who was the governor of louisiana during katrina
Kathleen Blanco When first elected, Blanco outlined her top priorities as providing affordable healthcare, improving the education system in the state, and helping to create a strong and vibrant economy through aggressive economic development initiatives. Her work as governor changed dramatically when, in 2005, coastal Louisiana was severely damaged by two hurricanes that struck less than a month apart. In August, Hurricane Katrina devastated the New Orleans region, an urban area of 1.4Â million people. Then, in September, Hurricane Rita struck the southwestern coast, displacing another 300,000 people. More than 200,000 housing units were destroyed, 81,000 businesses closed, entire electrical and telecommunication systems were torn apart, and one million people were made homeless as a result of severe flooding caused by levee failures and storm surges.
Criticism of government response to Hurricane Katrina President Bush signed a $10.5Â billion relief package within four days of the hurricane,[7] and ordered 7,200 active-duty troops to assist with relief efforts.[8] However, some members of the United States Congress charged that the relief efforts were slow because most of the affected areas were poor.[9] There was also concern that many National Guard units were short staffed in surrounding states because some units were deployed overseas and local recruiting efforts in schools and the community had been hampered.[10]