Hurricane Katrina Resiliency – Nursing Major
I was currently finishing up my nursing school at
New Orleans University in 2005. On August 29,
2005, I was sitting at home curled up on my
couch with some of my fellow students,
watching T.V. to pass the time by. This day
happened to be the day Hurricane Katrina hit. A
few days before, we were warned to evacuate
as they were predicting a hurricane to hit our
land. In major fear of course, everyone wanted
to leave. Every sort of transportation was
booked. Buses, planes, and worst of all the
highways were clogged so badly I believed I
would have a better chance simply staying in
my small boarded up home.
The morning of August 29, an immense amount
of rainfall flooded the area. I remember seeing
vigorous winds hit, rain and water flooding the
area, watching trees snap in half, breaking
homes and buildings. During the hurricane I
believed there was no way it could possibly get
worse, but it definitely did.
The aftermath of the disaster was much worse
than the disaster itself. The Dome only took
15,000 people before closing its doors. I had
luckily got in safe. There was no established
medical staff, therefore me and a few other
medical students, nurses, and doctors that
happened to find safety inside the Superdome
got together and created a system. I had a few
main jobs on my plate. Those jobs consisted of
cleaning wounds, regularly checking blood
pressure, temp, oxygen, etc. as well as making
sure patients were being fed.
The most unfortunate about the aftermath of
the hurricane was that the officials had not
packed and stored enough food and supplies.
We were quickly running out of all of our food
and supplies which was very damaging as we
were trying to keep all of the victims healthy
and alive as well as trying to evacuate all of
them. The Dome itself was not completely safe
proof which worried me for my safety as well as
the life of others. The morning of August 29,
reports were conveyed that “part of the roof
was ‘peeling off,’ daylight could be seen from
inside the dome, and rain was pouring in.”
We were forced to put small buckets to stop
from flooding the entire area. My day to day
jobs continued. I tried to keep the beds and
area clean as well as attempting to maintain the
injurie’s health, but I was slowly starting to
lose hope by the hour. The next day on August
30, the dome slowly started to flood. I was
scared mainly due to the fact we had beds and
supplies all around the field level. We were
forced to move up to higher levels.
Finally, on August 31, it was announced that the
Superdome evacuees would move to the
Reliant Astrodome in Houston, Texas. “With no
power and no water, sanitary conditions within
the Superdome had rapidly deteriorated.” The
overall impact of the hurricane greatly terrified
me, changed me, and helped me grow strangely
enough. I learned how to truly take care of my
patients especially in such a desperate time of
need. I had witnessed two deaths, and heard of
another. Two of the elderly passed as well as
the third I heard was to have committed suicide
by jumping off the higher levels. This experience
sincerely taught me how to react quickly to
situations, push my empathy towards my
patients, and to better my skills. I would have
never learned any of this through my clinicals. I
was unfortunate yet lucky enough to be a part
of this experience.