Hurricane Katrina Quotes
Statement after Hurricane Katrina destroyed New Orleans including almost all of the public housing.
He was asked to comment on the poor initial response of the Federal Government during the Hurricane Katrine crisis.
The George W. Bush administration had been caught ill prepared and with the exception of the Coast Guard, was slow and inadequate in responding to the emergency.
His ancestors had come to New Orleans from Haiti around 1800 before the United States made the Louisiana Purchase.
Senator Trent Lott had been a strong supporter of making it harder for consumers to sue companies, and making it harder to win even if they sued. Lott and other conservatives thought up the name of “tort reform” for their effort. However when Hurricane Katrina struck, many people lost their homes and when they went to collect from their insurance companies, most would not pay on the grounds that insurance covered wind damage and not flood damage. So if the storm blew the roof and walls down and then the storm surge flooded, it was hard to prove that the initial damage was from the wind storm and not the subsequent flood. Lott lost his expensive home and he himself had trouble collecting, and all of a sudden lawsuits were not so frivolous any longer.
The Hurricane Katrina flood destroyed neighborhoods of whites and blacks, rich and poor. While there were differential responses by the authorities during and just after the hurricane, all the subgroups of New Orleans needed assistance which was slow in coming and not extensive.
