Refuge of last resort: Five days inside the Superdome for Hurricane Katrina. Do You Have News to Share? FEMA Situation Update: After her rape, Lewis says, there were no clinics open, so she washed herself with bleach. And nothing happened. And, in 2004, FEMA sponsored a disaster planning exercise in which the scenario was a major hurricane striking New Orleans. And he basically asked me, 'Mr. Concerned over unreported and underreported rapes, her organization, together with the National Sexual Violence Resource Center -- which is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention -- created a national database to track sexual assaults that happened after Katrina. Hurricane Katrina first made landfall on Aug. 25, 2005, in Florida, weakening to a tropical storm as it briefly passed over land. The expected storm surge is 15 to 20 feet, locally as high as 25 feet. He didn't even know what efforts had been made on his behalf because he had no lines of communications open to him. She says she tried to report the assault at the time, but authorities weren't listening. Timeline: Rebirth in New Orleans - NFL 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." Michael Brown, FEMA director: 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. Then we kind of figure out ways that we could coordinate. It doesn't make any sense.". Around 8 a.m. the storm's eye passes eastern New Orleans. Neville says she was sexually assaulted early the morning of Aug. 31st, while she was sleeping on the roof of Drew Elementary School in the Bywater Neighborhood, where she and others had taken refuge. He says his team only saw a fraction of the desperate people who sought assistance. I mentally moved on from the storm after I wrote the last page of my book, but this documentary has opened some old wounds and moves me to action, and I can only hope it does the same for others. 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 . They didn't have ammunition. But we need something really big, like a hospital, that shows where the $25 billion in recovery money is going. National surveys show that half of all sexual assaults are never reported. City officials say 80 percent of New Orleans is flooded. She made a report to a local sheriff's office; it has not yet passed the report on to the New Orleans police. And he had flown in a helicopter. Reports stream in from people needing rescue. Where is all the things that we need to get out of here?"' Thats why films like Trouble the Water are so important, and why its great that its making it to a wide audience via HBO. producer's chat+tapes & transcript+press reaction+credits+privacy policy More Stories Emerge of Rapes in Post-Katrina Chaos : NPR Note: In the last hours before Katrina made landfall, dozens of copies of the Hurricane Pam report are distributed to emergency planners. The price tag has not yet been determined. The storm flooded New Orleans, killed more than 1,800 people, and caused . And Michael Brown tells FRONTLINE that in order to quell panic, he misled the public in saying that everything was going fine at the local level. Required fields are marked *. Find out in the 2015 documentary Outbreak, newly available to stream on FRONTLINEs YouTube channel. I went to the Adjutant General [Landreneau] and I went to Gov. 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. A final, official tally of those killed in the disaster is still not in. 'Nobody asked if we were okay': The lost children of Hurricane Katrina 5 Must-See Documentaries About Hurricane Katrina. New Orleans, Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina, as seen in the new documentary Katrina Babies. Its just rawits a look at the poorest people of the Ninth Ward, and those who couldnt afford to leave, and if you have a heart in your body, you will feel this film 100 percent. The spot urges victims to report their assault by calling 1-800-656-HOPE. so you had a very dynamic situation.". Flooding grows as water surges over levee breaks from Lake Ponchartrain; the 9th Ward is almost entirely submerged. Sept. 15, 2005, 7:50 AM PDT. By the end of the day, it is upgraded to Tropical Storm Katrina, with 50 mph maximum sustained winds. The Coast Guard mobilizes to respond after the storm hits. When we didn't get any assistance from the state or from FEMA in the time period that we thought was appropriate, I got someone in an automobile and said, 'Go to Baton Rouge, go find out. An estimated 25,000 angry and exhausted people are still at the Convention Center; buses begin arriving to evacuate them. I wasnt poor before Katrina, and Im certainly not poor afterward, but Trouble the Water pisses me off all over again, in a good way. It hit land as a Category 3 storm with winds reaching speeds as high as 120 miles per hour. August 28, 2015, 2:21 PM. Why would we think there was less rape typical of any given week in the city? The numbers are not dramatic, but they are significant when seen in light of the official number of post-Katrina rapes and attempted rapes: four. Hurricane Katrina - Aftermath and flood-protection system "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". "Katrina will regenerate on Friday over Gulf of Mexico, head west-northwest then turn northward. As of Nov. 22, 2005, more than 900 people are known to have died in New Orleans. Years after Hurricane Katrina, a new documentary asks: What happened to ', And we left and had a press conference. 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. She describes . Katrina anniversary: Inside the Superdome during Katrina. Exacerbated by the recent BP oil spill in the region, the storm and its aftermath remains an open wound for local residents and others affected . It was there, she says, that an unknown man with a handgun sexually assaulted her. Gov. Ms. Blanco, she left and walked out. My old high school, Joseph S. Clark, shut down, and we dont even have parks yet for kids to hang out inthats what we did in the 70s, at leastIm still trying to petition for these things, to organize our community, and these fool ass people have not yet gotten down here to rebuild. I don't know why. 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. "I went into New Orleans and stood beside Mayor Nagin and emphasized the need to leave. "We know about all the other things that happened, all the thefts, all the robberies. It is 45 miles northwest of Florida Keys. Looting breaks out in parts of the city. And I had a piece of paper where I wrote down like a five-point plan of the things that we needed to do. Even $20, if thats all you can afford in the recession, that helps. Katrina becomes a Category 3 with 115 mph maximum sustained winds. Panels blew off and the roof was severely damaged, but it was the only shelter . A timeline of the warnings, some of the decisions leading up to the disaster, and what went wrong with the government's response. He announces FEMA is moving supplies and equipment into the hardest hit areas. WGBH educational foundation, "A close eye will be kept this system could strengthen ", "Media reports attribute Katrina with four fatalities [in Florida], more than a million customers were without electricity", "Katrina will regenerate on Friday over Gulf of Mexico, head west-northwest then turn northward. He escaped the ch. After being damaged by. ", Mayor Ray Nagin: A decade later . "To cries of 'Thank you, Jesus!' He had been shot by a rookie police officer while walking through the parking lot of a run-down strip mall, and his brother had brought Glover who was curled up and bleeding from a gunshot wound to the chest to a temporary SWAT compound seeking medical attention. Follow a day-by-day account of Hurricane Katrina's wrath, from its birth in the Atlantic Ocean to its catastrophic effects: flooded streets, flattened homes,. ", Richard Falkenrath, Homeland Security Adviser (2001-2004): I said, 'We need to do this.' That is why the first place we picked to do an exercise and planning was New Orleans. special video+discussion+teacher's guide+readings & links ", Michael Brown, FEMA director: 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. Power outages will last for weeks water shortages will make human suffering incredible by modern standards.". Lurid reports of rape, murder in Katrina's aftermath exposed as frauds The California Disaster Medical Assistance Team spent 24 hellish hours inside the Superdome. You can change your choices at any time by clicking on the 'Privacy dashboard' links on our sites and apps. "The police was stressed out themselves," Lewis says. Spectacular Disaster: The Louisiana Superdome and Subsumed Blackness in [Congressman] Bobby Jindal is there, the senators Landrieu and [David] Vitter, and Congressman [William] Jefferson. We, Yahoo, are part of the Yahoo family of brands. Rentals include 30 days to start watching this video and 48 hours to finish once started. New Orleans, Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina, as seen in the new documentary Katrina Babies. 'Katrina Babies' Review: HBO Doc Is a Moving Study of Ongoing Trauma FEMA Situation Update: In all, more than 1,500 died either duringthe storm or inthe famouslybungled aftermath which saw local, state, and federal officials uncoordinated and overwhelmed.