The Impacts of Hurricanes Andrew and Katrina on Blacks

1
The Impacts of Hurricanes Andrew and Katrina on
Blacks

• Aisha Reed
• Congressional Black Caucus Foundation
• 2006-07 Congressional Fellow

2
Hurricanes Andrew and Katrina

• Hurricane Andrew
• August 1992
• NW Bahamas, southern Florida south of Miami, and
  south-central Louisiana.
• Resulted in 42 deaths and 26 billion in damages
  with most of the damage occurring in southern
  Florida

• Hurricane Katrina
• August 2005
• Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama
• Resulted in over 1000 deaths and 81.2 billion
  in damages

3
Similarities between Andrew and Katrina

• The destruction that was caused by these two
  hurricanes made the United States evaluate how
  they handle disaster situations on all government
  levels.
• In both hurricanes the state and local responders
  were overwhelmed, and the response required
  outside action and support from many sources.
• Both storms resulted in a relocation of citizens
  as they tried to recover and rebuild.

4
Impacts on Blacks

• In both hurricanes, Blacks were more
  disproportionately affected by the storm than all
  other racial groups.
• This could largely be due to the marginalized
  communities in which they live which are related
  to issues of the intersections of race and class.
  
• Most social science research shows that
  minorities, particularly Blacks, are
  disproportionately located in poor quality
  housing segregated into low-valued neighborhoods,
  which would make their communities more
  vulnerable to hurricane damage.

5
Impacts from Andrew

• Hurricane Andrew devastated a considerable
  portion of metropolitan Dade County, specifically
  a mostly residential part of the county referred
  to as South Dade.
• Ninety percent of the homes in the county were
  damaged and approximately 49,000 were rendered
  uninhabitable.
• More than 180,000 residents in the affected areas
  left their homes for some period of time. About
  28 percent, or 100,000, of South Dades 1992
  estimated population left hurricane-ravaged South
  Dade and relocated north of the impact area

6
Blacks and Andrew

• Approximately 90 percent of South Dades Blacks
  lived in the area with the greatest destruction
  and highest post hurricane vacancy rates compared
  to the rest of South Dade.
• There were higher levels of overall damage and
  roof damage indicated by Blacks.
• Blacks were less likely to relocate after the
  hurricane due to economic constraints and
  barriers created by racial segregation.
• A tour of a Black neighborhood five years
  following the hurricane revealed homes that had
  never been repaired and vacant lots on which
  nothing new had been built because most of the
  former residents did not have adequate insurance.

7
Blacks and Andrew Florida City

• Florida City is a small, predominately black
  incorporated community which was directly
  impacted by the storm.
• Every building in the community was damaged.
• Many of the residents continued to live in the
  severely damaged homes for lack of viable
  alternatives. Families lived for months in
  houses with damaged roofs, no electricity, and
  often without running water.
• Florida Citys economy suffered drastically from
  the hurricane. A year later, the community had
  lost 52 percent of its pre-storm business, and it
  has yet to fully recover.

8
Impacts from Katrina

• In Louisiana, an estimated 77 percent of Orleans
  Parishs population and nearly all of St. Bernard
  Parishs population were hard hit by flooding.
• In Mississippi, 55 percent of Hancock Countys
  population and 19 percent of Harrison Countys
  population was affected by flooding and/or
  structural damage.
• An estimated 645,000 Louisiana citizens and
  66,000 Mississippians may have been displaced by
  the storm. At their peak, shelters were housing
  over 270,000 evacuees.

9
Impacts from Katrina

• The economic and social impact of Hurricane
  Katrina will be felt for years. Of the families
  that have been displaced, it is unclear whether
  they will return home or resettle in new
  communities and, it will not be fully known
  until the reconstruction of the Gulf Coast is
  complete.

10
Blacks and Katrina

• The storm impacted heavily on the poor and
  African Americans.
• One-fifth of those displaced by the storm were
  likely to have been poor, and 30 percent had
  incomes that were below 1 ½ times the poverty
  level.
• African Americans accounted for 44 percent of the
  storm victims.
• Specifically, an estimated 310, 000 people were
  directly impacted by the storm in Orleans Parish,
  and an estimated 272,000 blacks were displaced by
  flooding or damage, which accounts for 73 percent
  of the parishs population. Over one-third
  (89,000) of the Blacks displaced by the storm
  were estimated to have been poor, based on the
  2000 Census.

11
Whats the Commonality?

• There are several correlations that can be made
  regarding the impact of Hurricanes Andrew and
  Katrina on Blacks ranging from the evacuation to
  the recovery process.

12
Evacuation

• There are several factors which influence whether
  or not people will evacuate and three of them
  are whether the threat is real, the perceived
  personal risk, and the presence of an adaptive
  plan.
• In Hurricane Andrew there was a short lead time,
  so the people did not have an adequate amount of
  time to develop a plan after the evacuation was
  ordered however, in Katrina, there was longer
  lead time, and evacuation orders were given well
  in advance.
• However, despite the amount of time that they had
  to evacuate, it has been observed that low-income
  and Black households are less likely to comply
  with evacuation orders due to a lack of
  transportation and affordable places of refuge.

13
Response

• Immediately after the storm, in communities and
  neighborhoods where authorities were slow to
  respond or non-existent, local churches or other
  non-profit organizations took the initiative to
  coordinate relief efforts.

14
Response

• The American Red Cross did not provide much
  assistance to the poor, primarily minority
  communities following both Hurricanes.
• After Hurricane Andrew, about one third of South
  Miami Heights had received some type of
  assistance from the American Red Cross. The
  community received its emergency and relief
  assistance, especially during the first weeks,
  from the aggressive efforts of the local Catholic
  church, St. Joachim.
• Similarly, after Hurricane Katrina, there were
  some areas of New Orleans that the American Red
  Cross could not aid due to security issues,
  mainly areas populated by minorities however,
  the Salvation Army, Catholic Charities, and local
  churches provided assistance.

15
Recovery

• The United States rely heavily upon private
  insurance payments and the actions of voluntary
  agencies supplemented by government-sponsored
  low-interest loans and grants to finance, plan,
  and implement the reconstruction process after a
  disaster.
• Following Andrew, Blacks were much more likely
  than Whites to report insufficient insurance
  settlements and this was in part due to
  differential access to policies with larger
  corporations.As a result, Black households were
  not as able to fully recover from Andrew as were
  white households.
• In the Gulf Coast region there have been
  instances in which insurance agencies have not
  given homeowners enough money to rebuild their
  homes.

16
Rebuilding

• Following both hurricanes, there was/has been
  reluctance to rebuild low rent housing, resulting
  in a housing shortage, which has allowed
  landlords to raise the rent and thereby pricing
  out the original inhabitants of the storm damaged
  areas.
• In Miami, it was found that some communities
  discouraged or slowed down the rebuilding of
  low-income housing, hoping that the poor or
  minority communities would relocate. According
  to Morrow and Peacock, it is probable that some
  areas of South Dade will be built with fewer
  low-income families, and they will be
  concentrated in fewer areas.
• It has been speculated that the same thing may be
  happening in New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina.

17
Possible Solutions

• The response teams coming to assist the disaster
  victims should be aware of the culture of the
  area. It is imperative that the people who are
  coming to an area to provide assistance to the
  people are aware of the victims situation and
  that they are able to communicate what they need
  to do to get assistance and relief. By the
  response teams coming to the local offices, in
  accordance with the previous recommendation, they
  can become aware of the culture of the area and
  know how to act accordingly.
• There should be an initiative in which
  disadvantaged and minority communities in areas
  specifically vulnerable to disasters are made
  aware by FEMA officials of the risks that they
  may encounter and that they are prepared in case
  of a disaster. Because some disadvantaged
  citizens are unaware of the hazards that exist in
  their area, it is important to educate them on
  the methods of evacuation, and how and where to
  apply for assistance in case of a disaster. The
  knowledge would allow people in marginalized
  communities to be more aware of their
  surroundings and their options prior to and
  following a disaster.