In the fall of 2005, Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and became the costliest natural disaster in the history of the United States. Although the cost to human life cannot be underestimated, the economic effects of the hurricane were also extreme. Furthermore, the redistribution of Gulf residents following the disaster is the largest migration in the history of the United States. By 2006, the population of Louisiana declined by almost 5%.
Residents of Gulf areas also criticized the government’s slow response to the disaster. Images of starvation, thirst, and poverty of predominantly black Americans lead to statements like “George Bush doesn’t care about black people.” The government’s perceived failure to respond highlighted other issues such as poverty, unemployment, and emergency management.
Similarly, the Dust Bowl of the 1930s displaced 2.5 million people as they moved west. Many residents were forced to move because they could no longer harvest on their land. Others suffered from malnutrition caused by the poor air conditions.
In order to restore the Midwestern plains, the government implemented means to preserve the soil and stabilize prices. For example, government agencies bought cattle from farmers to help them avoid bankruptcy. However, despite government efforts, after ten years the land still failed to support agriculture.
In 2010, the BP oil well bursting served to further the economic problems of the Gulf Area. It is described as the “worst environmental disaster the US has faced.” People who formerly subsisted off the ocean could no longer harvest shrimp or fish from the area. Again they were forced find work elsewhere.
The history of the United States does include natural disasters that have threatened and often destroyed social and economic welfare. However, as the nuclear crisis in Japan results in destruction that the world cannot yet fathom, Americans must respond with the knowledge that our history has provided.
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