The United States has experienced several disasters that have had a negative impact on the country among them being the 9/11 terrorist attack and Hurricane Katrina. Each of these attacks had a significant effect on the country since it led to the loss of lives, property damage, and separation of family members. Consequently, the affected individuals suffered psychologically from the events that unfolded in each of the incident, including the victims, rescuers, cleaners, close family members, and the general public. The media plays an essential role in intensifying the psychological effects emaciating from disasters as they retell the stories because they give rise to the emotions. Disasters such as 9/11 terrorist attack and Hurricane Katrina disasters had psychological effects on both the survivors and society at large because they led to PTSD, anxiety, and depression on both adults and children.
Summary of Each Disaster
9/11 Terrorist Attack
On 11 th September 2001, four airplanes flying on American air were hijacked by Al Qaeda extremist groups group that planned for suicide bombing against some target groups in the United States. At least 19 terrorists engaged in the attack where they hijacked the planes that were flying in different from different airplanes across the country. The terrorist attack resulted to about 3,000 deaths, multiple injuries, and the victims suffered significant psychological effects ( Neria, DiGrande, & Adams, 2011) . Nevertheless, the authorities within the country had an effective response that helped in evacuating the victims and serve as an assurance to the rest of the citizens. For instance, the New York Mayor took charge of the rescue mission immediately after the first attack and he also participated in burials on some of the victims. Moreover, managers in organizations that operated from the World Trade Center and the Pentagon house took over their leadership roles and engaged in effective coordination of the return to work strategy. The effective communication retained during this period helped in assuring the employees on retaining their job and having a safe work environment after resuming their duties. The 9/11 terrorist attack had some psychological effects on the people of America, but the impact was felt differently. The employees working in either of the attacked locations experienced mental health issues after the incident. Moreover, the people that directly had contact with the pandemic including the rescue teams and cleaners suffered some psychological effects based on the gory scenes that they had to withstand. Additionally, other members of society experienced anxiety attacks that caused them immense irrational fears. Subsequently, the people developed a tendency of avoiding public places because they felt threatened and unsafe. Therefore, the incident impacted the social lives among the Americans since they feared gatherings and being in public places.
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Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina occurred in 2005 where it had its immense effect on the Gulf Coast affecting areas such as New Orleans, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Ontario, and New Jersey. The pandemic led to the death of at least 1,833 individuals, multiple injured, and substantial damage on people’s property ( Davis, Grills-Taquechel, & Ollendick, 2010) . Unlike the 9/11 terrorist attack, Hurricane Katrina was expected and people were aware of the threat it posed to the people based on predictions made by the weather department. However, the response that followed the incident was a significant let down to the people. Majority of the residents of New Orleans that was immensely affected had not moved to safer grounds despite the warnings given prior. Hence, when the disaster struck and destroyed infrastructures including road networks, telephone lines, and electricity, the victims were left stranded without access to basic commodities. Government agencies, especially New Orleans mayor Nagin took blame due to failure of deploying school buses to evacuate the residents before the hurricane struck. Furthermore, there was an insufficient number of police officers to respond to the disaster in New Orleans when the disaster strike, which caused delays in the evacuation process. Similar to 9/11 terrorist attack, the disaster led to some psychological effects on the victims where they exhibited signs such as depression, anxiety, somatization, substance abuse, and physical illness. Studies also reveal that the victims of the disaster are easily irritable when reminded about the incident or when they encounter the gory images associated with the pandemic. Moreover, it is essential to note that the pandemic led to separation of family members, loss of property, and bereavement, which collectively contributed towards mental health issues among the victims. Hence, even though the government has made significant efforts to rebuild the cities and also putting some measures to avoid such a huge damage to property of the disaster recurs.
An explanation of Sources
9/11
The American government has made efforts in ensuring that the victims of 9/11 terrorist attack that lost their loved one’s commemorate the day annually. According to Aronson (2016), memorializing the deaths of the people that died during the incident plays a critical role in enhancing the healing process among the bereaved parties. Furthermore, the practice is essential because it creates a national reminder of enhancing homeland security and promote the fight against terrorism. Consequently, the general public and government agencies become more vigilant in ensuring that they are not caught unaware in such a predicament. Moreover, during the memorial services of the bereaved families, the government gets an opportunity to understand the varying needs among the victims and establish means to provide them with help. For instance, the services have ensured that the government consistently provides the victims with the needed mental health services. The memorial services are celebrated nationally and the events funded by the federal government.
The 9/11 terrorist attack exposed employees whose organizations operated from the World Trade Center to mental health issues due to the traumatizing experience they encountered. North et al. (2013) explains the efforts made by the organizational leaders in facilitating the mental health of their employees. The management acknowledged that the existing mental turmoil among the employees had the potential to influence the productivity of employees while at work. Consequently, the managers agreed that rapid return to work policy would facilitate the healing process among the victims while they also ensured that the employees had access to mental health services. Moreover, the companies introduced the aspect of support groups at the workplace where the employees would convene and share their experiences aimed at relieving them from the consequences of the incident. The programs seemed to be effective even though the managers were optimistic about them during initial stages since they felt unprepared to respond to the challenge.
The government further responded by giving tax relief to the companies associated with the 9/11 terrorist attack in the United States. According to Albrecht & Kilchling (2007), the tax relief was given to individuals whose family members lost their lives in the attack and organizations affected to enhance their recovery process. Other beneficiaries of the tax relief include individuals that got involved in the rescue operations and lost their lives in the process. Their descendants would live free from government taxations. Another group of beneficiaries include individuals that got injured in the process since that made it difficult for them to sustain their lives. Moreover, the government established a victim compensation program as a way of cushioning members of the family from the financial harm incurred from the bereavement.
Hurricane Katrina
The victims of New Orleans suffered greatly before they would access any kind of help when the pandemic struck. Rhodes et al. (2010) argues that the cities’ mayor was significantly criticized because he did not deploy the school buses to help in the evacuation of people from their homes when the warnings about the hurricane were issued by the weather departments. Moreover, the mayor demonstrated lack of leadership given that when the disaster struck, there were no enough police officers within New Orleans that would initiate the recovery process. Consequently, the resulting delays emerging from the rescue process played a significant role in increasing the number of people that succumbed from the incident. Hence, the rescue operations took a prolonged period before it was complete and the people lacked basic commodities including food and safe grounds to sleep. It is essential to account for the failure of the local authorities in responding to the pandemic because it demonstrates the lack of satisfaction associated with the process.
Hurricane Katrina had significant psychological impact on the victims since they were subjected to bereavement, loss of property, and separation among family members. Nevertheless, the government response to the incident was prompt such that it has eased the experience of children and their memories of the disaster. While initially children experienced anxiety due to the changes in their lives following the incident, it is also essential to note that children’s recovery was swifter compared to that of adults (Navarro, 2016). The government rebuild schools and other structures that made a difference in the city, which brought a sense of normalcy among the children. Moreover, the government further availed mental health services among the victims of the incident, which facilitated recovery among children.
Government’s response on Hurricane Katrina was flawed and President Bush acknowledge the fact demonstrating the importance of the country learning from the incident to facilitate evacuation processes in future. According to President Bush, local, state, and federal government did not act swiftly while responding to the pandemic, which made it difficult to save lives. Moreover, the FEMA organization was characterized with corruption such that they did not publicizes the essential information on time before causing havoc in the country. Nevertheless, the incident provided the country with a learning experience that has facilitated swift responses to attacks that took place after the hurricane.
Long-term Effects for Each Disaster
9/11 Terrorist Attack
The 9/11 attack had both positive and negative effects. The negative effects relates to the consistent psychological and physical damage among the people that experienced the pandemic struck. Some peoples acquired injuries that caused some permanent damages in their bodies while others still experience anxiety and trauma. The physical damages could have caused some disabilities, subsequently making the victims dependent. The anxiety is experienced when the individuals have memories about the incident or whenever they witness some gory images associated with the pandemic. People also suffered bereavement since they lost their relatives, friends, and workmates, which might take time to heal. Also, the deaths could have led to financial issues among family members if the individual that succumbed served as a bread winner within the household. On the other hand, the pandemic also had a positive impact on America because the government put more focus on the Homeland Security. The country’s intelligence unit was given an additional role that included counterterrorism where they were given the role of ensuring that they unravel planned terrorist attacks before execution. The measure has been helpful in the country because the national intelligence has helped to protect its citizens from several planned attacks. Moreover, the counterterrorism intelligence based in the United States has also warned several other countries of impending threat of terrorist attacks. Consequently, it has become possible to reduce the threat of terrorism across the globe. Additionally, the defense unit has also shifted its response to its officials whereby they are equipped with multiple skills to facilitate evacuation and swift response to pandemics of different nature. Therefore, even though disasters continue to strike the country, it has become possible to evacuate and safe several people from dying. Other nations have also benefited from the change since the United States has often sent its officials to help respond to calamities across the globe.
Hurricane Katrina
The government admitted its failure in responding to the pandemic, which has resulted to significant changes in disaster response within the country. The government responded by charging New Orleans city for various accounts including his involvement in corruption. Moreover, the country changed its policies on disaster management to help protect its people once another pandemic strikes. Furthermore, New Orleans benefited because there was a change in structures, where more sustainable infrastructures were built. The victims of the pandemic also suffered from the incident because it would facilitate their psychological impact causing them stress, anxiety, and depression. The people still experience anxiety upon seeing gory images of the incident from the media. Moreover, the bereavement has caused people pain and they are in a healing process. The destruction of property was a significant loss for the victims since it resulted to financial constraints. Hence, even though the government gave the victims some funds as a compensation package, it is likely that some individuals never acquired the financial status that they had before the pandemic struck. Such an occurrence is likely to make people bitter and develop mental health issues for prolonged periods.
Impact of these Disasters on Children vs. Adults
The 9/11 terrorist attack demonstrates that both adults and children have equal chances of experienced psychological effects from a disaster. Nevertheless, the reaction of children is dependent on the emotional stability of their caregivers. Hence, if the caregiver feels and expresses emotional wellness after experiencing the pandemic, the children will react in a similar way. Therefore, after the terror attack, majority of people, including adults living in New York City were traumatized by the events. Subsequently, the children reacted by demonstrating severe signs of post-traumatic stress. Similarly, the adolescents reacted by showing signs of psychological effects and mental health issues. However, the parents who were able to protect their children from their psychological reaction to the attack had their children react indifferently.
The effects of Hurricane Katrina were more immense among the adults compared to the children. The events that followed the loss of their loved ones, property, and work had a psychological impact on both the children and the adults because the both parties experienced changes incurred in their lives (Rousseana et al., 2013). Furthermore, the victims of Hurricane Katrina were separated from their family members during the evacuation process, which had an additional emotional turmoil on them. Nevertheless, irrespective of these changes, children resumed their normal lives easily once the government engaged in the efforts of rebuilding their schools and them getting back to their homes. On the other hand, the adults still struggle with the psychological effects of the pandemic given that majority of them despise the gory images spread through the media. Evidently, the reaction of children in the two incidents differed because in one case, the parents would protect their children while in Hurricane Katrina such a measure was inapplicable because they experienced the severity of the pandemic.
It is essential for the society to prepare itself on the best approach that will facilitate resilience among family members when disasters strike. Landau, Mittal, and Weiling (2008) argues the importance of protecting the family unit from mass trauma. The Link Approach is recommended as an effective strategy that helps members of the family give appropriate responses to the disasters that facing a given country at a specific time. The strategy emphasizes that different members of the family should be equipped with skills that will enable them exploit their strengths compared to their vulnerability when faced with a difficult situation. Furthermore, the strategy proposes that members of the society should be prepared about the possible traumatic events in future and pool their resource to enhance positive emotional response to the events. Hence, the response of some parents during the 9/11 terrorist attack demonstrates their strength since they protected their children from experiencing the psychological turmoil associated with the pandemic.
The role of media in Agitating Psychological Impacts
The media plays a critical role in agitating the psychological impact that the incident had among the victims of the two pandemics. However, it is essential to note that while the activities of the media have a negative contribution on the mental wellness of the victims, it is trapped with its role of creating awareness. Firstly, in both incidents, the media was vigilant in acquiring individuals that were directly influenced by the pandemic and acquire first-hand information about what transpired ( Pfefferbaum et al., 2014) . The victims would narrate their experiences on what happened first and their responses. Moreover, they also narrated on what happened to the people that were around them at the time of the incident. While such engagements helps to acquire credible information and account on what actually happened to cure the curiosity of their audience, the victim will have to recount on what happened to them and might have a psychological impact on the individual. Furthermore, the spread of the detailed information on what happened after the pandemic struck helps in creating curiosity among members of the society. Consequently, they react by developing fear and anxiety following the incident. The fear experienced among the masses are vital because they deny people the sense of security, which might lead to some not anticipated reaction. Moreover, the panic among a large society increases the number of people that need special attention from the government to enhance their mental wellness.
Even though both the 9/11 terrorist attack and Hurricane Katrina took place several years ago, the stories are still being retold to date through different media platforms. Consequently, the reminders create some fresh memories among people that had experienced some form of healing following the incident and this aspect causes them suffering. Moreover, the gory images shared through media platforms when giving accounts for either of the incidents makes it easy for members of society to re-open their psychological suffering. Hence, it is common that some people might have some fear being in public places due to the 9/11 attack or even fear living in the Gulf coast, in case the hurricanes strike again.
However, it is essential to note that the media can also play an essential role in facilitating a healing process among people that suffered the pandemic by creating awareness on mental wellness. Furthermore, the media also helps in spreading awareness about the measures the government has taken in enhancing its disaster preparedness to ensure that such calamities have a minimum effect in their operations. Norris and Stevens (2007) argues about the importance of engaging the community in activities that would build their resilience in the face of pandemics. The authors argue that the members of community should actively be engaged in activities that help in mitigating the risks associated with the pandemic. Moreover, members of the public should be equipped with decision-making skills in face of a pandemic which facilitates their response in face of danger. The public also serves as an effective information resource during the pandemics and it is essential to let them aware. The media can positively help in ensuring that the community becomes resilient by consistently engaging the public on the issues raised above. On this, the media has helped in emphasizing the importance of incorporating disaster drills within corporate institutions and education institutions. The drills are essential because they prepare people to prepare when a pandemic eventually strikes.
Conclusion
Both the 9/11 terrorist attack and Hurricane Katrina demonstrate the immense psychological impacts that disaster’s cause to children and adults. Moreover, the role of media in intensifying the psychological impacts resulting from these incidents is evident because the retold stories reopen the wounds and hinder the healing process. The two pandemics influenced the victims significantly since it led to loss of lives, separation of families, and damage on properties. They further exposed the preparedness of the government in responding to disasters whenever they strike. Notably, while the response during Hurricane Katrina was significantly criticized due to the delays caused, there was change during the 9/11 attack that happened much later. Hence, the federal government enhanced its disaster management strategies. It is essential to note that families should prepare for disasters in advance and focus on their strengths to avoid vulnerability. Moreover, it is essential to note that even though the media is significantly associated in reopening the psychological wounds among the people, it also significantly contributes towards building resilience across the entire community.
References
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