{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,24]],"date-time":"2026-02-24T23:57:53Z","timestamp":1771977473408,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":25,"publisher":"Weston Medical Publishing","issue":"1","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JEM"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Environmental disasters are inherently political phenomena, shaped by systemic inequalities and entrenched power dynamics. This article analyzes how the securitization paradigm and slow violence frameworks explain the disproportionate impact of Hurricane Katrina on marginalized communities. While the territorial securitization paradigm focuses on reactionary military preparedness, it fails to address the long-term systemic issues\u2014such as racism, socioeconomic inequality, and inadequate infrastructure\u2014that exacerbate vulnerability to environmental events. Using qualitative case study analysis, this article draws on federal reports, congressional records, academic literature, and media sources to examine structural neglect and racialized disaster response, and it draws parallels between Hurricanes Katrina and Maria. The disproportionate impact of Katrina on New Orleans\u2019 Black and low-income communities underscores the intersection of structural violence, slow violence, and environmental vulnerability. By reframing environmental security within the context of systemic inequities, this article calls for a renewed focus on resilience-building measures and inclusive disaster planning to address the root causes of vulnerability and mitigate future disasters.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.5055\/jem.0970","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,24]],"date-time":"2026-02-24T23:02:51Z","timestamp":1771974171000},"page":"35-45","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Securitization of Hurricane Katrina: Slow violence and injustice in New Orleans"],"prefix":"10.5055","volume":"24","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0007-6436-0063","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Natalie","family":"Schirmacher","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"3008","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,1]]},"reference":[{"key":"99225","unstructured":"NOLA Ready: Infrastructure failure: Levee failure and flood. Hazard Mitigation Plan. City of New Orleans. Available at https:\/\/ready.nola.gov\/hazard-mitigation\/hazards\/infrastructure-failurelevee-failure\/#heading5. Accessed November 20, 2024."},{"key":"99226","unstructured":"Alden E: Katrina leaves no external enemy to blame. Financial Times. September 5, 2005. Available at https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/067eaa66-1e43-11da-a470-00000e2511c8. Accessed September 24, 2025."},{"key":"99227","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Von Lucke F, Wellmann Z, Diez T: What\u2019s at stake in securitising climate change? Towards a differentiated approach. Geopolitics. 2014; 19(4): 857-884. DOI: 10.1080\/14650045.2014.913028.","DOI":"10.1080\/14650045.2014.913028"},{"key":"99228","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Nixon R: Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the Poor. 1st ed. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2011. DOI: 10.4159\/harvard.9780674061194.","DOI":"10.4159\/harvard.9780674061194"},{"key":"99229","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Davies T: Slow violence and toxic geographies: \u2018Out of sight\u2019 to whom? Environ Plann C: Polit Space. 2019; 40(2): 409-427. DOI: 10.1177\/2399654419841063.","DOI":"10.1177\/2399654419841063"},{"key":"99230","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Buzan B, W\u00e6ver O, de Wilde J: Security: A New Framework for Analysis. 1st ed. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1997. DOI: 10.1515\/9781685853808.","DOI":"10.1515\/9781685853808"},{"key":"99231","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Sims B: The day after the hurricane: Infrastructure, order, and the New Orleans Police Department\u2019s response to Hurricane Katrina. Soc Stud Sci. 2007; 37(1): 111-118.","DOI":"10.1177\/0306312706069432"},{"key":"99232","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Weber L, Hilfinger Messias DK: Mississippi front-line recovery work after Hurricane Katrina: An analysis of the intersections of gender, race, and class in advocacy, power relations, and health. Soc Sci Med. 2012; 74(11): 1833-1841. DOI: 10.1016\/j.socscimed.2011.08.034.","DOI":"10.1016\/j.socscimed.2011.08.034"},{"key":"99233","unstructured":"V\u00e4yrynen T: Environmental security. PEACE.015-2024-2025-1 new approaches to peacebuilding (Environmental Peacebuilding, Lectures). Class Lecture at Tampere University, Tampere. 2024."},{"key":"99234","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Enloe CH: Nimo\u2019s War, Emma\u2019s War: Making Feminist Sense of the Iraq War. 1st ed. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2010. 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Accessed June 17, 2025."},{"key":"99238","unstructured":"NAACP: Pursuing a class action lawsuit and apology from the United States president and congress on behalf of the victims of Hurricane Katrina and Rita. NAACP. 2006. Available at https:\/\/naacp.org\/resources\/pursuing-class-action-lawsuit-and-apology-unitedstates-president-and-congress-behalf. Accessed April 21, 2025."},{"key":"99239","unstructured":"Townsend FF: Hurricane Katrina: Lessons Learned. Washington, DC: Department of Homeland Security, 2006. Available at https:\/\/biotech.law.lsu.edu\/katrina\/govdocs\/katrina-lessons-learned.pdf. Accessed December 8, 2024."},{"key":"99240","unstructured":"Davis LE, Rough J, Cecchine G, et al.: Hurricane Katrina: Lessons for Army Planning and Operations. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2007. DOI: 10.7249\/MG603A."},{"key":"99241","unstructured":"Reychler L: Time for Peace: The Essential Role of Time in Conflict and Peace Processes. Brisbane, Queensland: University of Queensland Press, 2015. Available at https:\/\/ebookcentral.proquest.com\/lib\/tampere\/detail.action?docID=2074166. Accessed June 18, 2025."},{"key":"99242","unstructured":"Brookings Institution: Concentrated poverty in New Orleans and other American cities. Brookings, August 4, 2006. Available at https:\/\/www.brookings.edu\/articles\/concentrated-poverty-in-neworleans-and-other-american-cities\/. Accessed December 6, 2024."},{"key":"99243","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Henkel KE, Dovidio JF, Gaertner SL: Institutional discrimination, individual racism, and Hurricane Katrina. Anal Soc Iss Public Policy. 2006; 6(1): 99-124. DOI: 10.1111\/j.1530-2415.2006.00106.x.","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1530-2415.2006.00106.x"},{"key":"99244","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Campanella R: An ethnic geography of New Orleans. J Am Hist. 2007; 94: 704-715. Available at https:\/\/archive.oah.org\/special-issues\/katrina\/Campanella07e7.html?link_id=lan_migrate. Accessed June 17, 2025.","DOI":"10.2307\/25095131"},{"key":"99245","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Kavan S: Evaluation of the current approach to education of security issues at selected universities preparing future pedagogues. Sustainability. 2021; 13(19): 10684. DOI: 10.3390\/su131910684.","DOI":"10.3390\/su131910684"},{"key":"99246","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Levitt JI, Whitaker MC (eds.): Hurricane Katrina: America\u2019s Unnatural Disaster. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2009.","DOI":"10.2307\/j.ctt1dfnv3b"},{"key":"99247","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Straub AM: Natural disasters don\u2019t kill people, governments kill people: Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico\u2013recreancy, and \u2018risk society\u2019. Nat Hazards. 2021; 105(2): 1603-1621. 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