hurricane katrina: superdome documentary hurricane katrina: superdome documentary

Katrina Cop in the Superdome. Watch it: To understand what went wrong in the governments response to Katrina. New Orleans, Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina, as seen in the new documentary Katrina Babies . "I got a call, I think Saturday afternoon [from] Max Mayfield, the hurricane director. There is a documentary about . " After Katrina passed, we thought we're pretty much out of the woods. An Unfiltered View: Producers of Police on Trial on What the Documentary Reveals 2 Years After the Murder of George Floyd, From the Archives: How the World's Deadliest Ebola Outbreak Unfolded, Russias Invasion of Ukraine, One Year Later, War Crimes Watch Ukraine: More Than 650 Documented Events, From the Archives: How the U.N. & World Failed Darfur Amid "the 21st Century's First Genocide". Within five hours I start to get reports from my staff members, who are out doing assessments, the water's rising. New Orleans, Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina, as seen in the new documentary Katrina Babies. In Louisiana, New Orleans is of particular concern because much of that city lies below sea level. Several thousand National Guard troops start reaching the thousands of evacuees at the Convention Center and elsewhere. ", Leo Bosner, FEMA watch officer: More than 1 million more in the Gulf region were displaced. Because of the ensuing . "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.". Very shortly, he said, Cars are beginning to float out of the parking lot. According to the New Orleans Data Center, racial disparities in income and employment are more pronounced in the city than they are nationally; the poverty rate is 11 points higher than the national average; and the incarceration rate is approximately three times the national average. 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. I think we both should have asked sooner.". Troops poured in to restore order after almost a week of near-anarchy. And he said: 'No, you don't have to leave. At least one half of well constructed homes will have roof and wall failure. And then somebody came and called me and said, 'The president would like to see you.' Per this CNN Money report, a Brian Williams' Katrina tale appears to have evolved somewhat dramatically over the course of just one year.In 2005, Williams reported in a documentary that he had "heard the story" of a man killing himself in the Superdome. "I think that that was probably over-reported," he says. In the first few hours after Katrina hit, many people believed that New Orleans had dodged a bullet. 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. As of Nov. 22, 2005, more than 900 people are known to have died in New Orleans. And I knew it wasn't true, because 8:00 or 10:00 that morning, I received a report from one of my staffers that either a levee had been topped or had actually broken. Rescue efforts are delayed because of the inability of rescuers to communicate with each other. And they hadn't. On August 28, 2005, at 6 am, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin announced that the Superdome would be used as a public shelter. After being damaged by. 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. At 7 pm it makes landfall north of Miami. 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. Kathleen Blanco: , "Law and order all but broke down in New Orleans over the past few days. hurricane katrina ripped through the Gulf Coast, claiming 1,800 lives. producer's chat+tapes & transcript+press reaction+credits+privacy policy Interstate 10 is shut down with damage to 40 percent of its Twin Span Bridge over Lake Ponchartrain. 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. "I didn't see any police officers -- I could have gotten away with murder," she says. Copyright All rights reserved. Under the best of circumstances, rape is one of the hardest crimes to solve. 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 . 11.1.2005. Panels blew off and the roof was severely damaged, but it was the only shelter . Their back-up generators flooded. 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. They lost power. In the six weeks since the Web site has been up, with almost no publicity, it has received 42 reports of sexual assaults. And that this could potentially be the big one that we had planned for in Hurricane Pam.". A hurricane warning is issued for the Southeast Florida coast. 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. 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. Four were wounded, and 17-year-old James Brisette and 40-year-old Ronald Madison were killed. The death toll in the city is not known, but the dying continues as people succumb to illness, exhaustion and days without food and water. Reports put the population there in the tens of thousands. 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. [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.]. It regained strength as its path turned northwest. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip). She says she tried to report the assault at the time, but authorities weren't listening. To get medical teams and search teams out the door and get 'em down there. And he had flown in a helicopter. 'Rebirth in New Orleans' reflects on . The city's buses have been positioned around the city in locations that have never been flooded. The line to get in was already a quarter-mile long. The majority of industrial buildings will become non functional. People begin arriving at the Ernest M. Morial Convention Center seeking shelter, food, and water. President Bush arrives in New Orleans and holds a meeting on Air Force One with federal and local officials. We talked about it. '", Mayor Ray Nagin She sits on the edge of a bed in a dingy, dimly lit room in a motel in Baton Rouge. And why it wasnt stopped sooner. With camera lenses and lights abounding, the . 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. The Times-Picayune reports that an estimated 112,000 people do not own cars. In Louisiana, New Orleans is of particular concern because much of that city lies below sea level. The Coast Guard mobilizes to respond after the storm hits. In September 2006, the New Orleans Saints marched into the Superdome for their first game since Hurricane Katrina, providing the spark for a revival. August 27, 2015, 2:18 PM. home+introduction+watch online+interviews+analysis+14 days "We'd heard the story of a man killing himself, falling . Every little thing helps. Phyllis Montana-Leblanc is a Hurricane Katrina survivor. FEMA Situation Update: Even $20, if thats all you can afford in the recession, that helps. - Severe flooding damage to cities along the Gulf Coast, from New Orleans to . As a shocking New Orleans documentary airs on HBO tonight, Phyllis Montana-LeBlancbestselling author and gutsy survivorexplains why the city is still drowning. Michael Brown, FEMA director: "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. It doesn't make any sense.". "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". They spend the next 24 hours trying to save themselves. It took me too long and I worked too hard to build what I had here.. August 28, 2005. Kathleen Blanco: Here in New Orleans East, we desperately need a hospital. Some parishes order mandatory evacuations. We knew what had to be done. And he said definitively, "Mr. Mayor, the storm is headed right for you. Where is food? "Most of the area will be uninhabitable for weeks perhaps longer. Female victims, now displaced from New Orleans, are slowly coming forward with a different story than the official one. The city floods further. I laid that out for him. [Secretary of Homeland Security Michael] Chertoff is there. I went to the Adjutant General [Landreneau] and I went to Gov. 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. So I can assume what the criminals were thinking, and that's exactly what happened.". But the problem was that because of the fear that resulted from the civil unrest, the bus drivers said, 'We're not going in there to pick these people up unless you put a law enforcement official on every one of the buses, because we're afraid. When Hurricane Katrina forced New Orleans poet Shelton Alexander to evacuate his home, he took his truck and video camera to the Superdome. 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 don't know why. And New Orleans itself has worked to rebuild. Ten years ago this week, Hurricane Katrina made landfall on the Gulf Coast and generated a huge disaster. He co-wrote the novel,"The Spencer Haywood Rule," and he was co-producer of the "Katrina Cop in the Superdome," a 2010 documentary about the experiences of a black New Orleans police officer and other citizens as they sheltered in the Louisiana Superdome during the Hurricane Katrina disaster of 2005. 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. She says as she watched New Orleans descend into chaos after Katrina, she knew what would happen. Kimberly Roberts is the star of the filmif you can call her thata 24-year-old aspiring rapper who did not have the finances to get the hell out of New Orleans when Katrina hit, and still, she managed to film all of her harrowing experiences on a Hi-8 camerathe water rising, being trapped in the attic with her husband and neighbors, the fear they felt. Refuge of last resort: Five days inside the Superdome for Hurricane Katrina. Crime is at an all-time high. Go up there, face to face and say, "What is happening here? New Orleans, Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina, as seen in the new documentary Katrina Babies. She gripped my arm at the store, and she told me, the way you shared with everybody so openly, you helped me to heal. In downtown New Orleans, some streets were merely wet rather than swamped. By Chris Edwards. "All I know is on Wednesday night I was convinced that there were no FEMA buses. And, in 2004, FEMA sponsored a disaster planning exercise in which the scenario was a major hurricane striking New Orleans. The Times-Picayune reports that 4,600 active duty troops under the command of Gen. Russel Honor arrive in New Orleans. Storm refugees reported being raped, shot and robbed, gangs of teenagers hijacked boats meant to rescue them, and frustrated hurricane victims menaced outmanned law officers. [Congressman] Bobby Jindal is there, the senators Landrieu and [David] Vitter, and Congressman [William] Jefferson. ' Gettridge told FRONTLINE. When Hurricane Katrina forced New Orleans poet Shelton Alexander to evacuate his home, he took his truck and video camera to the Superdome. Mississippi and Louisiana governors declare states of emergency. This escapism was part of the gift the Saints gave the city following Hurricane Katrina. FEMA Situation Update: Locals adopt it in their idea of the city. Patrice Taddonio. Stranded victims of Hurricane Katrina rest inside the Superdome September 2, 2005 in 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. At 10 a.m., the Thorntons headed together to the Superdome. Here's a [powerful] hurricane. We have so much intelligence down here in New Orleans, and yet, even four years after the hurricane, we cant rely on the school system. Thats why films like Trouble the Water are so important, and why its great that its making it to a wide audience via HBO. Michael Ainsworth/The Dallas Morning News/epa/Corbis Two national crime-victims' groups have reported a spike in the number of reported rapes that happened to storm evacuees. The Mercedes-Benz Superdome is a landmark in the city of New Orleans. "And so now I think it's swung the other direction and it's underreported. But one man then-82-year-old Herbert Gettridge was determined to rebuild the house he had built more than 50 years earlier in the Lower Ninth Ward, with or without government support. 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. She describes . By the end of the day, the projected storm surge is 18 to 22 feet, locally as high as 28 feet. And then he was gone after a while.". Commander Dave Lipin says they saw two women who said they'd been raped -- different women than those the police attended to. We'll put a couple of medical teams on standby. A Tropical Depression with 35 mph maximum sustained winds is located 250 miles east-southeast of southeast Florida. Buses have started evacuating people at the Superdome, but at the Convention Center thousands are still waiting and conditions continue to deteriorate there. Met in the little office at the Super Dome where the heliport is. The vast majority of them were elderly. Benitez and others interviewed for this report believe that police authorities -- who were anxious to discount initially exaggerated reports of mayhem -- are downplaying violent crimes that happened in the anarchy after the storm. ". "Louis Armstrong International Airport served as a massive clearing house for some of the storm's sickest victims Saturday. Officials said the complete evacuation of New Orleans two days earlier was necessary, citing the prospect of diseases caused by rotting bodies and polluted waters as well as other risks caused by Hurricane Katrina. FEMA organizes 475 buses to be sent in to transport many of the estimated 23,000 people from the Superdome to the Houston Astrodome. Top subscription boxes right to your door, 1996-2023, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. A shaft of light falls throught an opening in the fully evacuated Superdome on Sept. 5, 2005 in New Orleans, La. special video+discussion+teacher's guide+readings & links Note: In the last hours before Katrina made landfall, dozens of copies of the Hurricane Pam report are distributed to emergency planners. Around this time 17 years ago, Hurricane Katrina bore down on New Orleans, and . Exclusive: A Former MPD Lieutenant Reported Another Cop. Michael Brown, FEMA director: 1. Find out more about how we use your personal data in our privacy policy and cookie policy. So I finally just walked up to Danny and said, Mr. "I realized how serious things were on Sunday. We'd sent them all the information they needed. These defenses held for Hurricane Ida, a category 4 storm, in August 2021. And the impression given in those four days is basically indelible. New Orleans, Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina, as seen in the new documentary Katrina Babies. On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast, causing catastrophic flooding as numerous levees failed around New Orleans. Here's the things I think we need to focus on. And if you dont trust the system to deliver the money to the right places, call a school yourself and ask them what they need. ISIS' growing foothold in Afghanistan is captured on film. Kathleen Blanco, governor of Louisiana: Gettridge,a fifth generation New Orleanian, would go on to die from a heart attack in 2014 at the age of 91 at the home he had successfully rebuilt. That's the attitude I would take if I was operating in the dark too. Mayor, we had a good meeting. We've all feared a catastrophic hurricane striking New Orleans. The situation begins to improve. Hurricane Katrina, tropical cyclone that struck the southeastern United States in late August 2005. Lewis and others had taken refuge in the Redemption Elderly Apartments, in the Irish Channel section of New Orleans. Other people call me the Dr. Phil of the streets.. Television reporters, live on the scene at the Convention Center, report on the growing crisis. And he basically asked me, 'Mr. When Hurricane Katrina forced New Orleans poet Shelton Alexander to evacuate his home, he took his truck and video camera to the Superdome. Katrina caused more than $160 billion in damage. Believing the authorities abandoned her after the storm, she wonders why they would care about her now. Why haven't the bosses decided to move the people out?' More women are coming forward with stories of sexual assault in the lawless days after the storm. Katrina makes landfall near Grand Isle, Louisiana as a Category 3 storm with winds near 127 mph. " Troops poured in to restore order after almost a week of near-anarchy. 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. Surviving the Superdome. President Bush declares Louisiana and Mississippi major disaster areas. (48) 7.4 1 h 13 min 2010 13+. FEMA National Situation Update: New Orleans, Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina, as seen in the new documentary Katrina Babies. "I'm not gonna go on television and publicly say that I think that the mayor and the governor are not doing their job, and that they don't have the sense of urgency. They were making suggestions about we need to do this and that. But more and more people were being evacuated from their rooftops after being in the sun for long periods or overnight and being put on highways on high ground. 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. Theme Foto Blog by, Hundreds Evacuated as Vanuatu Braces for Second Cyclone in 2 Days. Producer Martin Smith: So, although you said that, you didn't feel that way at that time? 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. That's where Katrina Babies comes in. "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. By the end of the day, it is upgraded to Tropical Storm Katrina, with 50 mph maximum sustained winds. ", Leo Bosner, FEMA watch officer: It was called "Hurricane Pam" and the exercise was conducted with state and local emergency managers. People can say that writing a check doesnt mean anything, but honey, it does. Follow a day-by-day account of Hurricane Katrina's wrath, from its birth in the Atlantic Ocean to its catastrophic effects: flooded streets, flattened homes,. Law-enforcement authorities dismissed early reports of widespread rapes in New Orleans during the lawless days following Hurricane Katrina. Airborne debris will be widespread and may include heavy items such as household appliances and even light vehicles. The 42 reports include assaults that happened inside New Orleans and outside the city, for instance, in host homes. The skies darkened, and the wind started to pick up. ". Looting becomes more widespread; hotels begin turning out guests. What happened next was more than just a natural disaster especially in New Orleans, where the failure of the cityslevees unleashed flooding that left roughly80 percent of the city underwater. 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. And we need to get these people out of the Superdome because it's a shelter of last resort, and they only have a limited amount of resources.". The following year, during an interview with Tom Brokaw at Columbia Journalism School, Williams said, "We watched, all of us watched . 5 Must-See Documentaries About Hurricane Katrina. I am still going out into the streets every day to talk to people about their experiencesI call it getting phyllisophical. to support FEMA disaster relief efforts, but it will be two days before the troops arrive in the city. Victims of Hurricane Katrina fight through the crowd as they line up for buses to evacuate the Superdome and New Orleans, Sept. 1, 2005. Mahogany describes her actions before deciding to evacuate her home, her trip to the New Orleans Saints' Superdome, her horrific time at the Superdome, and finally her decision to leave New Orleans. New Orleans resident climbing through roof of house. And it was a very good meeting, I thought. "I know more sexual assaults took place. But problems persist. Katrina first made landfall in South Florida. Watch it: To learn about questionable police shootings and cover-ups in Katrinas wake. Instead, officers at the compound arrested Glover. And you need to order mandatory evacuation. Find out in the 2015 documentary Outbreak, newly available to stream on FRONTLINEs YouTube channel. Remembers Covering Katrina Preserving History After Hurricane Katrina Katrina's Affect on Charter schools quiz: 10 Questions on Katrina. Funding for FRONTLINE is provided through the support of PBS viewers and by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. And he said: 'Mr. / 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. Rescuers drop them off wherever there is high ground; many are dropped at interstate overpasses and the Superdome.