Cycles of Disasters, Long-term Recovery, and Identity: How Biloxi’s Recovery from Hurricane Katrina Started in 1969
Abstract as pdf
Corresponding Author:
Jennifer Trivedi
University of Delaware United States of America
jtrivedi@udel.edu
Author(s):
“Camille killed more people in 2005 than she did in 1969.” Many people shared this perspective with me in my fieldwork in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in Biloxi, Mississippi. But beyond this, Camille and recovery from it also set up the Biloxi that Katrina would affect and the recovery decisions that would be made in the aftermath of the storm when intertwined with other existing issues of identity and power.
Following Katrina, Biloxi found itself working to recover from devastation, much of which was focused on the oldest part of the city, filled with shotgun houses, social clubs and churches rooted in ethnic and national heritage, the seafood industry, and casino barges. The recovery process itself was shaped not only by what had physically been there before and the path of the hurricane, but also by pre-disaster social, cultural, political, and economic forces, including people who lived in areas far less impacted by the storm and a history of repeated hurricane strikes in the area.
The area’s history of neighborhood, ethnic and racial, and socioeconomic class identities was interwoven with memories of Camille and other hurricanes to shape priorities for pre-Katrina preparedness and post-Katrina response and recovery. Understanding this historical and cultural context is vital to our understanding of long-term recovery from disasters, of Katrina’s lasting impact on Biloxi, and of the ways in which cycles of disasters can influence recovery, in turn, setting up what and who will be hit by the next disaster.
Also problematic is the fact that Katrina was, of course, not Camille and shaping decision making for disaster preparedness and recovery for Katrina on experiences with Camille was no guarantee of success and potentially continues a pattern of similar problems. In fact, following Katrina decisions were made to relocate casinos onto land near the water, eliminating the hazards associated with their status as barges, but continuing existing risk as they remained in the strike zone for hurricanes, as proven with both Camille and Katrina.
In an era of climate change, studying these cycles and their role in long-term preparedness and recovery in disasters is critical. With changing patterns tied to climate change, we have seen increases in disaster frequency and severity, which opens the way for this pattern of relying on experience with one disaster to shape behavior in another completely different disaster to potential ill effects to be repeated more often.
Disaster recovery in the long-term