Homeland security Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Homeland security - Research Paper Example Hurricane Katrina was one of the deadliest storms ever to hit the US coast. It ripped through the Gulf Coast in 2005 and brought with itself not just strong gale of wind but also many unarticulated miseries. The coastlines of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama suffered the worst. New Orleans, in Louisiana, was severely affected due to the failure of the levee system. In fact, the levee system failed due to its flaws in designing and poor maintenance. The hurricane had its â€Å"economic†, â€Å"environmental†, â€Å"social†, and â€Å"political† impact. The hurricane was one of the costliest and it required money to restore it. The coastal regions were destroyed and the breeding grounds of the animals were lost. It also once again exposed the inability of the US government to handle such situations. Hurricane Katrina resulted in the loss of a great number of human lives. There was loss of life due to thirst and starvation. This drew a lot of criticisms fo r the government as they failed to save lives due to their lack of prompt action. (Hurricane Katrina: facts and information, n.d). Thousands of people had left the city and they became refugees. Many people found shelter with nearby relatives. On the other hand many restarted their lives in states far away as Massachusetts and Utah. Experts studying the hurricane concluded that it had the impact of four storms. Experts had further pointed out that understanding the previous flaws would be the key to success in future planning. In the wake of the storm, many loopholes within the planning system were exposed (Hurricane Katrina, 2010). Psychological Impact Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is found among those people who had experienced a traumatic event. Those who develop PTSD often have recurring thoughts about the incident and the person feels numb emotionally (What is PTSD, n.d). In case of Hurricane Katrina victims PTSD symptoms have been found even two years after the inciden t (Anderson, 2007). In case of natural disasters pet loss becomes a very common phenomenon. After Hurricane Katrina struck almost 200,000 pets were displaced. Only 5% of those found were reunited with their owners. There seems to be an association between pet loss with depression, posttraumatic stress, and acute stress (Lowe et.al, 2009, p 244). According to a federal mental health agency, those who lived along the hurricane ravaged Gulf Coast required help for anger, depression and other problems while they were rebuilding their lives once again. When Hurricane Katrina was ravaging, the people had also witnessed deaths and helplessness, which had affected them. Thus, according to authorities with federal Substances Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the enormity of the disaster and long time in recovery had created a sense of hopelessness for some people (Carley 2006).   Availability of Resources for the Victims When the disaster took place, it also drew a lot of at tention and help from