Table Of Content$22.95
resident for nearly fifteen years; and Katy Reck- general interest pt
uh
dahl, an award-winning freelance journalist who
be City Adrift
gave birth to her son in a New Orleans hospital l
ic
the day before Katrina hit.
ce
They and the rest of the investigative team in- n
“If there was any doubt that Hurricane Katrina was, in reality, a man- i NEW ORLEANS BEFORE
terviewed homeowners and health officials, first nt
made catastrophe in New Orleans, this book dispels it, fact by indis- te AND AFTER KATRINA
responders and politicians, and evacuees and
er
putable fact. Anyone who believes that government exists primarily
other ordinary citizens to explore the storm from g Foreword by Dan Rather
f
numerous angles, including health care, social to protect the public from events and matters beyond an individual’s ro
services, housing and insurance, and emergency control will be appalled and embarrassed. This is an important book itr Jenni Bergal ◊ Sara Shipley Hiles
Frank Koughan ◊ John McQuaid ◊ Jim Morris
preparedness. They also identify the political, so- that exposes the depth and breadth of government dysfunction with y
Katy Reckdahl ◊ Curtis Wilkie
cial, geographical, and technological factors that ramifications far beyond the levees and bayous of southeastern Loui-
compounded the tragedy. siana.” a center for public integrity investigation
C
Comprehensive and balanced, City Adrift pro-
— Bryan Norcross, CBS News hurricane analyst and author
vides not only an assessment of what went wrong Hurricane Katrina was a stunning example of
of Hurricane Almanac 2006
in the Big Easy during and following Hurricane i complete civic breakdown. Beginning on August
Katrina, but also, more importantly, a road map t 29, 2005, the world watched in horror as—de-
“This book documents, with clarity and cogency, how virtually every
of what must be done to ensure that such a dev- y spite all the warnings and studies—every system
agency and institution, public and private, failed a city when the
astating tragedy is never repeated. that might have protected New Orleans failed.
threatened ‘big storm’ finally struck.”
Levees and canals buckled, pouring more than
about the center — John Seigenthaler, founder of the First Amendment A 100 billion gallons of floodwater into the city.
Center and former editor and publisher of The Tennessean Botched communications crippled rescue oper-
The Center for Public Integrity is a nonprofit,
d ations. Buses that might have evacuated thou-
nonpartisan Washington, D.C.–based organi-
“City Adrift is the most disturbing and engrossing book on the heart- sands never came. Hospitals lost power, and pa-
zation that does investigative reporting and re- City
breaking entrance of Hurricane Katrina into our nation’s mythology. r tients lay suffering in darkness and stifling heat.
search on public policy issues. Since 1990, the
At least 1,400 Louisianans died in Hurricane Ka-
Center has released more than 300 investiga- The reporting is infuriating and devastating in its power and terri- i
trina, more than half of them from New Orleans,
tive reports and fifteen books. It has received ble accuracy. The disaster did not have to happen, and this book pro- f
and hundreds of thousands more were displaced,
the prestigious George Polk Award and more vides further proof that the winds of Katrina will refuse to die down t Adrift
many still wondering if they will ever be able to
than twenty other awards from national organi- in our lifetime.”
return. How could all of this have happened in
zations, including PEN USA, the Society of Pro-
—Pat Conroy
twenty-first-century America? And could it all
fessional Journalists, and Investigative Reporters
happen again?
and Editors. Read the Center’s reporting online
To answer these questions, the Center for
at www.publicintegrity.org. NEW ORLEANS BEFORE
Public Integrity commissioned seven seasoned
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louisianaB asttona tReo uugne i7v0e8r03sity press uisiana State Jenni Bergal ◊ Sara Shipley Hiles ◊ Frank Koughan tiwnhhceoliurs defi eensa drPilniueglris tw.z oeTrrhk eP p rsritezedeli–lcawtre irdno tnshteeerr f Jaooifhlu ncro eMn otfcr tiQbhuue taloeidrvs-,
wwPwr.ilnstue.de idnu U/l.sSu.Apr.ess © 2007 Lo IìS<B(Ns9k7)8k-0(-=8b0d71c-i3e28f4< -5+ ^ -Ä - U -Ä-U> John McQuaid ◊ Jim Morris ◊ Katy Reckdahl ◊ Curtis Wilkie ees and the impending disaster; longtime Boston
Globe newsman Curtis Wilkie, a French Quarter
a center for public integrity investigation
City Adrift
City Adrift
NEW ORLEANS
BEFORE AND AFTER KATRINA
Jenni Bergal
Sara Shipley Hiles
Frank Koughan
John McQuaid
Jim Morris
Katy Reckdahl
Curtis Wilkie
Foreword by Dan Rather
a center for public integrity investigation
louisiana state university press
baton rouge
Published by Louisiana State University Press
Copyright © 2007 by The Center for Public Integrity
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
First printing
Designer: Laura Roubique Gleason
Typeface: Whitman
Printer and binder: Edwards Brothers, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
City adrift : New Orleans before and after Katrina / Jenni Bergal ... [et al.] ; fore-
word by Dan Rather ; a Center for Public Integrity Investigation.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-8071-3284-5 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Hurricane Katrina, 2005. 2. New Orleans (La.)—History—21st century. 3.
Disaster victims—Services for—Louisiana—New Orleans. 4. United States. Fed-
eral Emergency Management Agency. 5. Disaster relief—Louisiana—New Or-
leans. 6. Crisis management in government—Louisiana—New Orleans. I. Ber-
gal, Jenni. II. Center for Public Integrity.
HV636 2005 .N4 C58 2007
976.3’35064—dc22
2007005276
The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee
on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources. ∞
For the people of New Orleans,
who are struggling to rebuild their city and their lives
THE TEAM
editorial director
Diane Fancher
project manager
Jenni Bergal
researcher
Shelia Jackson
copy editors
Tonia E. Moore, Marcia Kramer
fact-checkers
Peter Smith, Robin Palmer, Alex Cohen
additional reporting
John Perry
Contents
Acknowledgments
ix
Foreword
Dan Rather
xi
one
The Storm
Jenni Bergal
1
two
The Environment
Sara Shipley Hiles
7
three
The Levees
John McQuaid
20
four
Emergency Preparedness
Jim Morris
42
five
Social Services
Katy Reckdahl
59
contents
six
Health Care
Jenni Bergal
71
seven
Politics
Curtis Wilkie
96
eight
Housing and Insurance
Frank Koughan
111
Epilogue
123
Notes
135
About the Authors
157
About the Center for Public Integrity
161
Index
163
Illustrations follow pages 31 and 85
viii
Acknowledgments
Within days of Hurricane Katrina’s assault on New Orleans, the Center
for Public Integrity recognized the tragic severity of the government’s
lack of preparation and the even more woeful response. We decided to
create Katrina Watch, a daily online roundup of news and government
contract information. Then we launched a major journalistic investiga-
tion into what happened in the battered city, resulting in this book.
At the Center, we believe strongly in the power of investigative re-
porting to educate the wider society. Only by digging into and under-
standing what happened before, during and after this disaster, could we
as a nation learn from our mistakes and perhaps prevent far worse from
happening in the future.
For help on this massive project, the Center turned to renowned in-
vestigative journalist Bill Moyers. Over his distinguished career at CBS
and PBS, Moyers has been honored with more than 30 Emmys as well as
the Gold Baton, broadcast journalism’s highest award, bestowed in the
name of Alfred I. duPont by Columbia University. Moyers is currently
president of the Schumann Center for Media and Democracy, an inde-
pendent foundation that supports programs in effective governance and
the environment.
Moyers had also been struck by the government’s dismal response
and was concerned that the poor and disadvantaged would suffer most
from Katrina’s wrath, which was indeed the case. He has been quoted
as saying, “the rich are getting richer, which arguably wouldn’t matter
if the rising tide lifted all boats. But the inequality gap is the widest it’s
been since 1929; the middle class is besieged and the working poor are
barely keeping their heads above water.” In New Orleans, that water
overwhelmed them.
We are enormously grateful to Bill Moyers and the Schumann Center
for providing the financial support to thoroughly investigate this disas-
ix
Description:Foreword by Dan RatherHurricane Katrina was a stunning example of complete civic breakdown. Beginning on August 29, 2005, the world watched in horror as--despite all the warnings and studies--every system that might have protected New Orleans failed. Levees and canals buckled, pouring more than 100
