Hurricane Katrina

On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast. Hundreds of thousands of people were displaced from their homes, and experts estimate that Katrina caused more than $100 billion in damage.
One particular city New Orleans, was more affected. As the majority of the city lies below sea level, it easily got submerged by the Hurricane when it was hit and was completely flooded. Although there was an evacuation, the mayor of New Orleans had ordered an evacuation, but it was considered to be too late. Because there was not enough time for the whole city to evacuate, people holed up in their homes or the football stadium and hoped for the best. In the aftermaths of the hurricane a lot of hate was directed toward President Bush for his inadequate response. Bush seemed indifferent - he didn't actually go and visit the people of New Orleans, but instead just flew over it in a comfortable helicopter. FEMA, the department that deals with natural disasters, did not have enough funding due to the war on terrorism, so they were able to do very little. Additionally, as New Orleans was predominantly black, it seemed as if the government was being racist by not helping properly. Katrina proved that the ability of the government to predict problems and deal with them effectively was not strong.