SOC102H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Landfall, Mercedes-Benz Superdome, Global Warming
Document Summary
Hurricane katrina and the myth of natural disasters: Since 2001, articles publicized the effect of a powerful hurricane hitting new orleans available to the broad public and its political representatives yet nothing was done to prepare for the inevitable. First, for centuries, powerful, well-to-do people made economic and political decisions that placed new orleans, and especially its poor black citizens, at high risk of hurricane-related death. Second, for centuries as well, powerful and well-to-do people resisted charging the. American gov"t with responsibility for ensuring the welfare of the citizenry as a whole. New orleans is situated on the coast of the gulf of mexico and most of it lies below sea level- in places, as much as 2. 5 m (8 feet) below. 20th century, achieved a measure of control over flooding by constructing a series of canals. Every summer and fall, tropical storms and hurricanes assault the gulf coast. Levees were built to protect the city from storm surge, too.
