By Danya Khan 

“We saw buses, helicopters, and FEMA trucks, but no one stopped to help us. We never felt so cut off in all our lives. When you feel like this you do one of two things: you either give up or go into survival mode. We chose the latter.”

Climate change has increasingly become a security threat, especially to those from marginalised communities. The heightened sense of insecurity for excluded communities is defined as a “Racialised Security Threat”. Hurricane Katrina, a tropical cyclone claiming over 1000 casualties in 2005, illustrates how climate change disproportionately affects those from disempowered communities. Though the storm itself was a natural disaster, its impact was shaped by pre-existing social, economic and racial inequalities. This was reflected in African American communities being more damaged than White communities (Logan, 2006).  

Understanding Climate Change as a security threat 

Climate change threatens security through a number of avenues; displacement, infrastructure collapse and economic damage. Infrastructure failures destabilise regions further weakening regional stability. The repercussions of these damages have differing effects within society. The unequal effects felt by disenfranchised communities is a result of “environmental racism”. Institutional racism shapes domestic responses to climate change, this is depicted in the handling of Hurricane Katrina. 

The Racialised Impact of Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina was one of the deadliest natural disasters the U.S. has seen to date. Over 1 million people were displaced and economic repercussions were estimated at over $125 billion in damages. With a death toll of 1,392 the impact was devastating and felt across the board. However, New Orleans and its Black communities suffered disproportionately due to historical structural inequalities. 

Many Black residents lacked the resources to evacuate. Transportation was key in enabling evacuation, but where poverty rates were high, car ownership was low. As many as 112,000 residents of New Orleans did not have their own vehicle at the time of the storm (Russell, 2005). This resulted in over 100,000 residents being left behind. This highlights the aspect of inequality within urban planning and infrastructure. The low-income housing in New Orleans made the residents increasingly vulnerable as its ability to withstand the hurricane was minimal. Furthermore, the city government failed to repair the levees surrounding the low-income African American community despite warnings of their fragility, and so when the levees inevitably failed, predominantly Black neighbourhoods were destroyed. This depicts how systematic racism shapes disaster outcomes, a natural disaster very quickly becomes a social and racial crisis. 

Negligence and Disparities in the Response to Katrina 

“They died from abject neglect,” retorted community activist Leah Hodges. “We left body bags behind… The people of New Orleans were stranded in a flood and were allowed to die.”

Suffering was high but there was disproportionate suffering of Black communities in New Orleans. FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) and local disaster responses were slow and inadequate in responding to the Black communities. Failing to provide adequate shelter and resources, many were left stranded without food, water, or medical aid for days, demonstrating clear racial bias in aid distribution. 

Furthermore, instead of prioritising rescue and relief officers engaged in excessive force and racial profiling. Police were documented blocking predominantly Black evacuees from crossing to safer areas. Racialised stereotypes caused the Black population of New Orleans to be perceived as a threat rather than victims.  Narratives in the media further enforced the rhetoric that Black survivors were “looters”, while white individuals engaging in the same survival tactics were labelled as “finding” food. Racialised narratives in the media further influenced the government’s slow response and public perception of the crisis.

These racial disparities were also highlighted in rebuilding efforts. Many government funded projects prioritised wealthier ‘white’ areas, further perpetuating colonial legacies and implementing inequality. Government response to the Black victims of Katrina reflects the concept of ‘othering’. Climate change vulnerability remains a condition of the Other. The abject prejudice against the Black communities of New Orleans demonstrates systematic failures, within disaster preparedness and response. 

Lessons from Katrina

Climate change is much deeper than the environment. It is not just an environmental crisis it is also a racialised security threat. Climate change continues to deepen injustice. Therefore, climate policies must be altered to ensure equality in disaster response. Policymakers must attempt to dismantle systematic barriers, like those with colonial roots, through more inclusive policies. Marginalised communities must be given a platform to advocate from so their voices and concerns are addressed. 

Katrina displays a broader global challenge of inequality within climate change. Bhambra and Newell explain Not recognising the patterns of political economic development that produce the global inequalities associated with climate change undermines the possibility of developing effective and socially just political solutions to the problems we face. Katrina serves as a warning for future disasters and highlights the need to address racial inequality within climate policy. This will enable a resilient future for all.