Hurricane Katrina was a devastating event that occurred in the Gulf of South in August 2005. Hurricane Katrina led to the loss of lives and destruction of property. The event raised discussions on the institutional reactions towards the failure to overcome the loses with implications on diversity. This study explores views covered in the Women in the Wake of Storm from the 1200 survivors of the Hurricane. Reflections on Women in the Wake of Storm uncovers class and racial contrasts, which demonstrates that neither class or race of individual can be used as a measurement to save lives disaster. The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina brings a convergence amongst the inhabitants to work hard to restore to their normal lifestyle in the gulf. Issues of diversity stand out as class, racial, and gender differences were rampant during and after the Hurricane.
Prominent Dimensions of Diversity
Hurricane Katrin crushed the lives of many inhabitants of the Gulf Coast district. Fortunately, to their aid came a large number of Americans that were filled with the passion and compassion to save the lives ( Jones-DeWeever, 2008) . Both the state and national government officials tirelessly worked to save the individuals in the storm. A year after the landfalls that led to the Hurricane, reactions from the survivors demonstrate clearly that the losses were avoidable, but individuals who were incapacitated were profoundly affected because the system ignored their needs and dismissed them ( Jones-DeWeever, 2008) . Low-income earners and African American women were the most vulnerable groups. They were not easily saved because of the lack of transportation
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Women's Vulnerability to Hurricane Katrina
Natural disasters are gendered events. Pregnant women and children are the most vulnerable groups that face serious consequences in a fiasco like Hurricane Katrina. Most of the people who died in the hurricane were women and children. Notably, women make up 54% of the total population in New Orleans. Ironically they make up to 80% of the survivors who were left to fand for themselves bot during and after the storm ( Masozera, Bailey & Kerchner, 2007) . The media and disaster planners often report the figures but have never answered questions like why are there so many women left behind and why do women experience natural disasters like hurricane Katrina more than men? The main focus of the media was on the issues of race and class, but gender appeared insignificant to them ( Butterbaugh, 2005) . Out of one in four women living in New Orleans live below the poverty line. Considering the overall population in South Orleans, 15% of the inhabitants are extremely poor compared to the national percentage of 14.5 %. Up to 17% of the population are single mothers who are the heads of their families, and most of them are African American women whose median income is approximately 20 per year ( Butterbaugh, 2005) . This means that the women were living in extremely harsh conditions than Hurricane Katrina strike. Ironically, after the hurricane strike, many donors came to offer the women asylum. They never thought of helping women from living in poor conditions.
During the disaster, women were evacuated from their homes and settled in shelters. Thye has diminished access to transport systems and had poor shelter, which exacerbates their problems ( Jones-DeWeever, 2008) . Five years past the Hurrican Katrina, women still faced challenges with affordable housing since houses were limited. Women’s economic status was hurt in Hurricane Katrina. Gender wage gap remains an issue. Post Katrina, the labor participation for women from the region was extremely low.
Social Diversity
When reviewing the impacts of hurricane Katrina, population development and dissemination are the key factors to be considered in determining help for the affected families and individuals. The socio-economic status of individuals is a determinant to protect them from the disaster. Vital elements in delivering helplessness, who is being influenced by the fiasco, are just as essential. Hurricane Katrina had a severe social impact on the inhabitants whereby over 800000 units were destroyed, leaving many people homeless ( Hawkins & Maurer, 2009) . The commonly debated issue in the disaster is the class and racial constructs. There were strong class and racial differences, which is an indication that the differences are hard to reduce. African Americans suffered the most in the hurricane as they faced challenges looking for new jobs. In respect to evacuation from the disaster points, the low-income families faced challenges with transport even though they heed to the formal warning.
Education
Education for students in the regions was highly affected in the hurricane Katrina whereby 247000 students were dislodged from Louisiana, 3000 from Alabama and 125,000 from Mississippi. The students faced challenges after schools had been destroyed in the hurricane. School attendance also favored class and racial constructs in the region whereby African American children faced challenges resuming school after their schools were destroyed ( Elliott & Pais, 2006) . The government took too long to facilitate resources necessary for the resuming school.
Implications for Health Care
During and after the hurricane, access to healthcare was a severe issue. The evacuees were settled in camps where they had no access to proper medical attention and supplies. Crisis administrators and the good wishers were not sure of the HIPAA regulations on the social diversities in giving medical attention and supplies to the vulnerable population ( Berggren & Curiel, 2006) . In the post-Katrina, residents still could not access proper healthcare despite there being clinics that charged expensively, yet the population survived on lower salaries.
Policy recommendations
In line with the challenges that vulnerable groups encountered in Hurricane Katrina, the following are the policy recommendations:
The government in conjunction with HIPPA should allow open access to medication for individuals in crisis and organizations that wish to provide medical supplies should not be prohibited from distributing medical supplies to the evacuees in camps during a disaster.
The government should support disaster planning and recovery department with enough tracks to help in transportation during the crisis.
The public should be given an early evacuation notice from the disaster planning organizations
Ensure diversity amongst employees in crisis management.
References
Berggren, R. E., & Curiel, T. J. (2006). After the storm—health care infrastructure in post-Katrina New Orleans. New England Journal of Medicine , 354 (15), 1549-1552.
Butterbaugh, L. (2005). Why did Hurricane Katrina hit women so hard?. Off our backs , 35 (9/10), 17-19.
Elliott, J. R., & Pais, J. (2006). Race, class, and Hurricane Katrina: Social differences in human responses to disaster. Social science research , 35 (2), 295-321.
Hawkins, R. L., & Maurer, K. (2009). Bonding, bridging, and linking: how social capital operated in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. British Journal of Social Work , 40 (6), 1777-1793.
Jones-DeWeever, A. (2008). Women in the wake of the storm: Examining the post-Katrina realities of the women of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast . Washington, DC: Institute for Women's Policy Research.
Masozera, M., Bailey, M., & Kerchner, C. (2007). Distribution of impacts of natural disasters across income groups: A case study of New Orleans. Ecological Economics , 63 (2-3), 299-306.
