As one of the most destructive natural disasters in United States' history, Hurricane Katrina took hundreds of lives and amounted to billions of dollars in damage. As victims see their fallen homes and shattered lives, they wonder how this catastrophe could have happened. Some argue that hurricanes are unpredictable phenomena that cannot be controlled, and that our government responded to the best of its ability. Others, however, realize that controlling a storm is completely different than preparing for one. While President Bush may not have control over the weather, he had experts predicting a catastrophe like Katrina years before it developed. The Gulf Coast region was completely exposed and unprepared for major hurricanes, but President Bush did not have the foresight to improve the situation.
Although many victims lost their lives from Hurricane Katrina because of the government's inefficient response, President Bush's mistakes immediately after the Hurricane did not increase property damage in the Gulf Coast region.
View of the eyewall of Hurricane Katrina taken on ...
Flooded I-10/I-610 interchange and surrounding are...
English: President George W. Bush looks out over t...A flood levee cannot be rebuilt in one hour or even one day; once the hurricane struck, President Bush could not have prevented the extensive flooding with any response to control the hurricane's damage. Although some historians have used this information to support President Bush, preventative measures could have been taken to decrease the hurricane's destruction. The former director of FEMA, Michael Brown, "conceded that his agency's resources had been stretched," which may have led to FEMA's inefficient relief effort.1 Previous to the Hurricane, President Bush "downgraded the organization and merged it into the Department of Homeland Security," which had been primarily focused on combating terrorism since September 11th and the Iraq War, and clearly explains FEMA's insufficient resources after the hurricane.2 These facts illustrate another mistake made by the President: Bush reacted to Hurricane Katrina instead of taking preventative action. As soon...