Disaster
Recently for class I was assigned to read a chapter out of the book Disaster. I found this incredibly interesting. The chapter went through the actions of the government leading up to Hurricane Katrina. I myself was not familiar with any of the preceedings before reading this. It was a very easy read, that kept my attention the whole way through, while still being able to convey the facts around the event. While this was very interesting to read, it was also kind of unnerving because it gives a look into how our government handles dangerous and possibly devestating events. There seemed to be a disconnect in the government between the people who seemed to know exactly how bad the storm was going to be and the people who had the authority to take action. There never seemed to be any sense of real urgency among the majority of people helping to prepare New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It gave me the impression that the government tried to hold off moving people out of the dangerous area until the last possible minute, but by then it was too late. I guess that this is just an example of how important risk communication is and how it can go terribly wrong. This chapter made it seem as if no one communicated to the groups being evacuated just how serious the hurricane was going to be, even though all of the reports coming from the National Weather Service indicated that it was going to be really bad.
