September 07, 2005
Public Skeptical New Orleans Will Recover
Criticism, but little outrage, for Bush's and federal agencies' response to hurricane
by David W. Moore GALLUP NEWS SERVICE
PRINCETON, NJ -- A new CNN/USA Today/Gallup survey finds the public skeptical that New Orleans will ever completely recover from Hurricane Katrina, but also supportive of making the effort to rebuild the city. Even those who predict full recovery expect the process to take many years.
The poll also finds the public largely divided in its evaluation of the response by President George W. Bush and the federal government, though more people are critical than supportive of their efforts. The public is also highly critical of gas companies for the rise in prices, saying the industry is taking advantage of the situation to charge unfair prices.
The poll, conducted Sept. 5-6, finds almost all Americans, 93%, agreeing that Hurricane Katrina is the worst natural disaster in their lifetimes.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thinking about natural disasters such as hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, or fires, do you consider Hurricane Katrina to be the worst natural disaster in the U.S. in your lifetime, or not?
Yes, is 93%
No, is not 7
No opinion *
* Less than 0.5%
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
A majority, 56%, is even skeptical that New Orleans will ever completely recover from the hurricane. Among those who think recovery is possible, they predict on average that it will take more than nine years, with a majority saying a minimum of six years.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Do you think the city of New Orleans will ever completely recover from the effects of Hurricane Katrina, or not?
Yes, will completely recover 42%
No, will not 56
No opinion 2
Just your best guess, how many years will it take for New Orleans to completely recover? [OPEN-ENDED]
BASED ON 268 ADULTS WHO SAY THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS WILL COMPLETELY RECOVER FROM THE EFFECTS OF HURRICANE KATRINA
2 years or less 10
3-5 years 33
6-10 years 41
11-20 years 8
More than 20 years 5
No opinion 3
Mean 9.3 years
Median 7 years
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Still, a substantial majority, 63%, believes that New Orleans should be rebuilt as a major city.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Do you think New Orleans should -- or should not -- be rebuilt as a major city?
Yes, should 63%
No, should not 34
No opinion 3
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
No Apparent Outrage With Government's Response to Hurricane
Despite widespread criticism of the response by Bush and, separately, the federal government, to the problems caused by the hurricane, the public seems on balance only mildly critical. Forty-two percent say Bush did a "bad" (18%) or "terrible" (24%) job, but 35% rate his response as either "great" (10%) or "good" (25%).
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Do you think -- [RANDOM ORDER] -- has/have done a -- great, good, neither good nor bad, bad, or terrible job -- in responding to the hurricane and subsequent flooding?
great good neither bad terrible no opinion
George W. Bush 10 25 21 18 24 2 Federal government
agencies
responsible for
handling
emergencies 8 27 20 20 22 3 State and local officials
in Louisiana 7 30 23 20 15 5
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Federal agencies received a similar rating, with 42% of Americans giving a low rating and 35% a high one. The public was about evenly divided on state and local officials in Louisiana -- 37% giving a high rating and 35% a low one.
The ratings for Bush are highly related to party affiliation.
* By a margin of 69% to 10%, Republicans give Bush a positive rather than negative rating for his response.
* Democrats give almost a mirror opposite -- 66% negative to 10% positive.
* Independents side with the Democrats, giving a more modest margin -- 47% negative to 29% positive.
When asked to identify who was most responsible for the problems in New Orleans after the hurricane, 38% of Americans said no one was really to blame, while 13% cited Bush, 18% the federal agencies, and 25% state and local officials.
[...]
Few Americans feel that any top official in the agencies responsible for handling emergencies should be dismissed from office -- just 29% say someone should be fired, while 63% disagree.
[...]
Police are trying to get the remaining residents in New Orleans to evacuate, because of health and safety problems. Americans agree with this effort by better than a 2-to-1 margin, 66% to 30%.
[...]
The public tends to be upbeat about the efforts being made to deal with the disaster. Sixty-two percent feel the progress being made in the region is satisfactory, while 35% say it is not.
[...]
As for the effect of the hurricane on gas prices, Americans express a cynical view -- by 79% to 18%, they believe that gas companies are taking advantage of the situation to charge unfair prices.
[...]
Survey Methods
Results are based on telephone interviews with 609 national adults, aged 18 and older, conducted Sept. 5-6, 2005. For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±4 percentage points.
For results based on the sample of 268 adults who say the city of New Orleans will completely recover from the effects of Hurricane Katrina, the maximum margin of sampling error is ±6 percentage points.
In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.