They would back the fuel resupply truck up to the door, smash a hole in the wall, and run a line directly from the truck to the generator. The heavy death toll of the hurricane and the subsequent flooding it caused drew international attention, along with widespread and lasting criticism of how local, state and federal authorities handled the storm and its aftermath. Over the next two days the weather system gathered strength, earning the designation Tropical Storm Katrina, and it made landfall between Miami and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, as a category 1 hurricanea storm that, on the Saffir-Simpson scale, exhibits winds in the range of 7495 miles (119154 km) per hour. Updates? All of our employees had left town with the mandatory evacuation, he said. [9] Although 80 percent of the roof had been destroyed, ultimately, the damage to the roof proved not to be catastrophic, with the two repairable holes and the ripping off of most of the replaceable white rubber membrane on the outer layer. [32] National Guard officials put the body count at 6, which was reported by The Seattle Times on September 26. The hurricane and its aftermath claimed more than 1,800 lives, and it ranked as the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history. The men hooked up the line, fuel started flowing. Widespread criticism of the federal response to Katrina led to the resignation of Michael D. Brown, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and did lasting damage to the reputation of President Bush, who was nearing the end of a month-long vacation at his ranch in Crawford, Texas when Katrina struck. Although up to 1.7 million people were evacuated in Louisiana alone, hundreds of thousands of people were stranded during the hurricane. A FEMA employee told Thornton and Mouton they expected to find lots ofdead bodies, and had decided to bring them here, next to the place where those left in the city were fighting to live. NPR reports that before Hurricane Katrina made landfall, "Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, FEMA Director Michael Brown and other top Homeland Security officials received emails on their blackberries warning that Katrina posed a dire threat." To do that, they needed to keep it dry. By 7 p.m. everyone was inside and had been checked. The New Orleans Saints played four of their scheduled home games at LSU's Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, three at the Alamodome in San Antonio, and one at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Thorntons staff opened up the concourses, allowing people to walk around the arena, stretch their legs, find neighbors and friends who were there as well. Nagin had no solution. Hurricane Katrina had intruded on the last safe place. Because they had lost power and were relying on the generators, a lot of the buildings outlets had ceased to function, meaning many ofthe machines being used to keep the medical patients safe and alive were failing. Her escape out. They found the building in better shape than the Superdome fewer windows were blown out and the building, unlike the Superdome, had a roof. But finding the children was only part of the battle. The flooding destroyed New Orleans, the Nation's thirty-fifth largest city. There was water pouring in every crevice, Thornton said. The Louisiana Superdome was used as a "shelter of last resort" for those in New Orleans unable to evacuate from the city when Hurricane Katrina struck on August 29, 2005. A storm worth worrying about had entered the gulf. The Industrial Canal was later breached as well, flooding the neighborhood known as the Lower Ninth Ward. - Numerous failures of levees around New Orleans led to catastrophic flooding in the city. According to NBC News, the average age of victims was 69, and "just under half of all victims were 75 or older." One crisis had been averted. This is 40 or 50 feet up in the air. Inside the Superdome, things were descending further into hell. The men found a weak spot in the wall, a metal panel around head height, and punched a hole through it. She knew the destruction was bad, that water was everywhere. Many Katrina evacuees made it to Houston, Texas, where they were housed in the Astrodome and other shelters. They had no good options. And cars were overturned on Poydras Street.. The lights stayed on. A group of Amish student volunteers tour the Lower Ninth Ward on February 24, 2006. Thornton and Mouton climbed into a Humvee and drove toward the New Orleans Convention Center, dodging debris and navigating through a little standing water down Poydras Street. They were acquitted in 2007. The Data Center, a New Orleans-based research organization, estimated that the storm and subsequent flooding displaced more than 1 million people, leaving hundreds of thousands of people homeless. No electricity in New Orleans meant no air conditioning in the dome, filling it with a horrible, muggy heat. The outer ends of the hurricane also produced tornados, although they only damaged power lines and trees. We are like animals, Taffany Smith, 25, told the Los Angeles Times, while she gripped her 3-week-old son in her arms. At 1:30 in the morning, Denise Thornton walked with her group up to the helipad, out in the open air, and there it was. But after the levees broke, the city buses went underwater. Another 20,000 people gathered at the Convention Center for assistance, an evacuation site the federal government was unaware of until three days after the storm. [49][50] Grambling State University beat Southern University, 5035.[51]. Still, about 100,000 people were trapped in the city when the storm hit, and many took last-ditch refuge in the New Orleans Superdome and the Ernest J. Morial Convention Center as the storm approached. It was the most eerie sight Ill ever recall in my life. You need to go take a look. [2] Approximately 10,000 residents, along with about 150 National Guardsmen, sheltered in the Superdome anticipating Katrina's landfall. Is everyone here? . For now, theyd monitor. [36] A group of about 100 tourists were "smuggled" out from the Superdome to the New Orleans Arena next door, where 800 medical needs patients were being held. By 11 a.m. on August 30, Katrina had dwindled to heavy rainfall and winds of about 35 mph. On June 4, 2006, Pamela Mahogany was interviewed for her personal experience involving the events following Hurricane Katrina. The Black population of New Orleans has also fallen, since out of the 175,000 Black residents who left New Orleans, over 75,000 never returned. Though leaving in the light of day would be easier, it could also cause hysteria from those left behind in the Dome. The storm was coming. Deaths in the Superdome. [13], On August 31, it was announced that the Superdome evacuees would be moved to the Astrodome in Houston. Between 20,000 and 30,000 people in New Orleans were evacuated to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Cooper held about 1,000 families and was the city's largest housing project. The generator kept burning. Rather, the hurricane was named in accordance with the World Meteorological Organizations lists of hurricane names, which rotate every six years. Supplies were dangerously low, with one mother saying officials told her to reuse diapers by scraping them out when they got dirty. Some levees buttressing the Industrial Canal, the 17th Street Canal, and other areas were overtopped by the storm surge, and others were breached after these structures failed outright from the buildup of water pressure behind them. Nearly half the fatalities in Louisiana were people over the age of 74. Thornton felt the seconds ticking, each one more dangerous than the last. appreciated. In Louisiana, where more than 1,500 people are believed to have died due to Katrinas impact, drowning (40 percent), injury and trauma (25 percent), and heart conditions (11 percent) were the major causes of death, according to a report published in 2008 by the American Medical Association. By the time the storm strengthened to a category 3 hurricane, winds exceeded 115 miles per hour. They treated us like animals. They found a 50-foot fuel line and screwed it into the reserve tank of the generator, then ran it out to the truck, which was parked in several feet of water outside the exterior door. With maximum sustained winds of 175 mph, the storm killed a total of 1,833 people and left millions homeless in New Orleans and along the Gulf Coast of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. [citation needed] Residents who evacuated to the Superdome were warned to bring their own supplies with them. The hurricane and its aftermath claimed more than 1,800 lives, and it ranked as the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history. It was previously used in 1998 during Hurricane Georges and again in 2004 during Hurricane Ivan, on both occasions for less than two days at most. [8] Further damage included water damage to the electrical systems, and mold spread. In addition, a Bleacher Report article quotes Thornton saying "We're not a hospital. A few blocks away, the strobes inside Charity Hospital flashed. Thousands were looking for a place to go after leaving the Superdome shelter. Weve got about an hour of daylight. Nothing.. That afternoon, Mayor Nagin asked to meet with Thornton and Mouton. 25% were caused by injury and trauma and 11% were caused by heart conditions. The Superdome was gone. for victims from Orleans and St. Bernard Parish, where 86% of Katrina deaths occurred. The area east of the Industrial Canal was the first part of the city to flood; by the afternoon of August 29, some 20 percent of the city was underwater. 2023 A&E Television Networks, LLC. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. 70% of New Orleans occupied housing, 134,000 units, were damaged in the storm. It ran into the reserve tank. "Hurricane Katrina survivors in the Superdome." . Because of this shortsightedness, Hurricane Katrina was "the nation's first $200 billion disaster.". Sustained winds of 70 miles (115 km) per hour lashed the Florida peninsula, and rainfall totals of 5 inches (13 cm) were reported in some areas. Feces covered the walls of bathrooms. It's also believed that many of these deaths could have been preventable if emergency and hospital services hadn't been as disrupted as they were. The NOPD was gone. Light was fading fast. Daryl Thompson and his daughter Dejanae, 3 months old, wait with other displaced residents on a highway to catch a ride out of New Orleans on August 31, 2005. A woman walks with a dog in the Lower Ninth Ward on May 16, 2015. The National Guard had pulled back from many parts of the building. [4], On August 28, 2005, at 6 am, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin announced that the Superdome would be used as a public shelter. My instincts as a building manager are to evacuate, he said. To see all these downtown buildings completely shut down, Thornton said. Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast on August 29, 2005 as a Category 3 storm. The 2006 Sugar Bowl, which pitted the University of Georgia Bulldogs against the West Virginia University Mountaineers, was moved from the Superdome to the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. knock out power for about 1 million and cause $630 million of damage, Cities of the Underworld: Hurricane Katrina, about 100,000 people were trapped in the city when the storm hit, fourth highest of any hurricane in U.S. history, according to a report published in 2008 by the American Medical Association. Evacuees crowd the floor of the Astrodome in Houston on September 2, 2005. Satellite view of the Superdome showing the damaged roof with the New Orleans Arena to the right on August 30, 2005. The men sat in stunned silence. We took him to the terrace and said, Look. , As he saw the floodwaters rising around the stadium, the man broke down. When they got back to the Dome, they arrived to chaos. This is a national emergency. The population of New Orleans fell from 484,674 in April 2000 to 230,172 in July 2006, a decrease of over 50%. As far as natural disasters go, Hurricane Katrina was a bad one. Roughly 14,000 people were inside now. "Flooded offices meant records were underwater," and although there were some computerized records, according to then-Assistant Secretary of Children Welfare for Louisiana's Department of Social Services Marketa Walters, "New Orleans was notorious for not doing good data entry." There wasnt much more he could do. One of the worst disasters in U.S. history, Katrina caused an estimated $161 billion in damage. Soon after they arrived, officialsenacted contraflow, shutting down all roads leading in and opening up every lane out of the city. All sources confirm deaths, although the numbers of the dead vary. Hanging from her roof, a woman waits to be rescued by New Orleans Fire Department workers on August 29, 2005. That would be sorted out soon, Thornton thought, or maybe never at all. They guarded the office where Thornton and his team huddled, but that was about it. The tropical depression that became Hurricane Katrina formed over the Bahamas on August 23, 2005, and meteorologists were soon able to warn people in the Gulf Coast states that a major storm was. After passing over Florida, Katrina again weakened, and was reclassified as a tropical storm. The majority of all federal aid, approximately $75 billion of $120.5 billion, funded emergency relief operations. Thornton and Mouton were walking away from the meeting when they heard a loud bang. It was worse than they imagined.. But now, in the moonlight, she finally understood what had happened. Theyd evacuate the group in shifts later that night, they decided, taking them west to a helipad at the Lamar Dixon Expo Center in Gonzales, outside Baton Rouge. 23 Most of these pieces show the Superdome's population rising by at least 10,000, swelling to as many 25,000. [30][31], As of August 31, there had been three deaths in the Superdome: two elderly medical patients who were suffering from existing illness, and a man who committed suicide by jumping from the upper level seats. The population of the festering, battered dome had gone from 15,000 to 30,000 in a short time as helicopters and vehicles capable of cutting through the water picked up stranded citizens and brought them to the only place left to go in the entire city. The storm that would later become Hurricane Katrina surfaced on August 23, 2005, as a tropical depression over the Bahamas, approximately 350 miles (560 km) east of Miami. By the following afternoon Katrina had become one of the most powerful Atlantic storms on record, with winds in excess of 170 miles (275 km) per hour. Thornton and Mouton unleashed days worth of frustration. On the morning of August 29, the storm made landfall as a category 4 hurricane at Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, approximately 45 miles (70 km) southeast of New Orleans. Families torn apart by the storm wouldnt re-connect for months in some cases. [42] Their first "home" game was played on September 19, 2005 against the New York Giants at Giants Stadium, which resulted in a 2710 loss. [citation needed] The building's engineering study was underway as Hurricane Katrina approached and was put on hold. Food rotted inside the hundreds of unpowered refrigerators and freezers spread throughout the building. New homes stand along the rebuilt Industrial Canal levee on May 16, 2015. Omissions? You have to fight for your life. People wade through high water in front of the Superdome in New Orleans on August 30, 2005. "[3], The Superdome was built to withstand most natural catastrophes. The buildings air conditioning system would no longer run, nor would the refrigeration system keeping massive amounts of food from spoiling. Initially, the Superdome was described as a "lawless, depraved, and chaotic" place, with reports of numerous murders. But it worked. Most of the tragedies associated with Hurricane Katrina could have been avoided, but due to a variety of reasons, the hurricane quickly became one of the worst disasters to ever occur in the United States. Over the next several days the Domewould sink into chaos. And as Rob Nixon notes in "Slow Violence, Neoliberalism, and Environmental Picaresque," "Discrimination predates disaster: in failures to maintain protective structures, failures at pre-emergency hazard mitigation, failures to maintain infrastructure, failures to organize evacuation plans for those who lack private transport, all of which make the poor and racial minorities disproportionately vulnerable to catastrophe." With the failure of the air conditioning, temperatures inside the Superdome reached the high 90s, with heavy humidity. By then it was too late for Thornton to call in the staff hed need to keep it running. FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. Local residents gathering outside of the Superdome on September 2, 2005. After levees and flood walls protecting New Orleans failed, much of the city was underwater. Thornton remembers Compass telling him: Thats why I wanted to come over here and tell you so that you can get your families out.Thornton says Compass then told him he was taking his men out of the Superdome, before hugging him and saying he enjoyed working with him all these years. The emergency generator later failed, and engineers had to protect the backup generator from floodwaters by creating a hole in a wall and installing a new fuel line. Thats been the history. He started bawling. And I expect they will.". The owners, Salvador and Mabel Mangano, ended up facing the only criminal charges directly related to Hurricane Katrina, as they were charged with negligent homicide due to their refusal to evacuate their residents. They worked furiously. At 5 a.m. on August 29, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which administered the levees, received a report that water had broken through the concrete flood wall between the 17th Street Canal and the city. It continued on a course to the northeast, crossing the Mississippi Sound and making a second landfall later that morning near the mouth of the Pearl River. The men had little time to celebrate though water was still coming in under the door. [28] Instead, the State of Louisiana and the operator of the dome, SMG, chose to repair and renovate the dome beginning in early 2006. His assailant hit him with a metal rod taken from a cot. Some of those who left later returned, and by 2020 the population reached just over 390,000, or about 80 percent of its pre-Katrina population. WATCH:I Was There: Hurricane Katrina Superdome Survivor. Photo credit: AP Photo/Eric Gay. This is not normal.. For detailed information on the effect on Tulane, see, Effect of Hurricane Katrina on the Louisiana Superdome, Effects of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, "Effect of Hurricane Katrina on the Louisiana Superdome", Learn how and when to remove this template message, Effect of Hurricane Katrina on the New Orleans Saints, Effect of Hurricane Katrina on Tulane University, Effect of Hurricane Katrina on the New Orleans Hornets, "How New Orleans' Evacuation Plan Fell Apart", "Hurricane Katrina as Seen Through the Eyes of the Saints' Biggest Fans", "At least 10,000 find refuge at the Superdome", "Governor: Evac Superdome, Rescue Centers", "Trapped in the Superdome: Refuge becomes a hellhole", "Photo in the News: Hurricane Shreds Superdome Roof", "NFL 2005: Homeless Saints face long road in 2005", "Almost 10 years after Katrina, Michael Brown's still out to lunch: Jarvis DeBerry", "Refuge of last resort: Five days inside the Superdome for Hurricane Katrina", "From Superdome to Astrodome: Katrina's refugees will be moved to Houston in bus convoy", "Superdome evacuation disrupted after shots fired", "10 Years Since Katrina: When The Astrodome Was A Mass Shelter", "Astrodome to become new home for storm refugees", "Astrodome at capacity, but buses with evacuees keep coming", "Neighbouring states struggle to cope with influx of people", "Dome closed for a year, could be scrapped", "NFL, at Saints' urging, kicks in $20 million for dome repairs", "Superdome returns with glitz, glamor and Monday night football", "Katrina Takes a Toll on Truth, News Accuracy", "Reports of anarchy at Superdome overstated", "Higher Death Toll Seen; Police Ordered to Stop Looters", "7 facts about Hurricane Katrina that show just how incompetent the government response was", "Four years on, Katrina remains cursed by rumour, cliche, lies and racism", "Saints' home games: 4 at LSU, 3 in Alamodome", "Errors cost Saints early, often in poor excuse for 'home' opener", "32nd annual Bayou Classic moved to Houston", "SOUTHERN JAGUARS FALL 50-35 TO GRAMBLING STATE IN BAYOU CLASSIC XXXII", Temporary home venues in 2005 due to Hurricane Katrina, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Effect_of_Hurricane_Katrina_on_the_Louisiana_Superdome&oldid=1113156691, Articles needing additional references from October 2014, All articles needing additional references, Wikipedia introduction cleanup from February 2022, Articles covered by WikiProject Wikify from February 2022, All articles covered by WikiProject Wikify, Articles with unsourced statements from January 2016, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 30 September 2022, at 02:13. [37] This was done as covertly as possible so as to not cause rioting or charges of favoritism. At its height as a category 5 hurricane over the Gulf of Mexico, Katrinas wind speeds exceeded 170 miles per hour. WATCH: Cities of the Underworld: Hurricane Katrina on HISTORY Vault. Gunfire has ricocheted down the corridors. Back in 2005, Nagin went on the Today Show and said, "it wouldn't be unreasonable to have 10,000" deaths from Hurricane Katrina. This was it. According to ABC News, it was claimed that "the levee breaches could not have been foreseen" and that the government had little warning before the hurricane. A helicopter rescues a family from a rooftop on September 1, 2005. Despite the strength of Hurricane Katrina, there was little about the storm that made it intrinsically deadly. [48] Overall, the team used six different stadiums for their six home games, including Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Cajun Field in Lafayette, Joe Aillet Stadium in Ruston, Malone Stadium in Monroe, and LaddPeebles Stadium in Mobile, Alabama.