Hurricane Katrina

===Government response===
[[File:Katrina x large.png|right|thumb|upright=1.35|Chart showing some common uses of the FEMA marking system in [[New Orleans]] after Hurricane Katrina]]
[[File:BUSHKATRINA.jpg|thumb|President Bush stands with [[United States Secretary of Defense|Secretary of Defense]] [[Donald Rumsfeld]], [[Secretary of Labor]] [[Elaine Chao]] and [[Secretary of Health and Human Services]] [[Mike Leavitt]] during a press conference from the [[White House Rose Garden|Rose Garden]], regarding the devastation along the Gulf Coast caused by Katrina.]]

Within the United States and as delineated in the [[National Response Plan]], disaster response and planning is first and foremost a local government responsibility. When local government exhausts its resources, it then requests specific additional resources from the county level. The request process proceeds similarly from the county to the state to the federal government as additional resource needs are identified. Many of the problems that arose developed from inadequate planning and back-up communication systems at various levels.<ref name="usgovwh"/>

Some [[disaster relief]] response to Katrina began before the storm, with the [[Federal Emergency Management Agency of the United States|Federal Emergency Management Agency]] (FEMA) preparations that ranged from logistical supply deployments to a [[mortuary]] team with refrigerated trucks. A network of volunteers began rendering assistance to local residents and residents emerging from New Orleans and surrounding parishes as soon as the storm made landfall (even though many were directed to not enter the area), and continued for more than six months after the storm<ref name="usgovwh">{{cite web | url=https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/reports/katrina-lessons-learned/ | title=The Federal Response to Hurricane Katrina: Lessons Learned | publisher=The White House | date=January 20, 2009 | access-date=June 7, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150525104449/http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/reports/katrina-lessons-learned/ | archive-date=May 25, 2015 | url-status=live}}</ref>

Of the 60,000 people stranded in New Orleans, the Coast Guard rescued more than 33,500.<ref name="GAO-06-903">{{cite book | author = United States Government Accountability Office | author-link = Government Accountability Office | url = http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d06903.pdf | title = Coast Guard: Observations on the Preparation, Response, and Recovery Missions Related to Hurricane Katrina | access-date = August 27, 2006 | date = July 2006 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060901040345/http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d06903.pdf | archive-date = September 1, 2006 | url-status = live}}</ref> Congress recognized the Coast Guard's response with an official entry in the Congressional Record,<ref name="S. 246">{{cite book | author = United States Congress | title = Senate Resolution 246: To express the sense of the Senate regarding the missions and performance of the United States Coast Guard in responding to Hurricane Katrina | date = September 21, 2005 | access-date = August 27, 2006 | publisher = Government Printing Office | url = http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=109_cong_bills&docid=f:sr246ats.txt.pdf | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110109102603/http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=109_cong_bills&docid=f:sr246ats.txt.pdf | archive-date = January 9, 2011 | url-status = live}}</ref> and the [[Military of the United States|Armed Service]] was awarded the [[Presidential Unit Citation (US)|Presidential Unit Citation]].<ref>{{cite web| title = USCG Message Traffic: Award of the Presidential Unit Citation to the Coast Guard| date = May 25, 2006| access-date = November 15, 2008| url = http://www.uscg.mil/hq/cg3/cg3pcx/publications/alcoast/alcoast-317-06.asp| publisher = United States Coast Guard| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080924111023/http://www.uscg.mil/hq/cg3/cg3pcx/publications/alcoast/alcoast-317-06.asp| archive-date = September 24, 2008| url-status = live}}</ref>

The [[United States Northern Command]] established [[Joint Task Force Katrina|Joint Task Force (JTF) Katrina]] based out of [[Camp Shelby]], Mississippi, to act as the military's on-scene response on Sunday, August 28, with [[US Army]] [[Lieutenant general (United States)|Lieutenant General]] [[Russel L. Honoré]] as commander.<ref>"[https://web.archive.org/web/20070817085847/http://www.defenselink.mil/transcripts/transcript.aspx?transcriptid=1955 Special Defense Department Briefing with Commander of Joint Task Force Katrina]". ''[[United States Department of Defense]]''. News Transcript. September 1, 2005. Retrieved on April 14, 2010.</ref> Approximately 58,000 National Guard personnel were activated to deal with the storm's aftermath, with troops coming from all 50 states.<ref>Phillips, Kyra. [http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0509/06/se.01.html "Bush Discusses Displaced Students; Department of Defense Briefs Press on Katrina Response (CNN Live Transcript)"]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061017174609/http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0509/06/se.01.html |date=October 17, 2006}} ''CNN''. September 6, 2005. Retrieved on June 5, 2006.</ref> The [[United States Department of Defense|Department of Defense]] also activated volunteer members of the [[Civil Air Patrol]].

Michael Chertoff, [[United States Secretary of Homeland Security|Secretary]] of the [[United States Department of Homeland Security|Department of Homeland Security]], decided to take over the federal, state, and local operations officially on August 30, 2005, citing the National Response Plan.<ref>California Political Desk. [http://www.californiachronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=5916 "Pelosi: Davis Report on Katrina Leaves Unfinished Business"]. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061027034249/http://www.californiachronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=5916 |date=October 27, 2006}} ''California Chronicle''. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060617134855/http://www.californiachronicle.com/ |date=June 17, 2006}} February 15, 2006. Retrieved on June 5, 2006.</ref> This was refused by Governor Blanco who indicated that her National Guard could manage. Early in September, Congress authorized a total of $62.3 billion in aid for victims.<ref>Baker, Peter; Goldstein, Amy. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/08/AR2005090801081.html "Congress Approves $51.8 Billion For Victims"]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909140905/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/08/AR2005090801081.html |date=September 9, 2017}} ''[[The Washington Post]]''. September 9, 2005. Retrieved on June 5, 2006.</ref> Additionally, President Bush enlisted the help of former presidents [[Bill Clinton]] and [[George H. W. Bush]] to raise additional voluntary contributions, much as they did after the [[2004 Indian Ocean earthquake]] and [[tsunami]].<ref>Bush, George W. [https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2005/09/20050901-3.html "President Asks Bush and Clinton to Assist in Hurricane Relief"]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170712034929/https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2005/09/20050901-3.html |date=July 12, 2017}} ''White House'', Press Release. September 1, 2005. Retrieved on June 5, 2006.</ref> [[Flag of the United States|American flags]] were also ordered to be [[half-staff]] from September 2, 2005, to September 20, 2005, in honor of the victims.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2005/09/20050904-2.html |title=Proclamation by the President: Honoring the Memory of the Victims of Hurricane Katrina |publisher=Whitehouse.gov |access-date=October 27, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100114005420/http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2005/09/20050904-2.html |archive-date=January 14, 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref>

FEMA provided housing assistance (rental assistance, [[FEMA Trailer|trailers]], etc.) to more than 700,000 applicants—families and individuals. However, only one-fifth of the trailers requested in Orleans Parish were supplied, resulting in an enormous housing shortage in the city of New Orleans.<ref>''Times-Picayune'', September 26, 2005, page A-12. Retrieved on June 5, 2006.</ref> Many local areas voted to not allow the trailers, and many areas had no utilities, a requirement prior to placing the trailers. To provide for additional housing, FEMA has also paid for the hotel costs of 12,000 individuals and families displaced by Katrina through February 7, 2006, when a final deadline was set for the end of hotel cost coverage. After this deadline, evacuees were still eligible to receive federal assistance, which could be used towards either apartment rent, additional hotel stays, or fixing their ruined homes, although FEMA no longer paid for hotels directly.<ref>Foster, Mary. [https://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/02/13/katrina/main1311616.shtml "Judge: FEMA Off Hook For Hotel Costs"]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061206190958/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/02/13/katrina/main1311616.shtml |date=December 6, 2006}} ''[[CBC News]]''. February 13, 2006. Retrieved on June 5, 2006.</ref> As of March 30, 2010, there were still 260 families living in FEMA-provided trailers in Louisiana and Mississippi.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wlox.com/Global/story.asp?S=12230906|title=Hancock Co. woman struggles to get out of FEMA trailer|first=Al|last=Showers|publisher=WLOX Channel 13|date=March 30, 2010|access-date=April 14, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120228204125/http://www.wlox.com/Global/story.asp?S=12230906|archive-date=February 28, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Law enforcement and public safety agencies, from across the United States, provided a "[[Mutual aid (emergency services)|mutual aid]]" response to Louisiana and New Orleans in the weeks following the disaster. Many agencies responded with manpower and equipment from as far away as [[California]], [[Michigan]], [[Nevada]], New York, and [[Texas]]. This response was welcomed by local Louisiana authorities as their staff were either becoming fatigued, stretched too thin, or even quitting from the job.<ref>{{cite news | last = Treaster | first = Joseph B. | title = Law Officers, Overwhelmed, Are Quitting the Force | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/04/national/nationalspecial/04police.html?ei=5090&en=8bf8550c348bbc33&ex=1283486400&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&pagewanted=print | newspaper = The New York Times | date = September 4, 2005 | access-date = June 24, 2006 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060617021730/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/04/national/nationalspecial/04police.html?ei=5090&en=8bf8550c348bbc33&ex=1283486400&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&pagewanted=print | archive-date = June 17, 2006 | url-status = live}}</ref>

Two weeks after the storm, more than half of the states were involved in providing shelter for evacuees. By four weeks after the storm, evacuees had been registered in all 50 states and in 18,700 zip codes—half of the nation's residential postal zones. Most evacuees had stayed within {{convert|250|mi|km}}, but 240,000 households went to Houston and other cities over {{convert|250|mi|km}} away and another 60,000 households went over {{convert|750|mi|km|-2}} away.<ref>{{cite web|last=Quigley |first=Bill |title=Six Months After Katrina: Who Was Left Behind Then and Who is Being Left Behind Now? |url=http://www.cwsworkshop.org/katrinareader/node/162 |date=February 21, 2006 |access-date=November 15, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090309165717/http://www.cwsworkshop.org/katrinareader/node/162 |archive-date=March 9, 2009}}</ref>