The article Hurricane Katrina Exacts another Toll: Enduring Depression from the Washington post, discusses the aftermaths of hurricane Katrina that continue to happen today. Hurricane Katrina was one of the largest hurricanes to hit the United States, it completely destroyed New Orleans. It has now been more than two years since the hurricane hit and New Orleans continues to be severely damaged. People are frustrated that the cleanup is taking so long and the long recovery period is taking a toll on the mental state of the residents in New Orleans. A survey taken of the Gulf Coast’s mental health shows that even though the levels of depression and other mental illnesses doubled after Katrina, those levels continue to increase two years after the hurricane hit.
Hurricane Katrina caused a variety of problems: many people lost their jobs, their homes, their friends and their family. Psychiatrists are trying to show these people that they are not crazy and are trying to help them in any way they can. Residents of New Orleans are still living in trailers, on deserted streets with a lot of damage to them. Because of these poor conditions, people have become a lot more depressed and they feel helpless. The only thing that will help is if the efforts to clean up the damage from hurricane Katrina get better, and if those people can get back to a stable life.
I think it is ridiculous that the conditions are still this bad in New Orleans. I can understand why people are having depression issues because it seems hopeless that conditions are going to get better. It has been two years since the hurricane and people continue to live in trailer homes that are dirty and unsafe. Relief efforts need to increase so these people can go back to having a stable life. If our government would step it up and help these people, they could lead normal lives again and their mental health could return to normal.
5 comments:
I think the article gives an accurate impression of the current physically and mental status in New Orleans. It is hard to see the devastation in New Orleans, especially after the government took no preventative safety steps before the storm came even though they had been warned of the severity. After hearing about the state of New Orleans from someone who was in New Orleans during the storm was surreal. He explained that the only way to navigate the streets was to go by boat but the water was so contaminated you could not touch it and people were shooting off the tops of buildings. It seems two years later the state has not much changed. It is hard to believe, and heartbreaking, that people are still living in shambles. I could not imagine having everything you have ever worked for being taken away and no hope in sight. I can see why the mental state in New Orleans is extremely low. Hopefully soon the government and the people of the United States will be able to restore these people's lives.
I agree that the article gives a proper account to the states of the people that lived in New Orleans. The people in New Orleans have a good reason to be depressed. I could not imagine if Katrina had taken out Madison. The hurricane was a devastating happening in the United States and the people that suffered from it have a right to be a little messed up right now. Most of the peoples "homes" were taken away from them. Like in the essay we wrote, a home is where peoples securities are and where they are usually feel the safest. That would be a tough transition: to go from normal life to living in trailors and in deserted streets. The idea that is still the way it is is scary- what if that happened to a lot of big cities? The United States would be in trouble. A severe natural disaster like that is hard to prepare for and there has been a lot done to help out, but there is not much more the government can do. Sure an increse in relief efforts would be nice, but there is a lot of them already.
The article, Hurrican Katrina Exacts another Toll: Enduring Depression, clearly portrays the struggles still being endured in New Orleans. About six months after the storm, I travelled to New Orleans with a school group to help reconstruct. Nothing had been done then and not much improvement has been made today. The only houses that were rebuilt were settled in wealthier communities where people could afford reconstruction. As for the people who cannot afford construction, their happiness is on the line.
As the article implies, deppression has become prominent in the city because of the long lasting effects of the storm. People struggle depression everyday all over the world. Sometimes I do not understand why people are deppressed, but after reading this article, I can understand and almost feel the depression through the words. These people have something to be depressed about. The question is, who is going to make the situation better? FEMA consultants are frantically trying to make up for their miscalculation, but how long will it take to reconstruct a city that was once so full of life and happiness?
The article, Hurrican Katrina Exacts another Toll: Enduring Depression, clearly portrays the struggles still being endured in New Orleans. About six months after the storm, I travelled to New Orleans with a school group to help reconstruct. Nothing had been done then and not much improvement has been made today. The only houses that were rebuilt were settled in wealthier communities where people could afford reconstruction. As for the people who cannot afford construction, their happiness is on the line.
As the article implies, deppression has become prominent in the city because of the long lasting effects of the storm. People struggle depression everyday all over the world. Sometimes I do not understand why people are deppressed, but after reading this article, I can understand and almost feel the depression through the words. These people have something to be depressed about. The question is, who is going to make the situation better? FEMA consultants are frantically trying to make up for their miscalculation, but how long will it take to reconstruct a city that was once so full of life and happiness?
The article, Hurrican Katrina Exacts another Toll: Enduring Depression, clearly portrays the struggles still being endured in New Orleans. About six months after the storm, I travelled to New Orleans with a school group to help reconstruct. Nothing had been done then and not much improvement has been made today. The only houses that were rebuilt were settled in wealthier communities where people could afford reconstruction. As for the people who cannot afford construction, their happiness is on the line.
As the article implies, deppression has become prominent in the city because of the long lasting effects of the storm. People struggle depression everyday all over the world. Sometimes I do not understand why people are deppressed, but after reading this article, I can understand and almost feel the depression through the words. These people have something to be depressed about. The question is, who is going to make the situation better? FEMA consultants are frantically trying to make up for their miscalculation, but how long will it take to reconstruct a city that was once so full of life and happiness?
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