Hurricane Katrina | Stranded | 2

Against The Odds

Wondery

Cassie De Pecol, History, Society & Culture, Dolby, Mike Corey, Dolby Atmos, Atmos

4.7 • 7.2K Ratings

🗓️ 22 August 2023

⏱️ 48 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Officials learn that the storm surge from Katrina has breached New Orleans’s levees, allowing water to pour into the city. Soon, 80 percent of New Orleans is underwater. Many residents become trapped in their homes, and are forced to climb into their attics and onto rooftops, as their neighborhoods flood. With the power out and phone service down, the local and federal government struggle to mount relief efforts, leaving thousands of people to fend for themselves without food, drinking water, or adequate medical care.

Listen early and ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App https://wondery.app.link/againsttheodds.

Support us by supporting our sponsors!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	A listener note, against the odds uses dramatizations that are based on true events.
0:06.2	Some elements, including dialogue, may be invented, but everything is based on research.
0:18.9	Marty Bamunday crouches in front of the open door of a Coast Guard helicopter as it sits
0:23.5	on a helipad.
0:24.8	The rotor blades spin above him as he yells at the pilot.
0:28.3	I'm just asking for ten minutes.
0:30.7	The pilot's face is unreadable, behind the large mirrored sunglasses, but Bamunday's
0:35.7	pretty sure he's scowling.
0:37.7	There are hundreds of people who need to be rescued from their rooftops.
0:41.2	I don't have time to give you a joy ride.
0:43.6	Bamunday bites his lip in frustration.
0:46.8	It's a little after 5pm on Monday, August 29th, 2005, outside the Superdome in New Orleans.
0:54.2	After the first time in more than 12 hours, the wind gusts from Hurricane Katrina have
0:59.4	died down, and helicopters can fly.
1:02.6	Bamunday works for FEMA, and he's desperate to get up in a helicopter to assess the damage
1:07.6	to the city.
1:09.4	FEMA's response to the disaster is off to a rough start.
1:13.1	A medical team was supposed to arrive last night to assist with the 10,000-plus people
1:18.6	sheltered in the city's football stadium, the Superdome.
1:22.1	Many of them are elderly, disabled, and in need of medical attention.
1:26.7	But the team didn't make it into the city before the hurricane hit.
1:30.8	Some supply trucks did arrive, carrying food and water, but far fewer than Bamunday's
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Wondery, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Wondery and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.