Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina

While the storm was extremely devastating the aftermath of Katrina was equally, if not more difficult to deal with. According to an article from the Met Office the storm caused damage to the main levee that led to large flooding that took several weeks to drain, as well as damaged various bridges, health facilities, and homes. The Met Office mentioned how the storm negatively affected agriculture due to flooding and tornadoes, which would definitely impact rural areas more so than areas such as New Orleans where agriculture may not be the primary source of income for most inhabitants. The main effect that the Met Office emphasized was the levee break and how this led to evacuations, where many have not returned to their original homes, and the large flooding. Looking at an article posted to the website for the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) it is mentioned that the storm, while it caused many lasting effects for the land as well as economically, also affected the people that experienced it. According to the NCBI, rates of mental and physical illness rose significantly for the participants of their study and stayed risen for at least a year post—Katrina. It is mentioned that, while economic status often does affect stress levels within a crisis, the majority of people who experienced the hurricane reported similar levels of stress. This could be taken to see that the storm was so influential that it affected people of different economic backgrounds similarly and equally, showing the real devastation that the storm caused.

There have been numerous campaigns and initiatives to aid the relief efforts of Katrina. Included in those are the efforts of Direct Relief, the American Red Cross, and most notable the Make it Right campaign, spearheaded by Brad Pitt. All of these campaigns have led to the rebuilding of the districts affected by the levee breaks and other storm damage. A lot of the relief efforts helped with health services (the American Red Cross as an example) and a lot of others went for the rebuilding of homes that would be more sustainable during storms (as in the Make it Right campaign.) The Make it Right campaign is now recognizing Ten Years after the storm and is recognizing all of the progress that has been made to "make it right."