Evacuation During Hurricane Katrina

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When it comes to disasters there are two categories, natural and man/human-made. A natural disaster is a hurricane, tornado, or blizzard that cannot be controlled by a human. A man-made disaster is an oil spill or something that could've been prevented. A disaster can occur at any time and is very unpredictable. When a disaster occurs how do people know where to go, what to do, whom to look for, for refuge? Often, we rely on media and experiences in order to prepare for disasters. There are also programs and agencies that one can refer to Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Emergency Management Institute (EMI) or organizations such as the Red Cross.
Nonetheless, what people don't commonly think about is where an illegal immigrant
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This personal level response can include home confinement or evacuation (Emergency management, n.d.). Most studies on natural disasters tend to conclude that it is difficult for people to appropriately perceive risks associated with natural disasters (Slovic, Kunreuther, & White, 1974). In the cases of evacuation, things may get complicated. Evacuation during Hurricane Katrina was mandatory for citizens of New Orleans, however many did not heed the warnings. This disaster was a three-fold. First, the hurricane hit, next levees broke, and then the floods came (Wilson et al., 2011). This begs the question: What does it take to convince people that when warnings are issued, it is for their own safety and welfare? People don't evacuate for several reasons including, but not limited to, past experience, traffic, immobility, lack of transportation, and limited social capital and the desire to shelter-in-place (Wilson et al., 2011, p.300). The longer a person has lived in a coastal area, the less likely they are to evacuate (Mileti, Drabek and Hass, 1975). This is due in part to the limited predictability of a hurricane's path. Also, evacuation orders are sometimes given too early, so if the threat then changes course, damage to the evacuated area could be minor. Those that evacuated then lose faith in officials' ability to predict a threat, making the population apathetic and reluctant to heed future