The Effects of Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina

On August 23,2005, Hurricane Katrina formed over the Bahamas and crossed southern Florida as a moderate Category 1 hurricane, causing some deaths and flooding there before strengthening rapidly in the Gulf of Mexico.  On August 29, the storm weakened before making its second landfall as a Category 3 storm in southeast Louisiana. The most significant number of deaths occurred in New Orleans, Louisiana. The storm surge caused more than 50 breaches in drainage canal levees and also in navigational canal levees, which flooded as the levee system failed. Eventually 80% of the city and large tracts of neighboring parishes became flooded, and the floodwaters lingered for weeks.

By August 31, 2005, 80% of New Orleans was flooded, with some parts under 15 feet of water.Ninety percent of the residents of southeast Louisiana were evacuated but a small percentage did not. Many who remained in their homes had to swim for their lives, wade through deep water, or remain trapped in their attics or on their rooftops.

Yolanda and her families we one of the families not so fortunate to be successful evacuated and were forced to tread through water; exposing 7 year Yolanda and her 9 year old brother Jeff, to dead human and animal corpses floating in contaminated water.

 Yolanda and her family eventually made it to safety ,but Yolanda and her family would never be the same.The stress and exposure to this natural disaster left her family emotional distraught and mentally unstable.

In 2007, I gained the privilege of case managing Yolanda as she had now moved to Texas receiving Special Education services as a student with Emotional and Behavior Disorders. Yolanda had now been diagnosed Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Before the attack of Hurricane Katrina, Yolanda was a straight A student, who enjoyed reading and was very free spirited with no behavior issues. Sad to say after the disaster she was no longer performing on grade level and was now afraid of the thundering and lightening. After she I grew closer she would tell me of the events that occurred and what she encountered. When it would rain accompanied with lighting and thunder she would so frightened and shut completely down.

The effects left a negative impression on not only her family but millions of others who are still left to deal with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina today.