Visit us at HISTORY.com for more info. Officers were walking off the job by the dozens. The Convention Center becomes a destination for walk-in refugees seeking evacuation. President Bush's Sept. 15th address to the nation. Newly rescued people are still being brought to the Superdome. "What we did -- under Louisiana law the parish presidents, the head of the counties, have the authority to use private resources. 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. These defenses held for Hurricane Ida, a category 4 storm, in August 2021. Abandoned cars remain on Interstate 10 in front of the heavily damaged Superdome September 14, 2005 in New Orleans, Louisiana. More than a million people were displaced in the days leading up to and following . Directed by New Orleans native Edward Buckles Jr., who was a teenager when Katrina struck, the documentary, which premieres Thursday on HBO, reminds us of the storm's real-life ramifications. ', And the president was a little stunned, and he kind of stepped back, and he recovered. We, Yahoo, are part of the Yahoo family of brands. Driving in from the popular suburb of Metairie, it's the first building you pass. The film features 15 minutes of live hurricane video shot by Kimberly Roberts, an aspiring rapper whose family was too poor to leave New Orleans, and follows Kim's family and others through the . Michael Brown, FEMA director: I've expressed many times that we're willing to investigate any sexual assaults that happened in this city at any time. 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. But there were also profane jeers from many in the crowd of nearly 20,000 outside the Convention Center, which a day earlier seemed on the verge of a riot, with desperate people seething with anger over the lack of anything to eat or drink. He didn't care where the help came from, he just wanted it to be there. 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. The Army Corps of Engineers renews work to fix the breach in the 17th St. Canal. 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. 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. There is a belief that the city has avoided a direct hit. And at that time I took some liberties I probably shouldn't take. Law-enforcement authorities dismissed early reports of widespread rapes in New Orleans during the lawless days following Hurricane Katrina. Surviving the Superdome - JEMS PBS is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. Panels blew off and the roof was severely damaged, but it was the only shelter . But I am happy to help, even if it takes me an extra two hours at the grocery store. Winds continue to damage or destroy buildings and blow out windows. '", Mayor Ray Nagin ', And we left and had a press conference. Issues of race, class, government response and responsibility, and political rivalries . New Orleans resident climbing through roof of house. Issues of race, class, government response and responsibility, and political rivalries interweave with personal stories of challenges faced and decisions made. Hurricane Katrina: Survivors on the Storm's Impact - People 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,. It was called "Hurricane Pam" and the exercise was conducted with state and local emergency managers. 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. Half of telephone service is back. Hurricane Katrina created enormous public health and medical challenges, especially in Louisiana and MississippiStates with public health infrastructures that ranked 49th and 50th in the Nation, respectively. But problems persist. At 7 am Katrina is a Category 5 with 160 mph maximum sustained winds. 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!) Trapped in the Superdome: Refuge becomes a hellhole Your email address will not be published. Remembers Covering Katrina Preserving History After Hurricane Katrina Katrina's Affect on Charter schools quiz: 10 Questions on Katrina. Years after Hurricane Katrina, a new documentary asks: What happened to Find out more about how we use your personal data in our privacy policy and cookie policy. He says his team only saw a fraction of the desperate people who sought assistance. Years later, much of the money committed to New Orleans residents had yet to reach them. I just expressed to her my concern about the lack of unified command, and the need to have more of a structure of what was going on. Having largely emptied the cavernous Superdome, which had become a squalid pit of misery and violence, officials turned their attention to the Convention Center, where people waited to be evacuated as corpses rotted in the streets. So I can assume what the criminals were thinking, and that's exactly what happened.". Even $20, if thats all you can afford in the recession, that helps. 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. New Orleans and the Superdome Post-Katrina | Nealon Discussion Blog ISIS is in Afghanistan, But Who Are They Really? In the 2005 documentary "In His Own Words: Brian Williams on Hurricane Katrina," Williams indicated that he wasn't a witness to the suicide. But for five days in the midst of the storm, about 20,000 of these . In Louisiana, New Orleans is of particular concern because much of that city lies below sea level. 14 Days - A Timeline | The Storm | FRONTLINE | PBS 'Rebirth in New Orleans' reflects on . But the problem was that because of the fear that resulted from the civil unrest, the bus drivers said, 'We're not going in there to pick these people up unless you put a law enforcement official on every one of the buses, because we're afraid. 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 . "I at least wanted a mandatory evacuation of New Orleans and the surrounding parishes [on Saturday]. We knew what had to be done. We had pre-positioned supplies, medical teams, Meals Ready To Eat, and food in the Superdome. In the first few hours after Katrina hit, many people believed that New Orleans had dodged a bullet. 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. Web Site Copyright 1995-2023 WGBH Educational Foundation. We need you to take over logistics, distribution of commodities, etc. Nicola Mann and Victoria Pass. There's this lunch. 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 . Hurricane Katrina first made landfall on Aug. 25, 2005, in Florida, weakening to a tropical storm as it briefly passed over land. ", "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!' After suffering heavy damage during Hurricane Katrina, the Superdome was re-opened on September 25, 2006 for the Saints' Monday night game against the Falcons. Where is food? Per this CNN Money report, a Brian Williams' Katrina tale appears to have evolved somewhat dramatically over the course of just one year.In 2005, Williams reported in a documentary that he had "heard the story" of a man killing himself in the Superdome. The Mercedes-Benz Superdome is a landmark in the city of New Orleans. The Katrina survivors who fled devastation only to freeze in Texas Floodwaters keep rising. "Most of the area will be uninhabitable for weeks perhaps longer. / HBO Around this time 17 years ago, Hurricane Katrina bore down on New Orleans, and permanently changed life for thousands of people across the country. In fact, at the headquarters of the Louisiana National Guard, located in the Lower NinthWard, soldiers were not yet aware that the levees were giving way. - Severe flooding damage to cities along the Gulf Coast, from New Orleans to . Left to right: Mayor Ray Nagin, President Bush, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, FEMA Director Michael Brown, Gov. There are still areas that look like Katrina hit yesterday. Hundreds of people already have been rescued. By the end of the day, the projected storm surge is 18 to 22 feet, locally as high as 28 feet. They were very civil and very cordial. Victims of Hurricane Katrina fight through the crowd as they line up for buses to evacuate the Superdome and New Orleans, Sept. 1, 2005. And the impression given in those four days is basically indelible. Gallery. He came right back and he said, I dont know why, but theres probably a foot of water on Claiborne Street, Landreneau said. In an effort to get victims to come forward, the Louisiana Foundation Against Sexual Assault asked Charmaine Neville, a popular New Orleans jazz singer, to tape a public service announcement for national airplay. Lurid reports of rape, murder in Katrina's aftermath exposed as frauds Other people call me the Dr. Phil of the streets.. Anastasia says thugs were still wandering the streets of her neighborhood more than a week after the flood. 'Katrina Babies' Review: HBO Doc Is a Moving Study of Ongoing Trauma And he basically asked me, 'Mr. Not Just the Levees Broke: My Story During and After Hurricane Katrina. Ultimately, more than 300 soldiers would be trapped inside their own headquarters. 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. People can say that writing a check doesnt mean anything, but honey, it does. Lipin says when he arrived in Baton Rouge and turned on the TV, he was surprised by reports of rampant violence in New Orleans. Widespread looting continues. But Mayor Nagin goes on radio and castigates state and federal officials for their inaction and demands they "fix the biggest god-damn crisis in the history of this country." We'll put a couple of medical teams on standby. It doesn't make any sense.". There was nobody there to protect you," Lewis says. And I said [to the president], 'Look, we talked about that option, and then we also talked about another option, that we would federalize, and the governor said she needed time to think about it. " Troops poured in to restore order after almost a week of near-anarchy. Hurricane Katrina Superdome. Crimes after Katrina may have been overblown - NBC News I went to the Adjutant General [Landreneau] and I went to Gov. ', So they went into another section of the plane, had a meeting. After her rape, Lewis says, there were no clinics open, so she washed herself with bleach. And it was a very good meeting, I thought. And he said definitively, "Mr. Mayor, the storm is headed right for you. Their back-up generators flooded. Judy Benitez is executive director of the Louisiana Foundation Against Sexual Assault, a statewide coalition of rape crisis centers. hide caption. On June 4, 2006, Pamela Mahogany was interviewed for her personal experience involving the events following Hurricane Katrina. Inside the Superdome during Katrina - BBC News Troops poured in to restore order after almost a week of near-anarchy. Buckles, who wrote and directed the documentary . She requests President Bush to declare a state of emergency in Louisiana. The police department -- reeling from desertions, flooding and the immensity of the disaster -- was in a survival mode itself. Photos: Hurricane Katrina | CNN Why haven't the bosses decided to move the people out?' Meanwhile, Lewis, the 46-year-old home health-care worker, has still not reported her assault to the police, and she has no plans to. ". Refuge of last resort: Five days inside the Superdome for Hurricane Katrina. And he passes, literally, hundreds of school buses lined up to come and get these folks. The choice was either run the risk of becoming stranded or take a detour to wait the storm out for a day or two in the Superdome. 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. Mayor, what do you need?' Blanco tours the area Tuesday evening and announces that the Superdome should be evacuated. Around this time 17 years ago, Hurricane Katrina bore down on New Orleans, and permanently . Messed Up Things That Happened During Hurricane Katrina - Grunge.com We were moving school buses in. What happened next was more than just a natural disaster especially in New Orleans, where the . 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. '", Michael Brown, FEMA director: Review: The hellish Hurricane Katrina scenario of 'Five Days at Memorial' Additional funding is provided by the Abrams Foundation; the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation; Park Foundation; the Heising-Simons Foundation; and the FRONTLINE Journalism Fund with major support from Jon and Jo Ann Hagler on behalf of the Jon L. Hagler Foundation, and additional support from Koo and Patricia Yuen. People continue to head towards the Superdome, which is now surrounded by water. Years after Hurricane Katrina, a new documentary asks: What happened to August 27, 2015, 2:18 PM. The hurricane and its aftermath claimed more than 1,800 lives, and it ranked as the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history. In a documentary aired in October 2005 on the Sundance Channel, "In His Own Words: Brian Williams on Hurricane Katrina," Williams said, . The account of her rape was verified by a trained forensic nurse at Earl K. Long Hospital in Baton Rouge, where Lewis sought treatment. Benelli says his team investigated two attempted rapes inside the Superdome, and two additional reports of rapes that happened in the city, one of which was the 25-year-old hairdresser. "A week after Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans state officials and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers say once the canal level is drawn down two feet, Pumping Station 6 can begin pumping water out of the bowl-shaped city. Gov. Kimberly Roberts is the star of the filmif you can call her thata 24-year-old aspiring rapper who did not have the finances to get the hell out of New Orleans when Katrina hit, and still, she managed to film all of her harrowing experiences on a Hi-8 camerathe water rising, being trapped in the attic with her husband and neighbors, the fear they felt. Watch Katrina Cop in the Superdome | Prime Video 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. will never be the same. We all did. Katrina Cop in the Superdome. We have got to start getting people out.' " from my view sitting inside a windowless room at FEMA headquarters during my nightshift we are working to coordinate with our federal partners, to get water out. To get food out. "We'd heard the story of a man killing himself, falling . Thousands of displaced residents take cover from Hurricane Katrina at the Superdome in New . What I hope people will realize when they see Trouble the Water is that we still have so much to do here, and that Katrina really changed so many lives, but we are a really resilient people and we want our city to come back. An estimated 25,000 angry and exhausted people are still at the Convention Center; buses begin arriving to evacuate them. Over 1,800 people lost their lives in the hurricane and an estimated 1 million people were displaced from their homes. "What you had was a situation where you've got a tremendous number of vulnerable people, and then some predatory people who had all of the reasons to take their anger out on someone else," Benitez says. New Orleans, Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina, as seen in the new documentary Katrina Babies. I gave the governor two options. "I admit that rapes are underreported," Benelli says. The film features 15 minutes of live hurricane video shot by Kimberly Roberts, an aspiring rapper whose family was too poor to leave New Orleans, and follows Kims family and others through the horrific aftermath of the storm. I was able to get Governor Blanco to sit with me several times in the office that she had and talk about what needed to be done. And the president comes, and we have this meeting. ". Spectacular Disaster: The Louisiana Superdome and Subsumed Blackness in Mississippi and Louisiana governors declare states of emergency. The mistake that I made was not doing that sooner and not giving them the orders that we needed them to do all of that immediately. My sense now is there are victims out there whose stories haven't been heard.". 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. Tonight, the Oscar-nominated Trouble the Watera documentary by filmmakers Tia Lessin and Carl Deal, premieres on HBO. He co-wrote the novel,"The Spencer Haywood Rule," and he was co-producer of the "Katrina Cop in the Superdome," a 2010 documentary about the experiences of a black New Orleans police officer and other citizens as they sheltered in the Louisiana Superdome during the Hurricane Katrina disaster of 2005. Producer Martin Smith: Were they going back and forth with each other? The Times-Picayune reports that 4,600 active duty troops under the command of Gen. Russel Honor arrive in New Orleans. Hurricane Katrina Superdome New Orleans National Guard - ESPN Required fields are marked *. 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. Where is water? 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. 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." August 29, 2005. At 7 am Katrina is a Category 5 with 160 mph maximum sustained winds. Hurricane Katrina Statistics Fast Facts | CNN FEMA 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. Mayor Mitch Landrieu last week hailedNew Orleans as Americas comeback city,citing efforts to reduce crime, decrease homelessness and improve educational outcomes for area students. Thats just one of the chain of catastrophes at the local, state and national level brought to vivid life in FRONTLINEs Emmy Award-winning 2005 documentaryThe Storm. 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 . 7:577-Minute Listen. 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 . By the evening of August 25, when it made . If we arent talking about what we still need, how can we be sure people wont forget? Katrina, 10 Years Later: Three Documentaries to Watch ISIS' growing foothold in Afghanistan is captured on film. Through Hell and High Water: Katrina's First Responders Oral History "I realized how serious things were on Sunday. FRONTLINEs documentary The Old Man and the Storm followed Gettridge for 18 months as he worked to rebuild his home, which took on 10 feet of water when the levees breached. At the peak of the Katrina recovery effort, 51,039 National Guard soldiers from all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and three territories worked in Louisiana and Mississippi, making Katrina by far . special video+discussion+teacher's guide+readings & links And, in 2004, FEMA sponsored a disaster planning exercise in which the scenario was a major hurricane striking New Orleans. It is 250 miles south-southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River. 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. Believing the authorities abandoned her after the storm, she wonders why they would care about her now. As the 10-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina approaches, explore three different FRONTLINE documentaries about the disaster, its lingering aftermath and the lessons learned. Oh, absolutely not. A hurricane warning is issued for north central Gulf . Director of HBO Max documentary 'Katrina Babies' chronicles a They didn't have water. The skies darkened, and the wind started to pick up. "They didn't have no food. 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. [Note: The information in this timeline is drawn from the news and government agencies' reports, as published daily during the crisis, and from FRONTLINE's research and reporting.]. Very shortly, he said, Cars are beginning to float out of the parking lot. And the guard unitspent most of the next 24 hours saving itself. When Hurricane Katrina forced New Orleans poet Shelton Alexander to evacuate his home, he took his truck and video camera to the Superdome. The storm has ripped a hole in the Superdome where the power has gone out. In Louisiana, New Orleans is of particular concern because much of that city lies below sea level. New Orleans, Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina, as seen in the new documentary Katrina Babies . And that is unacceptable. . And I wanted to cut to the chase because I knew what the real issue was. Remembering the Superdome's role during Hurricane Katrina And the mayor began to tell us some of the things that he needed. ' Gettridge told FRONTLINE. Mayor Nagin estimates 50,000 to 100,000 people remain in the city. 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 . They didn't have communication. That is why the first place we picked to do an exercise and planning was New Orleans. New Orleans's flood-protection system was improved by increasing in the heights of earthen berms and upgrading floodwalls and floodgates. On Monday, Aug. 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina made its historic landfall on the Gulf Coast, hitting a number of cities along the Louisiana-Mississippi border, with the eye . Heres What the Claims Say and Where They Stand. I've never seen a hurricane like this in my 33-year career. And then somebody came and called me and said, 'The president would like to see you.'