In August 1971, construction began on a 13 acre, 21 story tall stadium which was located in New Orleans, Louisiana. Four years later, the 134 million dollar Superdome was opened to house its first NFL game, featuring the New Orleans Saints and the Cincinnati Bengals. Since its opening, the 76, 468 seat Superdome has been used as a emergency shelter on a few occasions. In 1998, the dome was used to house 14,000 people during Hurricane Georges. During Georges, the dome did not experience damage due to the weather; however, the evacuees stole furniture and damaged property which resulted in thousands of dollars in losses. In addition, there were great difficulties in supplying the thousands of evacuees with the needed necessities for a emergency situation. In 2004, the dome was used again during Hurricane Ivan. During Ivan, more than one thousand special-needs evacuees took shelter within Superdome.
Image 1 - thousands of fleeing people waiting in line for shelter within the Superdome
In August of 2005, the massively strong Hurricane Katrina was on a collision course with New Orleans. Even though the storm’s intensity was decreased from a category 5 to a category 3, just before making landfall, New Orleans mayor, Ray Nagin, demanded a mandatory evacuation of the city. Even though, during the two previous uses of the Superdome as a emergency shelter, city officials still had not stockpiled enough fuel, food, and other supplied needed to handle the requirements of the prospected thousands of refugees taking shelter within the dome during Hurricane Katrina. In 1999, the director of emergency preparedness or St. Tammany Parish told the Times-Picayune, “over the years, city officials have stressed that they did not want to make it too comfortable at the Superdome since it was safer to leave the city altogether. It is not a hotel."
When Katrina came ashore, 9,000 residence and 550 National Guardsmen took shelter in the Superdome. Once the levees around the city were breached, the number rapidly grew to 15,000 to 20,000 from those seeking refuge from the flood. During Katrina, officials set up security checkpoints, which confiscated alcohol, weapons, and illicit drugs from those seeking refuge in the dome. Unlike previous hurricanes, Katrina sheared away much of the roof’s covering; therefore, water leaked into the stadium. The storm and the leaking water, combined with the 20,000 refugees, caused$185.4 million in damage to the Superdome. Due to this, the New Orleans Saints played their 2005 games in San Antonio’s Alamodome and Baton Rouge’s Tiger Stadium.
Image 2 - Lines blocks long were formed to gain emergency sheltering from the floods in New Orleans.
While the Saints called these two stadiums home for the 2005 season, the Superdome was still being used by thousands. Due to high winds, leaking water, and extended use, many of the dome’s normal functions suffered. One of those functions, the dome’s bathrooms, exemplified horrific conditions in the wake of Katrina. The dome lacked power; therefore, the bathrooms did not have working lights. This caused the people to be afraid to enter. In addition, the toilets began to become backed-up. The stench from the bathroom caused the refugees to find other options for a bathroom. These options included empty bottles, boxes, and even in exposed corners. Due to these hazardous bacterial conditions, many medical issues were formed the individuals started to get fevers, rashes, and experienced vomiting. In addition, the individuals’ medications were quickly running low. Most of which were needed to preserve homeostasis within their bodies. One refugee, Becky Larue explained that she was down to her last blood pressure pill and had no idea when they would get out or when she could get the medical help she needed.
Image 3 - People waiting hours in line just to receive sheltering and the necessities needed for living
However, the refugees were not the only ones who were greatly affected in the dome. The workers trying to help the refugees were also impacted. One worker, Janice Singleton, said she was robbed of everything she had on her, even her shoes. She also stated, “They tore the dome apart. They tore it down. They were taking everything out of there that they could take.” Due to housing 20,000 people, the Superdome and the refugees experienced large quantities of trash. Both inside and out, including the Superdome’s 50 yard concourse which connected it to the shopping mall was a sea of trash that was five feet deep in some areas. Even though the workers were trying to keep the dome as clean as possible, they were greatly outnumbered. Therefore, the only area that remained clean was the areas in which they were currently cleaning.
Image 4 - A view of the conditions within the Superdome only days after Katrina hit New Orleans
Days later, public transportation started to arrive to the stadium to transport the refugees to safer conditions. Conditions inside the dome, even though thousands were being ferried to Huston, remained unbearable. In addition, much of the medical staff that had been working in the “special needs” area was some of the first to be evacuated. This left the remaining thousands of people to continue to suffer medically and get worse. In January 2006, work began to clean up and renovate the Superdome. Nearly 4,000 tons of trash and debris were removed, along with 1.6 million square feet of damaged carpeting, 650,000 square feet of wall hoard, and 500,000 square feet of ceiling tiles. On September 24, 2006, the Superdome hosted its first game or event since the 2004 season. This game featured the New Orleans Saints taking on the Atlanta Falcons.
Text
Superdome Evatuation Completed. (2005 September 3). Retrieved October 27, 2011
from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9175611/ns/us_news-katrina_the_long_road_
back/t/superdome-evacuation-completed
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