A further blow to the Bush administration’s standing came in August 2005, when Hurricane Katrina slammed ashore near New Orleans. Situated below sea level between the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain, New Orleans has always been vulnerable to flooding. For years, scientists had predicted a catastrophe if a hurricane hit the city. But requests to strengthen its levee system had been ignored by the federal government. When the storm hit on August 29 the levees broke, and nearly the entire city, with a population of half a million, was inundated. Nearby areas of the Louisiana and Mississippi Gulf Coast were also hard hit.
A satellite photograph superimposed on a map of the Gulf Coast shows the immensity of Hurricane Katrina as its eye moved over New Orleans.
The natural disaster quickly became a man-made one, with ineptitude evident from local government to the White House. The mayor of New Orleans had been slow to order an evacuation, fearing this would damage the city’s tourist trade. When he finally instructed residents to leave, a day before the storm’s arrival, he neglected to provide for the thousands who did not own automobiles and were too poor to find other means of transportation. In November 2002, a new Department of Homeland Security had been created, absorbing many existing intelligence agencies, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which is responsible for disaster planning and relief within the United States. FEMA was headed by Michael Brown, who lacked experience in disaster management and had apparently been appointed because he was a college friend of his predecessor in the office. Although warned of impending disaster by the National Weather Service, FEMA had done almost no preparation. Vacationing in Texas, the president announced that New Orleans had “dodged the bullet” when the storm veered away from a direct hit. When he finally visited the city, he seemed unaware of the scope of devastation. If the Bush administration had prided itself on anything, it was competence in dealing with disaster. Katrina shattered that image.