Term 2 - Theme 2 (3) Flashcards
Vulnerability and disaster in a 21st Century superpower
August 29th 2005. Landfall in Louisiana as a category 3 hurricane. New Orleans: flooding, death and damage.
People displaced
Nearly 2 million
People lost their lives
700,000 people
Number of deaths
Approx 1836 deaths
New orleans pop and percentage African American
485,000 people - 67.3% African American
23rd Aug
Formed off bahamas
25th Aug
Landfall in florda
27th Aug
State of emergency declared by President Bush. Voluntary evac of New Orleans
28th Aug
Mandatory evac of New Orleans. Superdome refuge as last resort.
29th Aug
Landfall in Louisiana. First levee breacher at 2pm.
Population evacuated
80-85% of the population were evacuated before landfall.
% OF BPL New Orleans
27%
% of over 65 New Orleans
11.7%
% of people with no cars New Orleans
27.3%
% of people born and lived in New Orleans for most of their lives
77.4%
Vulnerability: Evac and immediate impacts
Income level, inadequate public transport, age (mobility), access to information, occupations, social naturals/social capital, immigrants, looting and crime.
Reconstruction and recovery
Access to capital and insurance, levee rebuilding + low probability events, insurance premiums, labour, services, state (and federal) commitment to rebuilding.
The political economy of time of disaster
9/11 and the Dept of Home Security. FEMA’s diminished presence. Terrorism focus, funding cuts and diversions. Levee maintenance.
Safe development Paradox
Levee effect. Nearly 300 years of New Orleans : 27 major deaths. Pumping and drainage - inadequate sediment deposition. Dams and flooding canals. Flood increase. Expansion (150,000 households).
USGS Soundwaves - storm surges
The storm surges produced by the Hurricane breached the levees protecting New Orleans in numerous places, flooding approximately 75% of the metropolitan area.
Bakker, K (2005) - Urban expansion
Urban expansion has increased New Orleans vulnerability as draining of wetlands by hydraulic pumps has enabled urban sprawl but accelerated the subsidence of New Orlean’s alluvial soils. This has been aggrevated by flood-control measures.
Susan Cutter
Notes that the American south’s segregated past is still visible in the spatial and social geopolitics of cities such as New Orleans.
Neil Smith (2003)
Revealed how topographical gradients were proxies for race and class in New Orleans, with largely white neighbourhoods situated on higher, drier ground.
