Hurricane Katrina Case Study

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Introduction
During August of 2005, a small tropical disturbance formed over the Atlantic Ocean. In the beginning there was little to distinguish it from the other three disturbances brewing in the South Atlantic Ocean. Once it reached the Bahamas and strengthened to a category one hurricane, it was labeled Katrina. Hurricane Katrina would go on to cross the Florida peninsula and weaken into a Tropical storm, giving the rest of Florida, Mississippi, and Louisiana a sigh of relief, but it was to be short lived. Once Katrina was over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, she quickly regained strength and slammed into the southern United States as a category 5 Hurricane. Leaving 1,836 people dead and 81 billion dollars in property damages, …show more content…
In the aftermath of Katrina, the death toll was immense at 1,836 people in the entire affected area. FEMA experienced problems hiring a contractor to collect and handle the deceased. When FEMA seemed to be moving toward a stalemate, and bodies littering the streets, FEMA requested that the Department of Defense step in and perform all acts of mortuary affairs until they could find an adequate contractor.
The 54th Quartermaster Company of the 530th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion deployed nine mortuary teams, with four of those teams arriving on 14 September. These teams combined with Disaster Mortuary Operational Teams (DMORT) carried out the mission of collection, handling, and care of the bodies of the deceased. Federal mortuary teams also helped collect information to help identify a body, including coordinates of the recovery site.
Joint Task Force Katrina issued strict guidance for the handling of the deceased. Once a deceased person was located, their position must be marked and reported. Initially, Soldiers were not allowed to touch the body. This allowed Mortuary Affairs contractors to prepare the deceased for transport. It was at this time Soldiers assisted with moving the bodies, since the hired contractors where elderly and out of …show more content…
In the days leading up to the landfall of Hurricane Katrina, NORTHCOM commander, Timothy J. Keating prepositioned emergency meals and medical equipment by approving the use of bases in Barksbaile, LA, Meridian MS. Military officers were also sent before landfall of Hurricane Katrina to both Mississippi and Louisiana by Admiral Keating to coordinate with FEMA. The Deputy of Defense Gordan England also plays a large part in preparing for any emergency that may come. Deputy of Defense Gordan ordered several U.S. Naval ships into the Gulf of Mexico with no formal request made by FEMA or any other authorities, in a preemptive preparation for disaster relief. NORTHCOM did not waste time in approving request from FEMA to utilize Meridian Naval Air Station and Barksdale Airforce Base as Federal Operating Stations (FOS).
NORTHCOM took other steps of proactivity while tracking the storm. NORTHCOM began daily teleconferences with agencies such as FEMA, the Joint Forces Command, TRANSCOM, and the National Guard Bureau, discussing base evacuation, protection of military assets, and deployment of the DCOs. Joint Task Force was overall command and control. Initially JTFK was set in Camp Shelby MS, but command and control was not efficient there. JTFK relocated to the USS Iwo Jima, docked in New Orleans, improving command and control of the rescue and recovery
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