Asian Tsunami and Hurricane Katrina?

Question

It seems to me that Americans consider what happened to New Orleans and surrounding areas as bad as the Asia Tsunami that killed 200,000+ people. Is this true because if for not for the apathy of those in New Orleans to strengthening their defence against what happened it never would have happened that doesn't change the tragedy of it but to compare it to events under the Pacific that couldn't be stopped and wiped clean entire coastal areas and left the area around South-East asia, India, Sri Lanka,Indonesia and East Africa completely devestated wherever it hit. Is utter arrogance

Answer 1

I really think that A.J. Holloway, the mayor of Biloxi, MS, made that comment when there was no telling how many had been killed. We see now that it was nothing like the Asian tsunami, but when you see two or three dead bodies hanging off of trees in your own backyard, things start to get a bit scary. We no longer consider it as bad as the tsunami. The only thing that we make reference to now is how it took four hours to get halfway across the world with supplies and medical aid and it took two days to get halfway across our country.

One more thing: Even if New Orleans had strengthened her barriers, there would still be three hundred dead in Mississippi. Not nearly as many as Louisiana, and it doesn't hold a candle to the 200,000 dead in Asia in 2004.

I feel horrible about both of these tragedies, and if you are from the tsunami area, I pray that your life and your family's get back on track soon. I know that down here in Mississippi, everything is probably not going to be all good for a while, and I'm sure it holds true for Indonesia and the other tsunami countries.

Answer 2

First of all, are you suggesting that the people left stranded in New Orleans didn't do anything to help themselves before Katrina hit??? If so, clearly you have no understanding of that city or the Deep South of the USA, for that matter. Poor people (both black and white) in New Orleans are *really* poor. No cars. And no money for hotels. And anyone who lives in the hurricane-prone areas knows that when a storm is coming, you can't find a hotel for miles and miles....and once you do, they're charging full fare, plus some, for the room! The Army Corps of Engineers was responsible for the maintenance of the levies that protected New Orleans. And that money, as well as the LA National Guard resources, were diverted to Iraq.

And, no: you can't compare the tsunami to Katrina. Two different weather phenomenons. Two different situations. With the tsunami, there were Asian governments that had opted out of participating in the weather warning system set up for the Pacific Rim....and people who failed to pay attention to the animals that were rushing away to higher ground. And children who, upon seeing all the fish washed up and flopping on the beaches, ran down to gather them up....only to get killed by a huge wall of rapidly moving water. It was its own horrible tragedy separate and apart from our government's (and that of the city and state) failure to save people who really couldn't escape New Orleans.

Answer 3

Obviously, when you compare the size of the destruction and the number of lives that were taken, the tsunami was worse. It would be silly to say they were the same.

With that said, the people of New Orleans had no control over their situation. They are among the poorest people in America and were not able to get out as many of them didn't even have money to fill up their cars, let alone live in a better neighborhood. The only one to blame for the destruction's the government for their disinterest in wanting to fix the levees and lack of response.

You can also argue, in the case of the tsunami, that they could have prevented the number of deaths by having some sort of a tsunami warning system, which would have gone off right after the earthquake, letting people near the beaches know that they needed to get away from the ocean and get to higher ground.

By the way, please do not speak for all Americans. There are over 300,000,000 of us, all who come from different backgrounds, cultures, religions, and what have you. By you believing that we all think the same only makes you seem ignorant.

Answer 4

The disaster of Katrina followed up by Rita was on the same scale as the tsunami in the Indian ocean, both were very tragic events and on equal scale-no one I know is comparing them-just you. The actual death count in the New Orleans area(s) and Gulf coast areas has been suppressed but it is close to 200,000.
Many lost their lives because they were murdered and thrown in the storm surge waters to become part of the floating storm dead.
The money to reinforce the levees should have been done years ago but the government of the state used it for "other" things. The people in the New Orleans area did have a warning that a hurricane "might be" bearing down on them-but they have lived through many hurricanes and didn't want to leave their homes that have been in their families for generations but a few did leave before the strike. The rest you partly know. Many areas, including areas around and gulf areas New Orleans was wiped clean.
Many will never be able to return to their old home site-they can't prove they owned it-paper work destroyed.
Sri Lanka sent a group over to help the people of the Gulf Coast (along with many people from other countries)and gave $25,000. to help them out-that was money they couldn't afford, but they came and gave anyway,I still shed tears for all their help. The KKK and other white supremacy groups were having a field day-that state is loaded with them, window stickers etc. were on all their vehicles and they were everywhere. Perfect time to get rid of those they wanted to.
What you have read here was NOT allowed to be in the media-I was there as a member of the American Red Cross and in the security division. There are many more atrocities that occurred but this is enough.
Get your facts straight please.

Answer 5

Yeah, you know, tsunamis and tidal waves wouldn't be so bad- apparently the coast used to have a lot of low-lying brush trees on it which act as a breaker when the waves hit... of course, once you clear away that stuff, waves become dangerous... now, who is to blame for clearing it away?

Don't forget, it's mainly the poor people who suffer, where-ever the disaster is, cash and prestige is the best safety net, and if you don't have that, you're in for a bad time, could be death, whether you're in New Orleans or Indonesia. the major tsunami you're talking about was interesting because Western holidaymakers got hit too, but I bet they got more support in the aftermath than the natives who were in the same situation... probably it wouldn't have been such big news if Westerners hadn't died.

Those other respondants are right though, it's a bit arrogant to speak in generalities, especially about huge areas and topics like this. Still, food for thought for those who have too much food in their bellies...

Answer 6

For starters on this Katrina and the Waves topic, the Asian Tsunami's epicentre was under the Indian Ocean, not the Pacific.

To you it * * SEEMS * * Americans equate Katrina with the tsunami. Are you prepared to actually CLAIM Americans equate Katrina with the tsunami, and provide us with some neat, simple statistic that actually proves this? Now that is utter arrogance.

If you want to criticise apathy, blame the French for allowing its health workers to holiday en masse during a summer heatwave that killed 12,000 people.

Answer 7

bith are natural disasters. in the big easy if the levies gad been reinforced it would not have been so bad. The money for the levies was used to finance the Iraqi war instead of building up the levies.

Answer 8

I think it's a bit cold to compare the disasters like that mate.......people lost their lives in both.

Answer 9

Americans are just jealous because the governments of supposed "3rd World" countries were able to sort their disasters out, whereas the US is run by corporations who only want to profit off the disaster, not help people.

Answer 10

Try and read Luke 21.
The answer is there.
Will know who is communicating that passes-by our daily lives in planet of apes.
If don't believe read it in Leviticus 26.30