Does James Carville Have Cancer, Riverfront Downtown Detroit, James Mclean Obituary, Curtis Wilson Crowe, Articles H

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. It regained strength as its path turned northwest. I mentally moved on from the storm after I wrote the last page of my book, but this documentary has opened some old wounds and moves me to action, and I can only hope it does the same for others. Meanwhile, Lewis, the 46-year-old home health-care worker, has still not reported her assault to the police, and she has no plans to. Michael Brown, FEMA director: By midday, water levels between the city and Lake Ponchartrain have equalized. 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.". I don't think that's the proper thing to do. Where is food? The Most Risky Job Ever. Reporting on ISIS in Afghanistan. He had been shot by a rookie police officer while walking through the parking lot of a run-down strip mall, and his brother had brought Glover who was curled up and bleeding from a gunshot wound to the chest to a temporary SWAT compound seeking medical attention. Find out more about how we use your personal data in our privacy policy and cookie policy. Over 1,800 people lost their lives in the hurricane and an estimated 1 million people were displaced from their homes. But a growing body of evidence suggests there were more storm-related sexual assaults than previously known. I'm just not going to go on, on public television and bash in the middle of a disaster what I think people should or should not be doing. And at that time I took some liberties I probably shouldn't take. 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 . According to a New York Times article of September 29, "During six days when the Superdome was used as a shelter, the head of the New Orleans Police Department's sex crimes unit, Lt. David . They didn't have ammunition. The storm has ripped a hole in the Superdome where the power has gone out. Thousands of troops poured into the city September. And I had a piece of paper where I wrote down like a five-point plan of the things that we needed to do. Crime is at an all-time high. 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. Experts say it was the perfect environment to commit a crime, and the worst environment to report a crime. The interviews done as part of this project reflect the disaster's painful, chaotic, and murky aftermath. I don't know why. And then finally I just stopped and said: 'Excuse me, but time is of the essence. Instead, officers at the compound arrested Glover. Listen 7:57. The groups went in shifts, sneaking down over to the garage, up the stairs and to the helipad. 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. In Louisiana, New Orleans is of particular concern because much of that city lies below sea level. After Katrina, the spectacle of a Black refugee population in the Superdome, along with the short-lived plan from Mayor Nagin's committee to wipe out some Black neighborhoods, revived these . In one notorious incident known as the Danziger Bridge case, police opened fire on a group of civilians, who were later found to be unarmed and searching for food and medicine. In all honesty, we begin looting. Pack carefully. This escapism was part of the gift the Saints gave the city following Hurricane Katrina. 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. ", "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!' Patrice Taddonio. It is 250 miles south-southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River. And nothing happened. Buses have started evacuating people at the Superdome, but at the Convention Center thousands are still waiting and conditions continue to deteriorate there. background photo copyright 2005 corbis "I think that that was probably over-reported," he says. Judy Benitez, of the Louisiana rape crisis group, says the non-report rate would be far higher given the nightmare of Katrina. Kathleen Blanco, governor of Louisiana: She was featured in Spike Lee's documentary When the Levees Broke and is author of Not Just the Levees Broke: My Story During and After Hurricane Katrina. "I remember reading [that New Orleans had dodged a bullet]. 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." Anastasia says thugs were still wandering the streets of her neighborhood more than a week after the flood. Now, other than media reports, I don't know what's happening at the other end. In the first few hours after Katrina hit, many people believed that New Orleans had dodged a bullet. Issues of race, class, government response and responsibility, and political rivalries . By. New Orleans, Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina, as seen in the new documentary Katrina Babies . (AP Photo/David J. Phillip). [Congressman] Bobby Jindal is there, the senators Landrieu and [David] Vitter, and Congressman [William] Jefferson. The mistake that I made was not doing that sooner and not giving them the orders that we needed them to do all of that immediately. I said, 'If you guys don't get together and work this out, this is going to get worse.' William E. Brown Jr. -. Visit us at HISTORY.com for more info. "We're all looking at each other like, 'Why aren't we getting orders to move on this? We can only deal with what we know.". New Orleans, Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina, as seen in the new documentary Katrina Babies. In New Orleans last year, there was a rape every other day on average. When Hurricane Katrina ripped the Superdome's rubber seal off, tore open the steel roof paneling and penetrated the stadium, it shed light on the conjoined problems of concentrated poverty, socialized and environmental racism, and America's ability to ignore the suffering of its own citizens. August 28, 2005. And then somebody came and called me and said, 'The president would like to see you.' Troops poured in to restore order after almost a week of near-anarchy. New Orleans's flood-protection system was improved by increasing in the heights of earthen berms and upgrading floodwalls and floodgates. The 42 reports include assaults that happened inside New Orleans and outside the city, for instance, in host homes. They didn't have water. "[On Air Force One] we gave the president a briefing on everything that had gone on. Most residents have evacuated the city and those left behind do not have transportation or have special needs. More women are coming forward with stories of sexual assault in the lawless days after the storm. Lewis says she was raped on Monday, Aug. 29, the day of the storm. 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 Kim's family and others through the . More than 1,800 people died in what was the costliest . And there seems to be this dance about who has ultimate authority. In television interviews, Michael Brown, FEMA director, states that he only just heard about the suffering at the Convention Center, when in fact, he tells FRONTLINE, he misspoke; he was told the previous day about the situation. The two of us are going to leave. They were making suggestions about we need to do this and that. ", Richard Falkenrath, Homeland Security Adviser (2001-2004): My old high school, Joseph S. Clark, shut down, and we dont even have parks yet for kids to hang out inthats what we did in the 70s, at leastIm still trying to petition for these things, to organize our community, and these fool ass people have not yet gotten down here to rebuild. Thats why films like Trouble the Water are so important, and why its great that its making it to a wide audience via HBO. We were moving school buses in. 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.' I am still going out into the streets every day to talk to people about their experiencesI call it getting phyllisophical. Refuge of last resort: Five days inside the Superdome for Hurricane Katrina. I've heard some terrible stories since that the stuff wasn't getting there. She insists other women were raped in the same apartment building over the next four nights, but her claim could not be checked out. "There was a period of days when we weren't sure who was directing the federal response and were all the actions being taken. Producer Martin Smith: So we're just eating sandwiches and making nice while people are stranded on rooftops? With Glovers story as a jumping-off point, FRONTLINE partnered with the Times-Picayune and ProPublica in 2010 to investigate six questionable shootings by police revealing that, in the midst of post-Katrina chaos, law-enforcement commanders issued orders to ignore long-established rules governing the use of deadly force. Katrina Cop in the Superdome. "Some bad things happened, you know. About 2,000 medical evacuees remain at Louis Armstrong Airport, which has become a staging area for responders and injured refugees. so you had a very dynamic situation.". And the bosses say, 'Oh, okay. Katrina anniversary: Inside the Superdome during Katrina. New Orleans, Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina, as seen in the new documentary Katrina Babies. And Mayor Nagin expressed his concerns. The film a raw and gripping investigation of the Katrina response, its tragic consequences and its political ramifications includes candid interviews with key Katrina decision-makers, including the first televised interview with former FEMA Director Michael Brown since his resignation two weeks after Katrina hit. Persons, pets, and livestock exposed to the winds will face certain death if struck. 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. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration warning: But problems persist. FEMA was doing what it's supposed to be doing. And he said: 'No, you don't have to leave. Mississippi and Louisiana governors declare states of emergency. We'll put a couple of medical teams on standby. "I went into New Orleans and stood beside Mayor Nagin and emphasized the need to leave.