Katrina Hurt Blacks and Poor Victims Most
Differences larger by race than income
by David W. Moore, Senior Gallup Poll Editor
October 25, 2005
Shortly after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans and the surrounding areas, critics charged that a lack of concern for poor and black people who lived in the devastated areas was behind the slow response to the disaster, the assumption being that low-income people and black people were disproportionately likely to be victims. Even among victims, blacks and poor people were seen as more likely to suffer hardships than whites and high-income people.
Results from a CNN/USA Today/Gallup survey* allow a comparison of racial and income effects among actual hurricane victims. The poll was conducted six weeks after the storm hit the Gulf Coast. Interviews were conducted Sept. 30-Oct. 9 among people who had applied for Red Cross assistance because of damage they had suffered from Katrina. The Red Cross database included more than 463,000 names, and the poll interviewed a random sample of 1,510 by telephone, some by landline and others by cell phone.
A comparison of the experiences reported by these people shows that blacks and poor people were indeed more likely than whites and high-income people, respectively, to suffer from the hurricane. It also shows that there were larger racial differences than income differences.
On 7 of the 10 hurricane-related hardships asked about in the poll, black victims were significantly more likely than white victims to say they experienced them. Blacks were significantly more likely than whites to have:
- worried about elderly family members living in the path of the hurricane (81% of blacks vs. 64% of whites)
- feared for their lives (63% vs. 39%)
- been separated from family members for at least a day (55% vs. 45%)
- gone without food for at least a day (53% vs. 24%)
- had a vehicle damaged (47% vs. 31%)
- gone without drinking water for at least a day (45% vs. 21%)
- spent at least one night in an emergency shelter (34% vs. 13%)