The “Big Questions” of Katrina and the 2005 Great Flood of New Orleans

Bibliographic Data

ID6364378
AuthorsBeverly A Cigler (0000-0003-2599-0840, Harrisburg University of Science and Technology, corresponding author)
Year2007
Volume67
Issues1
Pages64-76
Publication date2007-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePublic Administration Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0033-3352 • E-ISSN: 1540-6210
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/j.1540-6210.2007.00814.x
OpenAlexW2082202912
LanguageEN
Citations received32
References cited26

The “big questions” associated with Hurricane Katrina and the great flood of New Orleans lie at the intersection of the natural and human‐shaped environments. The interactions dominating the intersection of the two environments are found in the social‐political‐economic system, culture and history, intergovernmental relations, and law. The big questions are not whether specific individuals were to blame for the destruction of lives and property, and they do not begin with the slow and inadequate intergovernmental response to the disaster. Instead, the big questions involve the roles of individuals, governments, and private markets in creating so‐called natural disasters; whether government, through its lead role in the emergency management system, is incompetent, or whether capability and performance in protecting life and property have been eroded through a long‐term “hollowing out” process; and whether Katrina’s lessons will be learned or merely noted

Archaeology · Blame · Environmental ethics · Flood myth · Geography · Government (linguistics · Hurricane katrina · Intersection (aeronautics · Law and economics · Natural (archaeology · Natural disaster · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Private property · Property (philosophy · Sociology · Disaster Management and Resilience · Flood Risk Assessment and Management · History · Law · Psychology · Public Administration · Social Psychology · Tropical and Extratropical Cyclones Research