Katrina's House: The Constitutionality of the Forced Removal of Citizens from Their Homes in the Wake of Natural Disasters‪.‬

Hurricane Katrina took the United States by storm in the most literal sense. Katrina, the sixth-strongest storm ever to strike the Atlantic basin, (1) grew even more devastating when it breached the levee system that protected the city of New Orleans from nearby bodies of water. (2) Just prior to Katrina's arrival, Mayor Clarence Ray Nagin, Jr., ordered the city's first ever mandatory evacuation. (3) Due to various circumstances, however, thousands of citizens were unable to comply. (4) Amid the ensuing destruction and devastation, Mayor Nagin granted law enforcement officials the power to remove these remaining citizens from their homes forcibly, should they refuse to leave peacefully. (5) This declaration raised more than a few eyebrows and occasioned the inquiry: can they do that? (6) Mayor Nagin articulated health concerns from the flooding and fires as the impetus for the declaration. (7) From the survivors' viewpoint, however, countervailing considerations outweighed these potential health risks. Following Katrina's destruction, looting emerged as a grave concern. (8) With government officials overwhelmed by the clean-up and restoration efforts, some citizens understandably doubted the government's ability to protect what little property remained intact. (9) Others preferred the comfort of their own homes, even in such damaged states, to the uncertainty of surrounding shelters. (10) Still others remained in order to care for their pets that would be left behind in rescue efforts. (11) Whatever the reasons citizens had for staying, the mayor's declaration met with displeasure. Yet, in the face of losing everything, temporary or otherwise, these tragedy-stricken citizens could do nothing but voice displeasure. According to the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Act of 1988 ("Stafford Act"), (12) which directs the governmental response to natural disasters and states of emergency, (13) not only can the government forcibly evict citizens, it can do so without any repercussions whatsoever under the shield of governmental immunity.