Annotated Bibliography
Sabina Khan
Team 7
sabina6@mit.edu
Anonymous. (2005). Hurricane "Katrina" and US Homeland Security. Military
Technology(pp. 104-108). Bonn, Germany: Moench Verlagsgesellschaft
This article details the many ways in which the government has tried to
control and solve the issue of New Orleans and how it has failed. The weaknesses
that the government has have been exposed by the utter devastation and chaos
caused by Katrina. The government’s inability to handle the situation of
crisis has made it clear to all how important it is to make New Orleans a
priority in order to better prepare for the future. The information detailed
here will give a solid background into what should be considered and what
should not be considered in a new plan for Katrina, with insurance backing
the least liable venue.
Anonymous. (2005). In Katrina's Wake. America (pp. 4-5) New York,
NY: America Press
The author talks of the damage and destruction caused by Katrina and how
in its aftermath the generosity and goodwill of the people was demonstrated.
From far and wide the help came, but the response time of the government and
other agencies is what caused the problems in New Orleans to multiply and
grow. The responded too late and with inadequate resources. This can help
the insurance aspect of the resconstruction of New Orleans by showing the
planners and designers of the new programs what not to do and what to improve
upon as they make New Orleans better.
Benke, A., & Cushing, C.(2005) Lower Mississippi River and its Tributaries.
Rivers of North America, (pp. 231-246). Burlington, MA: Elsevier Academic
Press
Benke and Cushing give detail accounts of various rivers in different of
North America. They begin from the North Eastern Atlantic based rivers and
work their way down, giving detail descriptions of all the different rivers
featured across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, from the “physiography,
climate and land use” to “ecology”, “chemistry” and “human impact”. The
description of the Mississippi river given in this book gives a detailed
description of the features of the Mississippi and the impacts that humans
have had on its surrounding areas. Armed with that knowledge we can again
categorize the surrounding areas and either build new systems of protection
for the area or prohibit any kind of human living in certain areas, all of
which can be down through pricing or policies based on insurance.
Black, C. (2006) Six Reasons we Lost New Orleans. Earth Island Journal
(40-41). San Francisco, CA: Earth Island Institute
Black delves deep into the issue of what went wrong during Katrina. Beginning
with the obvious causes of destruction and chaos, such as high winds and
the flood and rain that were present during the hurricane, she explores other
reasons for the predicament that New Orleans face, some of which include
the techniques and methods used by the US to control the Mississippi. This
information is relevant to create a well-rounded plan that takes into account
past failures and incorporates the weaknesses of the Mississippi River and
New Orleans. Also information gained from here could give us a general idea
of the different environmental conditions surrounding the Mississippi, which
in turn would help to create a strong insurance plan for New Orleans.
Carrol, C. (2005). Deadly Delay. National Geographic (pp. 6, 9) Washington,
DC: National Geographic Society.
Caroll gives insight into the actual plight of the people in New Orleans.
By explaining about the types of aid that were given to the people of New
Orleans, we see the true destruction of the people of New Orleans. The photographs
also emphasize the destruction and devastation in New Orleans. This specialized
view into the damage caused to the people on a whole provides information
for an insurance policy, which could encompass all the problems and provide
protection and relief for the people.
Daily Press (2004) Strike zones also hit by Soaring Insurance. Retrieved
September 18th, 2006 from Daily Press Website.
http://www.dailypress.com/news/weather/hurricane/dp-hg04_insuranceaug30,0,2044637.story?coll=dp-hurricane-news
This article talks about insurance prices rising even before Katrina hit
in New Orleans. It shows how people are trying to cope with soaring prices
while still trying to preserve their livelihoods. The reasons for raising
prices was to help people during a time of crisis, but when Katrina came,
there just wasn’t enough money to go around to people. This shows that a
strong insurance plan must be made that will help people in their time of
need and not make them go bankrupt during the years nothing is happening
to them.
Danticat, Edgewidege (2005) Another Country. The Progressive. (pp. 24-26)
Madison, WI: Progressive Incorporated.
This article talks about the response that the government gave to the
Katrina. The author talks of how the government did not handle the situation
as it should have been handled, not getting the aid out as fast as it should
have been sent out and not dealing with restoration as it should be dealt
with.This perspective is important for any future plans to be made since
it gives a perspective into how things can go wrong and how to better prepare
a plan that will have all the details outlined and aid can be granted as
fast as possible.
Environment Service News (2006) Insurance Risk Models Rise With
Elevated Storm Frequency, Severity. Retrieved October 14, 2006 from
Environment Service News website. http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/apr2006/2006-04-13-05.asp
This article deals with risk management models, an important tool that is
used by insurance companies all over. These models predict the risk that
is associated with different areas and it gives a score based on that rating.
According to this article due to higher likelihoods of storms, rates and
prices have been going up from insurance companies. This is important to
our facet of the whole solution int that it shows us how insurance companies
work and how risks assessment will be used in our project area.
Fiala, J. (2005). Beyond Katrina. DVM (pp. 1, 3) Cleveland, OH: Advanstar
Communications, Inc.
Fiala gives a small anecdote about a veterinarian who lost his entire livelihood
after Katrina had made its way through the area where his clinic was located.
He is numbed at first by all the destruction but at the end he and a friend
of his who is also in the same profession go out to do their jobs in helping
out by rescuing animals from the houses of their clients and then reuniting
the lost pets with their owners. The destruction detailed by their trips
to these broken houses also gives insight in to the devastation caused by
Katrina. Fiala gives a brief description of the insurance of the veterinarian
and how it did not help with the recovery process. This gives insight into
what to expand upon for a new and better insurance policy.
Homeowners Insurance. Retrieved September 10th, 2006. http://www.agencyinfo.net/iv/homeowners/types/flood.htm
This article discusses different areas that are covered and that are not
covered in a basic homeowner’s policy. Flood Insurance is not covered in
the policy, which becomes a big problem when flood time comes because people
do not purchase a separate policy for floods. Other areas of a person’s home
are also not included such as if land underneath you home is damaged or
if a tenant causes the damage. Keeping these aspects in mind, to strengthen
insurance policy there may need to be changes made in how insurance is covered.
Loewer, O. J. (2005). Exposed…Aftermath of Katrina, Resource (pp. 16).
St. Joseph,
MI: American Society of Agricultural Engineers.
Loewer expands upon the idea of what is at stake after Katrina. He explores
all the different areas that need to be addressed in New Orleans and what
to restore in the midst of the destruction and chaos that is the “aftermath
of Katrina”. He details all that has gone wrong so far in the relief effort,
from the frustration cause by blame being put on different areas to the
policies that have been made and their inherent weaknesses. This gives a
detailed account of all that should be done in New Orleans and brings into
focus what points and areas that should be focused upon the most.
Lubell, S. (2006) New Orleans does not look as bad as you think--it's
worse.Architectural Record (pp. 51) New York, NY: McGraw Hill Publications
Company.
Lubell describes his trip down to New Orleans to the reader by beginning
with the conference that he is attending there and how he made his way around
New Orleans and saw first hand the destruction that is the aftermath of
Katrina. He was there to plan a possible policy that could help out in New
Orleans. But after seeing the pain and devastion that were prevalent in
New Orleans he realized that the people making the policies have no idea
of what New Orleans is actually like. He realizes that all the ideas are
being made for an ideal situation and New Orleans is not an ideal situation.
This provides a check for us on how not to plan for New Orleans.
Lui, Amy. (2006) Katrina Index Summary of Monthly Findings.
(pp. 1-3) NW, Washington DC:Brookings Institute
This article gives details about the current situation of New Orleans.
There is data about the population density, the population makeup and other
data that is useful in determining the makeup of the city. This information
is highly useful for many different reasons. One is that it shows the extent
of the damage that has been done by Katrina and what has been salvaged since
then, giving insight into how policies should be redefined. The other reason
why it is important is that it gives insight into how to go about fixing
what has not been dealt with so far.
McPhee, J. (1989). Atchafalaya. In The Control of Nature (pp. 3-92).
New York: Farrar Straus Giroux.
McPhee in this book talks about the eternal conflict between man and nature
and details the many “battles” between the two forces of power. His book
centers around the many techniques that humans have used to try to control
and appease the mighty forces of nature, including a very descriptive chapter
on the Atchafalaya. The chapter begins with great detail of the machinery
and techniques used to control and use the mighty river in Louisiana. This
description helps us understand the techniques used in the past and which
ones have worked and which ones have not. In categorizing the techniques
we can take out the obsolete ones and integrate new techniques according
to geography and thereby reducing the risk of destruction and lowering insurance
costs.
O’Neal, S. (2006) Blown Away, New Scientist (pp. 23). Sutton, England:
Reed Business Information, UK.
This article provides a detailed account of several storms that occurred
during the year of 2005. After describing briefly about the others, O’Neal
describes the facts that were associated with Katrina. He then goes into
possible reasons why this might have occurred and he cited that global warming
and a “multi-decade cycle” that all storms go through, with periods of rest
in the middle. This information would be useful in deciding whether
or not certain insurance policies would work after a certain amount of time.
Pamies, R. (2005) From the Eye of the Storm to the Eyes of the Nation
, Diverse Issues in Higher Education (pp. 37) Reston, VA: Cox, Matthews
and Associates, Inc.
In this article Pamies discusses all the relief efforts and aid that went
into New Orleans after Katrina. He comments on the fact that the government
was not able to help the people of New Orleans as they should have been helped.
Some people never got the aid they were promised and the healthcare system
has totally broken. down. This can help insurance companies by giving them
an idea of where they were lacking in this whole mess, where they can improve
and make their policies better so no one has to go through what hundreds of
other people in New Orleans went through.
Ruquet, M. (2005) Insurers Attack Three Top-Ten Hurricanes, National
Underwriter. P.C. (pp. 6,7) Erlanger, KY: National Underwriter Company.
Ruquet describes the plight of the insurance companies, a big problem after
Katrina. The insurance companies were not ready for a storm of the magnitude
that New Orleans was hit with. Now many companies are struggling to fulfill
their duties to their clients while not going into bankruptcy. Also the
clients are suffering because either their claims have not been fulfilled
or the money they have gotten is too little to help out with their damages,
even though they have gotten the full share of what their insurance policies
promised. This gives insight into what to expand upon for a possible new
insurance policy for coastal areas.
Schindehette, S., Dennis, A, Block, K & Perra, J. (2005). New Orleans:
A City in Limbo, People (pp. 66-70) New York, NY: Times Incorporated.
This article gives a view into the lives of people who are slowly trying
to bring order to their lives after the chaos of Katrina. By giving small
descriptions of several scenarios happening in New Orleans, we gain an insight
into the actual impact that the storm had on the people of New Orleans.
This helps in our decision for a better New Orleans and a better plan of
insurance by showing us what the people of New Orleans have had to go through
and what should be done to make their lives better.
Schorr, Daniel. (2005) Empty Promises. The New Leader (pp 5) New
York, NY: American Labor Conference on International Affair.
This article also details the government's inability to deal with the situation
dealt to the country by Katrina. The government did not deal efficiently
with the situation as money and relief was not dealt out correctly. This
imperitave in understanding what will be the best way to go about making
policies for the New Orleans region so that in the future aid and relief
can be dealt out to the people in any crisis with efficiency and accuracy.
Sharp, C. (2005), Appendix and The Journey. The Mississippi River(pp.
3-159; 183-185). Santa Fe, New Mexico & Staunton Virginia: Center for
American Places.
Sharp delves into the history and culture of the areas surrounding the
Mississippi River. The time period he chooses to use is 1953, some time
after the flood of 1927 and way before Katrina, a time when the area would
once again be blossoming and still be a vibrant and vivacious community.
The photographs and short anecdotes give insight into the unique culture
that is prevalent in the New Orleans area and helps us plan for a more encompassing
and lasting solution through an insurance plan that will help all classes
and all sorts of people no matter what their background. And the Appendix
gives us insight into the beginning of the Mississippi, which we can take
into account when dealing with what to do with the Mississippi, and also
we can establish an insurance plan considering what the pros and cons are
of the specific arrangement made for the Mississippi.
Spearing, D. (1995). Southeastern Louisiana and Eastern Louisiana. Roadside
Geology of Louisiana(pp. 49-97; 97-111). Missoula, Montana: Mountain Press
Publishing Company.
Spearing provides a descriptive account of the geological history and features
of Louisiana. Dividing the states up into separate regions with witty titles
(Northern Louisiana: Oldest Rocks, Highest Hills) he delves deeper into
the region and provides necessary valuable and vivid details about the areas
in each region, from the processes that have occurred and the actions that
are being observed to the geological makeup of the area. The descriptions
of the Mississippi, Atchafalaya and the Lake Ponchatrain areas provide for
us the information necessary to build a detailed insurance policy that will
take into account and provide protection and aid for the different types
of areas prevalent in New Orleans and the Mississippi area.
Time-Picayune (2006), The Cost of Living will chase us off. Retrieved
September 10th, 2006 from NOLA website. http://www.nola.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-8/1157952387178790.xml?NOELE&coll=1
This details the situation with insurance for people after hurricane Katrina
hit. Rates on everything have gone up due to the rising expenses dealing
with restoration of New Orleans. Everything is in such a mess that important
even crucial votes have been postponed due to the fact that politicians cannot
decide on what is the best course to take for restoration in New Orleans.
Some people face a 100% increase in their premiums in the upcoming future.
A strong insurance plan needs to be implemented so that this situation can
be avoided in the future.
Turpin, J. (2005). Drying out the Big Easy, Engineered Systems (pp.30-35)
Troy, MI: BNP Media.
This article gives more detail into what the buildings of New Orleans looked
like after Katrina. The business buildings fared much better than the actual
homes of people, but there was still a lot of damage that was done to actual
business building itself that will cost a lot of money and a lot of man
power to fix. It provides insight into what insurance companies should provide
in their policies that would help in this situation.
Wikipedia (2006) Hurricane Katrina. Retrieved September 10th, 2006 from
Wikipedia website. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Katrina#New_Orleans
This site gives detailed information on what happened point by point on
the day of the Hurricane. It talks of a variety of things, from the path of
the hurricane to the devastation caused by it. Information is also provided
on the rescue efforts, again giving insight into the devastation caused by
Katrina. There is also information on the different parts of the city of New
Orleans and surrounding areas that were hit the most by Katrina, which will
help in a comprehensive plan for a strong and well-rounded insurance policy.
Wikipedia (2006) National Flood Insurance Program September 10th, 2006
from Wikipedia website. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Flood_Insurance_Program
The National Flood Insurance program is a government program through which
you can obtain flood insurance. It is designed so that it is the only place
from which you can get flood insurance. It borrows money from the US Treasury
in time of heavy losses, such as Katrina, and this is bad in times when
the country is heading for a recession. A new system must be devised so
that flood insurance can live up to its potential and actually help people
rather than create more problems.
Wyatt, W. (2005). Hope After the Hurricanes. State Legislatures (pp.
12-14) Denver, CO: National Conference of State Legislatures.
This details all the efforts that were put into the relief effort for New
Orleans. It shows how the world responded to the devastation in New Orleans
and how the government itself responded. But then it explains how the influx
of aid that was going into New Orleans started to dwindle and how not all
the aid was being given to the people of New Orleans because politicians
could not decide how to delegate the aid to the people in need. Several other
politicians in New Orleans and in surrounding areas such as Texas have been
trying to help people in the area. This gives us insight in to how the policies
should be made so that people receive the aid that they need.
