The 9th Ward The African American’s Struggle in The Wake...

In the wake of natural disasters, the minorities of America are down the pecking order in the government’s list of priorities. Specifically seen in the African-American people, the government fails to provide speedy response time, supplies and other aid, as well as providing substantial compensation for the families devastated by disasters, which could have been preventable or deterred from causing more havoc. In many cases, the African-American people were exposed to poor living conditions, living in undesirable areas, and a lack of wealth, education, and preventative warnings of oncoming disasters. This can be seen in the cases of the 1900 great hurricane of Galveston, Texas and the 1995 Chicago Heat Wave, but the greatest example of†¦show more content†¦The 17th street Levee, located along the Lower Ninth Ward was breached, causing most of the flooding in New Orleans. National Public Radio reported that many investigators are finding that the breaches of the London Avenue Canal and the 17th Street Canal were caused by severe engineering flaws. The same walls both failed when the water rose only about half way up the wall, proving that the levees were poorly constructed in the Ninth Ward (npr.org). Bob Bea is an engineer and professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and was given the task by the National Science Foundation to find the cause of the breaching of the levees. According the Bea, the levees had a weak enough layer underground to allow the levees to break. The Army Corps, who are responsible for building the hurricane-protection system of New Orleans, require that floodwalls be created 30% stronger than what the minimum amount requires to hold back water. By the Army Corps guidelines, they are also required that the underlying soil is weaker than what tests show, usually in the bottom third of the original measurement (npr.org). The culprit to the breaching of the wall was a weak layer of clay that had no possibility of ho lding back Katrina. How could the Army Corps engineers miss such an area? It is very reasonable that the overseeing of theShow MoreRelatedFundamentals of Hrm263904 Words   |  1056 Pagessuch as the collapse of large banks and crew that understands the strategy and can insurance companies, can seemingly come out of nowhere. The challenges adapt quickly to the unpredictable have been coming fast and furious recently as organizations struggle to environment. adjust strategy in the face of a tumbling stock market, widespread layoffs, bankruptcies of companies once considered to be icons in their industries, an increasingly global environment, changes brought by a new U.S. president, and