets every day to talk to people about their experiencesI call it getting phyllisophical. By the evening of August 25, when it made . I'm just not going to go on, on public television and bash in the middle of a disaster what I think people should or should not be doing. "As I have said, I think that one of the biggest mistakes that I made as the FEMA director during Katrina was not immediately turning to the military and saying: 'We have been overwhelmed. Do You Have News to Share? "I didn't see any police officers -- I could have gotten away with murder," she says. Last September, when Trouble the Water first premiered in New Orleans, I remember thinking, "I have to go down to Canal Place Cinema and support this." Some parts of the city already showed slipping floodwaters as the repair neared completion, with the low-lying Ninth Ward dropping more than a foot. FEMA was doing what it's supposed to be doing. I don't know why. There is a belief that the city has avoided a direct hit. The spot urges victims to report their assault by calling 1-800-656-HOPE. Required fields are marked *. HBO. [He] came on site, I think it was Monday after the event. And the impression given in those four days is basically indelible. Newly rescued people are still being brought to the Superdome. She was featured in Spike Lee's documentary When the Levees Broke and is author of Not Just the Levees Broke: My Story During and After Hurricane Katrina. More women are coming forward with stories of sexual assault in the lawless days after the storm. "I at least wanted a mandatory evacuation of New Orleans and the surrounding parishes [on Saturday]. But more and more people were being evacuated from their rooftops after being in the sun for long periods or overnight and being put on highways on high ground. There's this lunch. That's where Katrina Babies comes in. It is 250 miles south-southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River. The city floods further. [Congressman] Bobby Jindal is there, the senators Landrieu and [David] Vitter, and Congressman [William] Jefferson. FEMA Situation Update: FEMA National Situation Update: And then somebody came and called me and said, 'The president would like to see you.' At a press conference in Baton Rouge, 80 miles away, Gov. Some parishes order mandatory evacuations. [Mayor Nagin] was upset with everything. Trapped on Airline Drive in a traffic jam in his gas-depleted pickup truck, he didn't think he would reach his destination of Baton Rouge. Buckles, who wrote and directed the documentary . You have responded to my calls." Troops poured in to restore order after almost a week of near-anarchy. At 7 am Katrina is a Category 5 with 160 mph maximum sustained winds. According to the New Orleans Data Center, racial disparities in income and employment are more pronounced in the city than they are nationally; the poverty rate is 11 points higher than the national average; and the incarceration rate is approximately three times the national average. The film a raw and gripping investigation of the Katrina response, its tragic consequences and its political ramifications includes candid interviews with key Katrina decision-makers, including the first televised interview with former FEMA Director Michael Brown since his resignation two weeks after Katrina hit. And there seems to be this dance about who has ultimate authority. FRONTLINE home+WGBH+PBS, FRONTLINE is a registered trademark of wgbh educational foundation. Floodwaters keep rising. And that was that.". FEMA National Situation Update: She insists other women were raped in the same apartment building over the next four nights, but her claim could not be checked out. And he passes, literally, hundreds of school buses lined up to come and get these folks. An estimated 25,000 angry and exhausted people are still at the Convention Center; buses begin arriving to evacuate them. When Hurricane Katrina forced New Orleans poet Shelton Alexander to evacuate his home, he took his truck and video camera to the Superdome. Locals adopt it in their idea of the city. The death toll in the city is not known, but the dying continues as people succumb to illness, exhaustion and days without food and water. Copyright All rights reserved. All I can tell you is that in the city of New Orleans we had maybe 250 guardsmen that we could account for.

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