What Really Happened in New Orleans? Estimating the Threat of Violence During the Hurricane Katrina Disaster*

Abstract

Although research indicates that initial media reports greatly exaggerated the severity of violent crime in post‐Katrina New Orleans, it is not yet clear whether violence in general was a problem for storm victims. In this study, data from a unique survey of storm victims are used to estimate the overall threat of violence faced by those who were hardest hit by the storm and who lived through the disaster in New Orleans. The findings suggest that, while the threat of violent victimization was very real for some respondents, it did not dominate the experience of these storm victims. These findings are discussed in terms of their implications for the social construction of law and order, the persistence of disaster myths, negative stereotyping of the urban poor, and crime control issues in the context of disaster management and planning.