Hannah Cho
Professor Louis Lucca
HUC120. 2614
October 30, 2010
How Hurricane Katrina Influenced other Natural Disasters.
Forming over the Bahamas on August 23, 2005, crossing Southern Florida and continuing its monstrous damage throughout the Gulf of Mexico and into Southeast Louisiana. Winds gusted to a maximum of 175 mph, enough force to haul down homes as well as push cars through the streets like tiny toys and taking about 1,836 innocent lives. Rain and winds caused the massive levees of New Orleans, Louisiana to fail. This was recognized as one of the deadliest natural disasters that Mother Nature handed to us in the history of the United States of America, known as Hurricane Katrina. Not only did this affect those that were in its path but also altered the history of the mass media by loss of means of communication, media not being well equipped to handle the coverage and affecting journalists in the mist of the storm both mentally and physically. This also impacted a historical piece of the mass media by creating special charity events, concerts and other things of that nature that were televised and heard on almost every local radio station as well as the World Wide Web, setting a standard for charity events for other devastating natural disasters like the earthquake in Haiti.
Throughout history we can say that the public were informed about disasters, science and climate related issues through the use of newspapers, television and radio broadcasts. This type of communication allows the public to view and see personally through the eyes of reporters of the difficult stories that are covered in time. Before instruments that were able to monitor storms, earthquakes and other such natural disasters, the media were unable to reach out to the ones affected before the catastrophe can occur. Because technology has evolved and we now know that we are able to predict when a deadly disaster may happen through the use of certain devices, in order to be able to warn and secure those who are to be hard hit, the media can now save lives. But we do know that sometimes these devices can fail and may not be as accurate as they seem. For hurricane Katrina we can confirm that meteorologists knew about the build up of this hurricane while it was constructing itself on August 23. This era changed how the mass media viewed these warnings and to get the message across in order to be able to evacuate the communities to better secure areas of the states. This seven day disaster ripped through parts of the U.S like a scissor tearing through paper.
Communication is the key for the source of the mass media to provide those around us with information on what is occurring. During hurricane Katrina landlines and cell phone lines were wiped out, making it difficult to reach loved ones or any persons that were in the middle of the storm. The media was not able to reach or contact any outside coverage due to the heavy winds and rain that destroyed satellite activity. Calling for help was a useless form of survival, due to the lack of GPS devices that would be able to locate where victims were. As history will tell, going back to the year 1900, the Galveston Hurricane, which was a category 4 (strong winds), estimated to about 8,000 deaths. The media during the early 1900’s were not able to communicate to those in the area about a storm like the Galveston Hurricane to the public before it hit because of the lack of technology. The media was able to only give the public the after math of the deadly catastrophe which was horrific. As the world progressed scientists worked vigorously in figuring out a way to predict hurricanes. One instrument they were able to use is known as a barometer. It measures the amount of pressure in the air. Because a hurricane is formed by warm air flow into an area of low pressure, this causes and increase in pressure which allows the barometer to predict that a storm is on its way. The amount of moisture in the air is another way to identify a storm through the use of the Hygrometer. Massive winds that give rise to the Hurricanes are a warning that a disaster of a large scale may occur through the use of an Anemometer which measures wind speed. All of these factors and instruments allow meteorologists who work with the media to communicate and spread the warning of a hurricane to the public at a particular time around a specific diameter. During Katrina many were not prepared for such disaster because they couldn’t get in contact with any emergency workers without any communication. People were stranded at home or other neighbor’s house, but when rescue workers have arrived, people communicated by writing notes and putting it inside bottles and dropping it on the floor so that others will be able to read it. After officials and the U.S government heard about the issue of the crisis with the communication, they tried to restore the problem by fixing the satellites. These satellites were a turning point in the history of media because we are able to see live views of the events unfolding right before our eyes.
The Mass Media is one place we turn to for elaboration and detailed information regarding an event. Without being well equipped to handle a situation like a hurricane it may cause the group of individuals that we turn to for such details, to become victims themselves of the catastrophe. Today the media is well aware of how to deal with a situation like a hurricane but during Katrina many were victims themselves while covering the major story. The failed radio and television signals did not help the situation. As Hurricane Katrina ended many reports were being filed that looting and rapes were occurring. Those who had homes flooded were not able to reach for food and fresh water. Rescue missions were not sent out right away to help save lives. Our government was criticized for reacting to this catastrophe with urgent needs. As PBS stated on its website in September 29,2005 “The media's coverage of Hurricane Katrina's aftermath has been criticized as some news reports of rapes and murders in parts of New Orleans appear to be unfounded.” This was false information that was thrown out by law enforcements who allegedly claimed that were occurring after the disaster. Even the Mayor of New Orleans, Ray Nagin stated “They have people standing out there, have been in that frickin' Superdome for five days watching hooligans killing people, raping people.” The superdome was the only place to turn to for protection for the victims. The media instead of reporting these accusations should have been trying to figure out a way to help these people survive. These types of messages sent by the media were headlines all throughout history. People seem to enjoy reading the negatives of a tragedy instead of realizing the positive actions that should be taking place to assist those in need. The media did there part by informing those in the hard hit areas to evacuate but many did not have the strength to leave their belongings behind. Those that were able to receive the warnings given out by the mass media should be thankful that the technology is here to help them because fifty or sixty years ago this could have resulted in many more deaths than there were. The restored satellites were the only means for communication at the time for media coverage.
Journalists and news reporters are usually prepared for such situations today in dealing with loss or any heartbreaking event. This can also play a role in affecting their mental and physical state. Being up close and witnessing the deaths of many New Orleans residents can cause a mental breakdown for those covering the story. Reporters working for the media during wars in the history of the United States required them to go in the battle field with the marines. This caused many of them to perish with the soldiers or traumatized them due to the witnessing of torture by use of man made weapons. Today the modification that the media made was through the use of tiny cameras which allow us to see footages of soldiers in battle. During Katrina a famous video of Geraldo Rivera, from a major media source (Fox News), in the Superdome showed how much chaos there was during the time of Katrina. The people in and around the Superdome were mad at the government for not aiding the helpless victims in which Geraldo Rivera showed to the world. He helped in changing the media by focusing on the victims of the disaster so that others can perceive the devastating toll that was taken on the community rather than the looting that was occurring. Many residents had no other choice but to loot abandoned stores for food and fresh water for themselves as well as loved ones. The slow response by our government caused this type of action to take place because there was no other means of survival without the essentials of life, which includes food and clean drinking water.
A different perspective about the United States media was reported on BBC news during September of 2005 by Matt Wells in which the article stated “Has Katrina Saved the US media?” He explained the involvement of the government and media to prove to the nation as well as the world about the incompetent Bush administration. The voices of Katrina were heard from coast to coast through the media which presented the horrific devastation as many struggled to survive without food and shelter for days. “Government has been thrown into disrepute, and many Americans have realized, for the first time, that the collapsed, rotten flood defenses of New Orleans are a symbol of failed infrastructure across the nation. Blaming the state and city officials, as the president is already trying to do over Katrina, will not wash.” as stated by Matt Wells who also said “People were still trapped, hungry and dying on his watch, less than a mile away. Black America will not forget the government failures, nor will the Gulf Coast region.” These statements provided in the article show how the Bush administration failed the people of New Orleans, concerned citizens and the nation as a whole. This demonstrated how Hurricane Katrina assisted in change of the media by providing opinions of journalists on behalf of the people, like Matt Wells of BBC News. Opinions towards the government were mostly prohibited by the media because they did not want others to believe that our country has failed us. Today those who work in the mass media share and express their feelings with the help of our constitution which gives us the freedom of speech.
Providing and assisting disaster victims with charity and necessary everyday essentials were provided for Hurricane Katrina victims by organizations like the American Red Cross as well as FEMA who volunteer to raise money in donation efforts. This is due to the nature of the mass media which was involved to present the damage that occurred during late August of 2005. This helped change the mass media by allowing them to share with the rest of the world on how Mother Nature can destroy any part of the globe and how we need to help the human race by aiding them with supplies, cash as well as canned foods. It was reported in an article in SFGATE, home of the San Francisco Chronicle written by Patricia Yollin, that the Red Cross sent many volunteers to hard hit areas of Katrina, in its largest relief effort in 124 years. FEMA, a well known organization that sought out mainly cash from contributors willing to aid the victims, urgently released its message through the media by stating in its website www.Fema.gov, “Cash donations are especially helpful to victims,”…. “They allow volunteer agencies to issue cash vouchers to victims so they can meet their needs. Cash donations also allow agencies to avoid the labor-intensive need to store, sort, pack and distribute donated goods. Donated money prevents, too, the prohibitive cost of air or sea transportation that donated goods require.” The mass media today was now able to get important messages across in ways to aid the disaster relief efforts so that in the future we can all come together and apply what we have for those that need our help. Radio stations have also assisted in getting people to contribute by providing special hotlines that would take donations from listeners across the nation. This gave way to new sought out methods to make a difference in saving lives.
We saw how the mass media was prepared after Hurricane Katrina when a disastrous earthquake shook the nation of Haiti. On January 12, a 7.0 on the Richter scale measured the Earthquake that took down buildings, homes and bridges across Haiti. The media now had evolved to comprehend the tragedy and aided without hesitation to help bring those that survived food, shelter as well as medical care. The organizations were able to get many donations due to the past tragic events like Katrina that helped the victims. Many more charities and events were pushed across the mass media through television sets, radio broadcasts and the World Wide Web.
Mass media has changed and progressed to better the world with its citizens living in it. The history of the mass media was altered through a natural disaster like Hurricane Katrina by better providing the concerned society with detailed accounts of live events through technology and preparing its journalists for horrific events that was to be unfolded. Media has developed to aid the victims by airing organizations that were seeking donations from kind hearted people of the world. The World Wide Web allowed nations who did not have access to television to see and read about first hand accounts from journalists and other mass media employers about the disaster. We were able to see the chaos and struggle for survival by people who were unprepared for such an event through the eyes of the media.
Bibliography
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