The Impact of Hurricane Katrina on Trust in Government

Abstract

Objectives To explore the impact Hurricane Katrina on citizens’ trust in government. Of primary interest is the relationship between poor governmental performance in the aftermath of the storm and low levels of political trust. In addition, levels of trust are related to respondents’ predictions regarding the time it will take their communities to recover. Methods Relationships are investigated through an analysis of data from a survey of residents in the Katrina‐affected areas of Louisiana and Mississippi. For this initial exploration, bivariate analysis is used to elaborate relationships between measures of trust in government and the experiences and attitudes of survey respondents. Results Analyses reveal interesting and significant relationships among the variables. Negative experiences during and after Hurricane Katrina are correlated with low levels of political trust. Also, low levels of trust are associated with pessimistic predictions of the time it will take communities to recover from the storm. Conclusions Given the importance of political trust for the long‐term health of the political system, it is critical that governments at all levels enhance their effectiveness in dealing with such disasters.

Social capital's role in recovery: evidence from communities affected by the 2010 Pakistan floods

“…Familiar trust pertains to people who are a part of an immediate network and who are known. Institutional trust relates to formal organisations such as a bureaucracy, federal and local government, or police and the military (Nicholls and Picou, ). A lack of trust in different stakeholders has serious implications for the recovery prospects of disaster victims.…”

“…A lack of trust in different stakeholders has serious implications for the recovery prospects of disaster victims. Greater levels of damage sustained by survivors of Hurricane Katrina, for instance, was associated with lower levels of trust in government officials (Nicholls and Picou, ). Nevertheless, disasters also affect the generalised trust of victims.…”

The Path to Resilience

“…As with immigrant communities, distrust of government offi cials is a challenge as these agencies are responsible for emergency management. One example is seen the poor response by governmental offi cials after the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina (Nicholls and Picou 2013 ;Tierney 2012 ). In addition, the quality of the emergency management personnel and departments are contingent upon "the extent to which a local government has adopted policies to prepare for emergencies, mitigate their impacts, ensure an effective emergency response, and facilitate community recovery" (Henstra 2010 , p. 238).…”

Determinants of Post‐flood Social and Institutional Trust Among Disaster Victims

“…Further, trust contributes ‘to social integration, co‐operation and harmony, to personal life satisfaction, to democratic stability and development, and even to good health and longevity’ (Delhey & Newton, ). Investigating the level of trust between public and governments has been an active field of research in social sciences (Nichollas & Picou, ) particularly in the field of political science and sociology. This article contributes to scientific literature on trust through our study of the impacts of the 2010 floods on the social and political trust of the flood victims.…”

“…In contrast, formal or institutional trust is focused on formal agencies such as local government officials, bureaucracy, rescue agencies, police and the legal system (Coninx, ). Empirical research has been divided on the ways that disasters influence social capita: disasters may erode or strengthen the victims’ informal or formal level of trust (Nichollas et al., ).…”