I think the American Red Cross already had shelters and was already feeding people. You'll receive access to exclusive information and early alerts about our documentaries and investigations. A hurricane warning is issued for north central Gulf Coast including New Orleans. Watch it: To learn about questionable police shootings and cover-ups in Katrinas wake. President Bush's Sept. 15th address to the nation. 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. 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. Why haven't the bosses decided to move the people out?' In the decade since Katrina, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) which came under harsh criticism for its response to the storm says it has improved its preparedness for future natural disasters. Around this time 17 years ago, Hurricane Katrina bore down on New . . For my part, I am still going out into the streets every day to talk to people about their experiencesI call it getting phyllisophical. Other people call me the Dr. Phil of the streets. Believing the authorities abandoned her after the storm, she wonders why they would care about her now. special video+discussion+teacher's guide+readings & links A scene from 2006s 'When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts' (Photo: Everett Collection) This week marks a . 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. We need you to take over logistics, distribution of commodities, etc. In the 2005 documentary "In His Own Words: Brian Williams on Hurricane Katrina," Williams indicated that he wasn't a witness to the suicide. New Orleans residents are still trapped by the floodwaters, and dispatchers receive about 1,000 emergency phone calls from people needing to be rescued. People can say that writing a check doesnt mean anything, but honey, it does. I immediately hung up the phone, called my city attorney because they had always advised that you can't do a mandatory evacuation. Explore FRONTLINEs collected and ongoing reporting on Russia's war on Ukraine. In the six weeks since the Web site has been up, with almost no publicity, it has received 42 reports of sexual assaults. 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. By the end of the day it is 335 miles from the mouth of the Mississippi River. 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. What happened next was more than just a natural disaster especially in New Orleans, where the . ', So they went into another section of the plane, had a meeting. But by late morning, when FEMA director Michael Brown arrives in Baton Rouge, water is already coming over levees in the 9th Ward and there are reports of breaks in the Industrial Canal and 17th Street Canal levees. I probably should have asked sooner. "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. [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.]. We'd sent them all the information they needed. Where is food? If you do not want us and our partners to use cookies and personal data for these additional purposes, click 'Reject all'. HBO. Her husband [Raymond Blanco] is there. 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. and catcalls of 'What took you so long?,' a National Guard convoy packed with food, water and medicine rolled through axle-deep floodwaters Friday into what remained of New Orleans and descended into a maelstrom of fires and floating corpses. We began search-and-rescue missions using local state resources, waiting for the federal cavalry to arrive and believing that it would be here in 48 to 60 hours. That she could turn this 15 minutes of footage into an Oscar-nominated documentaryIm amazed by it. "We're all looking at each other like, 'Why aren't we getting orders to move on this? There is a documentary about . Tonight, the Oscar-nominated Trouble the Watera documentary by filmmakers Tia Lessin and Carl Deal, premieres on HBO. Mayor, we had a good meeting. Law-enforcement authorities dismissed early reports of widespread rapes in New Orleans during the lawless days following Hurricane Katrina. And you need to order mandatory evacuation. I've heard some terrible stories since that the stuff wasn't getting there. 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." Inside the four triage tents, medical personnel tended to people who had gone for days without their medication. By the end of the day, it is upgraded to Tropical Storm Katrina, with 50 mph maximum sustained winds. 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 . Ten years ago this Saturday, Hurricane Katrina made landfall on the Gulf Coast. And we said, "Plan your route carefully. ", Leo Bosner, FEMA watch officer: FEMA Situation Update: About 16,000 people . Later, his charred remains were discovered on the banks of the Mississippi River, inside a car that had apparently been set on fire. Power outages will last for weeks water shortages will make human suffering incredible by modern standards.". Watch it: To understand what went wrong in the governments response to Katrina. 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. Buses have started evacuating people at the Superdome, but at the Convention Center thousands are still waiting and conditions continue to deteriorate there. Some 11,000 National Guardsmen are now on duty in Louisiana and increased security begins to have an effect on lawlessness in New Orleans, although some violence continues. Thats why films like Trouble the Water are so important, and why its great that its making it to a wide audience via HBO. No, they weren't. 11.1.2005. She says as she watched New Orleans descend into chaos after Katrina, she knew what would happen. ", "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!' Visit us at HISTORY.com for more info. But we need something really big, like a hospital, that shows where the $25 billion in recovery money is going. will never be the same. so you had a very dynamic situation.". And I forget whether it was on Saturday or Sunday, I told my staff that I was sick to my stomach because I could see that some things weren't looking quite right. There is a belief that the city has avoided a direct hit. The Convention Center becomes a destination for walk-in refugees seeking evacuation. "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. And the impression given in those four days is basically indelible. Hurricane Katrina: Caught on Camera Over three days in August 2005, a cataclysmic storm brought flooding and disaster to the Gulf Coast of America, leaving over 1,800 people dead in Louisiana and Mississippi. "We'd heard the story of a man killing himself, falling . But problems persist. On Sept. 15, 2005, in an address to the nation, President Bush declares, "It is now clear that a challenge on this scale requires greater federal authority and a broader role for the armed forces -- the institution of our government most capable of massive logistical operations on a moment's notice.". 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. President Bush flies over the area on his way back to Washington. Producer Martin Smith: So, although you said that, you didn't feel that way at that time? By Chris Edwards. 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. 5 Must-See Documentaries About Hurricane Katrina. Michael Ainsworth/The Dallas Morning News/epa/Corbis. President Bush arrives in New Orleans and holds a meeting on Air Force One with federal and local officials. Virtually all communication systems are out. 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. 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." Phone service and electricity to some 770,000 people in the area is cut off. Sept. 27, 2005, 12:58 PM PDT / Source: The Associated Press. 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. The storm initially formed as a tropical depression southeast of the Bahamas on August 23. Flooding grows as water surges over levee breaks from Lake Ponchartrain; the 9th Ward is almost entirely submerged. Exclusive: A Former MPD Lieutenant Reported Another Cop. '", Michael Brown, FEMA director: 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. Around this time 17 years ago, Hurricane Katrina bore down on New Orleans, and . 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 . 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. 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. ", Leo Bosner, FEMA watch officer: Around this time 17 years ago, Hurricane Katrina bore down on New Orleans, and permanently . There's no question.". ". Patrice Taddonio. Driving in from the popular suburb of Metairie, it's the first building you pass. But for five days in the midst of the storm, about 20,000 of these . And that was that.". Ms. Blanco, she left and walked out. "As I have said, I think that one of the biggest mistakes that I made as the FEMA director during Katrina was not immediately turning to the military and saying: 'We have been overwhelmed. One of the victims is Ms. Lewis, a 46-year-old home health-care worker from New Orleans East, who asked that her first name not be used. New Orleans, Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina, as seen in the new documentary Katrina Babies. They were finally able to leave the city on Saturday. 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. First categorized as a tropical storm, Katrina hit New Orleans, flattening buildings, breaking levees, and flooding the city with terrifying 125 mph winds. Ultimately, more than 300 soldiers would be trapped inside their own headquarters. Note: The Earlier Warnings -- In 2001, FEMA identified the three most likely disasters facing the U.S.: an earthquake in California, a hurricane in New Orleans and a terrorist attack in New York City. "I realized how serious things were on Sunday. And he was the first guy that told us about the amount of devastation and the levee breaches. But I am happy to help, even if it takes me an extra two hours at the grocery store. The following year, during an interview with Tom Brokaw at Columbia Journalism School, Williams said, "We watched, all of us watched . hide caption. Just last week, a federal court ordered a new trial for five officers convicted of the Danziger Bridge shootings. The Times-Picayune reports that Jefferson Parish residents are allowed to return to the area to inspect the damage to their homes.The breach in the 17th Street Canal is finally repaired, and engineers continue to work on other levee breaks. Around this time 17 years ago, Hurricane Katrina bore down on New Orleans, and permanently changed life for thousands of people across the country. A hurricane warning is issued for north central Gulf . "They didn't have no food. And then finally I just stopped and said: 'Excuse me, but time is of the essence. I've got to know. The hurricane and its aftermath claimed more than 1,800 lives, and it ranked as the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history. 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. 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. With all due respect, Mr. President, if you and the governor don't get on the same page, this event is going to continue to spiral down, and it's going to be a black eye on everybody -- federal, state and local.' They were very civil and very cordial. With camera lenses and lights abounding, the . He escaped the chaotic shelter a few days later with a truckload of people and video documentation of history.Check out exclusive HISTORY content:Website - http://www.history.com?cmpid=Social_YouTube_HistHomeTwitter - https://twitter.com/history/postsFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/HistoryHISTORY, now reaching more than 98 million homes, is the leading destination for award-winning original series and specials that connect viewers with history in an informative, immersive, and entertaining manner across all platforms. Kathleen Blanco, governor of Louisiana: Experts say it was the perfect environment to commit a crime, and the worst environment to report a crime. Find out more about how we use your personal data in our privacy policy and cookie policy. It was late August, and some of the staff of the NREMT and I were attending the combined NAEMT conference and EMS Expo in New . And I said [to the president], "Here's my piece of paper. / 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. I think we both should have asked sooner.". It is 45 miles northwest of Florida Keys. Around 6 a.m., Category 4 Hurricane Katrina strikes the Gulf Coast with 145 mph maximum sustained winds. On August 28, 2005, at 6 am, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin announced that the Superdome would be used as a public shelter. New Orleans, Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina, as seen in the new documentary Katrina Babies. 1. Plus, if you lived in a FEMA trailer for three years like I did, the last thing you want to do is go to a trailer for medical care. 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. Then we kind of figure out ways that we could coordinate. 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. Officers were walking off the job by the dozens. They didn't have water. HBO. Here's a [powerful] hurricane. Reports stream in from people needing rescue. The city's buses have been positioned around the city in locations that have never been flooded. "The police was stressed out themselves," Lewis says. New Orleans's flood-protection system was improved by increasing in the heights of earthen berms and upgrading floodwalls and floodgates. She made a report to a local sheriff's office; it has not yet passed the report on to the New Orleans police. ". I had all the police, the firefighters in rescue mode, so the looting thing started to rear its head. Katrina anniversary: Inside the Superdome during Katrina. I gave people clues on how to pack. When Hurricane Katrina forced New Orleans poet Shelton Alexander to evacuate his home, he took his truck and video camera to the Superdome. In September 2006, the New Orleans Saints marched into the Superdome for their first game since Hurricane Katrina, providing the spark for a revival. FRONTLINE home+WGBH+PBS, FRONTLINE is a registered trademark of wgbh educational foundation. Met in the little office at the Super Dome where the heliport is. Newly rescued people are still being brought to the Superdome. Lewis says she was raped on Monday, Aug. 29, the day of the storm. I said, 'OK, great.' ', We immediately did turn to the military and mission-assigned them to start doing airlifts, start bringing things in. These defenses held for Hurricane Ida, a category 4 storm, in August 2021. Several thousand National Guard troops start reaching the thousands of evacuees at the Convention Center and elsewhere. Looting becomes more widespread; hotels begin turning out guests. Glover, you dont know me, but Im Phyllis, and I was in another Katrina documentary and I have to see this film! He grabbed onto me and I wouldnt let go until I got a seat insidethats the way I am. FEMA National Situation Update: And why it wasnt stopped sooner. Producer Martin Smith: So we're just eating sandwiches and making nice while people are stranded on rooftops? I said, 'All of us are going to leave right now, and they're going to work this out right now. His death came nearly two years to the day after his wifes passing. "Some bad things happened, you know. Pack as though you're going on a camping trip. Walter Maestri, Jefferson Parish emergency manager: Richard Falkenrath, Homeland Security Adviser (2001-2004): In Fight Against ISIS, a Lose-Lose Scenario Poses Challenge for West. I've never seen a hurricane like this in my 33-year career. "At that stage, we had mission-assigned the Department of Defense to start giving us everything they could in terms of air-lift capability. 1) At least 1,800 people died due to Hurricane Katrina. On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast, causing catastrophic flooding as numerous levees failed around New Orleans. His goal: To make it possible for his wife of 65 years, Lydia who had gone to live with one of their nine children in Wisconsin after Katrina to return home. "I'm telling you the number of reported rapes we had.". Phyllis Montana-LeBlancthe breakout star of Spike Lees When the Levees Broke documentary and author of Not Just the Levees Broke: My Story During and After Katrina (and a consultant on David Simons new post-Katrina HBO drama)writes below about why viewers should still care about New Orleans four years later, and why Trouble the Water just may be the wakeup call we need. That's where Katrina Babies comes in. I n the HBO documentary Katrina Babies, young teen Meisha Williams recollects her experience surviving the 2005 hurricane that displaced approximately 200,000 New Orleans residents. She says she tried to report the assault at the time, but authorities weren't listening. She is at work on her next memoir, No More Wire Hangers, about domestic abuse in teenage relationships. 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. In October 2005, The Historic New Orleans Collection initiated Through Hell and High Water: Katrina's First Responders Oral History Project, partnering with local, state, and federal agencies to document their experiences. Left to right: Mayor Ray Nagin, President Bush, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, FEMA Director Michael Brown, Gov. FRONTLINE is a registered trademark of WGBH Educational Foundation. Walter Maestri, Jefferson Parish emergency manager: The interviews done as part of this project reflect the disaster's painful, chaotic, and murky aftermath. It took me too long and I worked too hard to build what I had here.. And I think thats whats going to help us rebuild the mosttalking about what happened and how we can move onand why documentaries like Trouble the Water are still so relevant. By. Dave Cohen was one of the few reporters to stay in New Orleans as Katrina bore down on the city, and continued broadcasting as the . It was there, she says, that an unknown man with a handgun sexually assaulted her. The Louisiana Superdome, once a mighty testament to architecture and ingenuity, became the biggest storm shelter in New Orleans the day before Katrina's arrival Monday. Victims of Hurricane Katrina fight through the crowd as they line up for buses to evacuate the Superdome and New Orleans, Sept. 1, 2005. If we arent talking about what we still need, how can we be sure people wont forget?. Rentals include 30 days to start watching this video and 48 hours to finish once started. Abandoned cars remain on Interstate 10 in front of the heavily damaged Superdome September 14, 2005 in New Orleans, Louisiana. 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. Interstate 10 is shut down with damage to 40 percent of its Twin Span Bridge over Lake Ponchartrain. By the end of the day, the projected storm surge is 18 to 22 feet, locally as high as 28 feet. Required fields are marked *. "I went into New Orleans and stood beside Mayor Nagin and emphasized the need to leave. FEMA was doing what it's supposed to be doing. Note: In the last hours before Katrina made landfall, dozens of copies of the Hurricane Pam report are distributed to emergency planners. "[On Air Force One] we gave the president a briefing on everything that had gone on. " After Katrina passed, we thought we're pretty much out of the woods. And [FEMA Director] Michael Brown was with me at that time. At least 1,800 lives were lost in Hurricane Katrina, often considered one of the worst hurricanes in US history. 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." A suicide did occur inside the Superdome, . The Most Risky Job Ever. Reporting on ISIS in Afghanistan. On that first night after the storm, the city had lost power, and she was sleeping in a dark hallway, trying to catch a breeze. Ten years ago this week, Hurricane Katrina made landfall on the Gulf Coast and generated a huge disaster. By the end of the day, there are 30,000 people at the Superdome. They were making suggestions about we need to do this and that. Top subscription boxes right to your door, 1996-2023, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. 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. Another group, Witness Justice, a Maryland-based non-profit that assists victims of violent crimes, claims to have received 156 reports of post-Katrina violent crimes; about a third of those involved sexual assaults. And that is unacceptable. The police department -- reeling from desertions, flooding and the immensity of the disaster -- was in a survival mode itself. Here's all these thousands of people that don't have any way to get out of the city. And he had flown in a helicopter. Police Chief Eddie Compass admitted even his own officers had taken food and water from stores. The Times-Picayune reports that 4,600 active duty troops under the command of Gen. Russel Honor arrive in New Orleans. Refuge of last resort: Five days inside the Superdome for Hurricane Katrina. 11:09. And I said, "We're doing one in the morning.". Conditions are deteriorating with bathrooms overflowing, no power for air conditioning and little food and water. "I at least wanted a mandatory evacuation of New Orleans and the surrounding parishes [on Saturday]. "[Michael] Brown I did not see the first couple of days. So many people have Katrina Fatigue, as I like to call itthe hurricane is four years out, and I applaud anything that brings another testimony into the public conversation; that shows people how bad it was, and how bad it still is. Kathleen Blanco: And Michael Brown was there listening. It was called "Hurricane Pam" and the exercise was conducted with state and local emergency managers. Rapid Transit Authority buses pick up citizens and bring them to the Superdome, where the Louisiana National Guard has stocked enough MREs to feed 15,000 people for three days. 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. And he passes, literally, hundreds of school buses lined up to come and get these folks. Michael Brown, FEMA director: And I wanted to cut to the chase because I knew what the real issue was. We can only deal with what we know.". As of Nov. 22, 2005, more than 900 people are known to have died in New Orleans. ", Gov. "Drug and alcohol use is another contributing factor, and no police presence to prevent them from doing whatever they wanted to, to whomever they wanted to.". ", Richard Falkenrath, Homeland Security Adviser (2001-2004): U.S. Cities and States Are Suing Big Oil Over Climate Change. Looting breaks out in parts of the city. Evacuating hospitals is a top priority: Patients and staff are stranded and supplies and power are dwindling. The Times-Picayune reports the Convention Center evacuees are still being loaded onto buses and evacuated and search-and-rescue operations continue. She insists other women were raped in the same apartment building over the next four nights, but her claim could not be checked out. Henry Glover was last seen alive in the backseat of a white Chevy Malibu on Sept. 2, 2005, days after Katrina hit. 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. I said, 'We need to do this.' And there seems to be this dance about who has ultimate authority. I began to believe that no buses had been ordered. Half of telephone service is back. Through their world-class scientists, photographers, journalists, and filmmakers, Nat Geo gets you closer to the stories that matter and past the edge of what's possible.Get More National Geographic:Official Site: http://bit.ly/NatGeoOfficialSiteFacebook: http://bit.ly/FBNatGeoTwitter: http://bit.ly/NatGeoTwitterInstagram: http://bit.ly/NatGeoInstaHurricane Katrina Day by Day | National Geographichttps://youtu.be/HbJaMWw4-2QNational Geographichttps://www.youtube.com/natgeo Katrina Cop in the Superdome. But they're designed for short hauls.". Where is all the things that we need to get out of here?"' Because of the ensuing . As a shocking New Orleans documentary airs on HBO tonight, Phyllis Montana-LeBlancbestselling author and gutsy survivorexplains why the city is still drowning. 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 .