Successful and Unsuccessful Relief Operations - Hurricane Katrina



Successful and Unsuccessful Relief Operations - Hurricane Katrina

Introduction

The world faced many disasters in the past century. Among these there were some that greatly devastated the human population and life of inhabitants where ever the disaster was observed. A review of two articles on a disaster relief would be discussed along with briefing the reasons for the successful and unsuccessful aspects of the relief efforts. For this purpose, the focus would be on Hurricane Katrina as it serves as an excellent example of the coordination and management of relief efforts. It would be further followed by the identification of three successful and three unsuccessful relief efforts that were put into action after Hurricane Katrina. It is also to be considered that the purpose of this study is to shed light on the monetary side. The study will give consideration to the actual efforts that were put into process in order to counter the damage and destruction of life and property.

Discussion

Hurricane Katrina was a complicated scenario for relief effort operators. The damage and destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina made it virtually impossible to reach areas where the worst of the scenario had taken place (Sobel & Leeson, 2006). Countless relief efforts were developed and implemented in the wake of the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina. Most of these relief efforts came from private non-government ventures organized by individuals coming together to form volunteer teams and groups. As a result, the overall scenario pertaining to the relief at the end of it all presented a scrambled relief infrastructure that was essentially formed through cooperation and coordination based on the desire to save and to survive. Hurricane Katrina served as a test for the disaster relief infrastructure by highlighting some of the strengths and weaknesses that lie within it (Cuddy, Rock, & Norton, 2007). There was no specific type of damage for which a solution and/or relief efforts could be set up. Damage was far ranging and highly varied. It is perhaps because of the same reason that it became necessary to rely on relief efforts that were just as far ranging and varied in nature.

A major weakness of the relief efforts was that the extensive channeling of resources towards the efforts left no room for the accountability of their authenticity (Cuddy, Rock, & Norton, 2007). It was reported that countless websites and fronts were established by ...