City adrift New Orleans before and after Katrina (Louisiana State University Press, 2007)
Includes bibliographical references (pages 135-156) and index
The storm - Jenni Bergal -- - The environment - Sara Shipley Hiles -- - The levees - John McQuaid -- - Emergency preparedness - Jim Morris -- - Social services - Katy Reckdahl -- - Health care - Jenni Bergal -- - Politics - Curtis Wilkie -- - Housing and insurance - Frank Koughan
Hurricane Katrina was a stunning example of complete civic breakdown. Beginning on August 29, 2005, the world watched in horror as--despite all the warnings and studies--every system that might have protected New Orleans failed. Levees and canals buckled, pouring more than 100 billion gallons of floodwater into the city. Botched communications crippled rescue operations. Buses that might have evacuated thousands never came. Hospitals lost power, and patients lay suffering in darkness and stifling heat. At least 1,400 Louisianans died in Hurricane Katrina, more than half of them from New Orleans