Datrel Johnson
Professor Peter Johnson
Geography 101
25 August 2013
Describe Hurricane Katrina Beginning in the 1950s, the United States have witnessed two Category Five Storms and seven Category Four Storms naming Hurricane Katrina as one of the most deadly Category Four hurricanes to hit the Gulf Coast. On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina dismantled several sections of the levee which caused it to collapse. The storm then breeched the New Orleans’ levee system allowing Lake Ponchartrain and the Mississippi River to flow in the heart of the city. Furthermore, a tremendous amount of damages occurred throughout the coast of Mississippi and Alabama. The state of Louisiana sustained most of the damages not just from Hurricane
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After Hurricane Katrina, ten months later, jobs plummeted to an average loss of 95,000. “During the month of November 2005, employment had dropped to 105,300 below the previous year’s figure.” (Dolfman pg. 7) Furthermore, Hurricane Karina in doubt did cause more damage to the economy than expected. The hurricane “affected 19% of U.S. oil production.” (Dolfman pg. 7) Hurricane Katrina completely destroyed 113 offshore oil and gas platforms, occurs damages to457 oil and gas pipelines, and spilled as much oil compared to the Exxon Valdez oil disaster. This devastating event “caused oil prices to increase $3 a barrel,” and gas prices sky-rocketed to $5 a gallon. (Dolfman pg. 7) Lastly, Hurricane Katrina’s impact struck Louisiana’s sugar industry, totaling an estimate of $500 million in “annual crop value.” (Amadeo) There are two main concepts to prevent another devastating event as Hurricane Katrina which are plan/prepare and thorough disaster drills. First and foremost, we cannot prevent nor anticipate disasters; therefore, we shall prepare and practice for crisis as such. When everyone knows which critical functions are required for restoration then this could provide a tremendous amount of confidence in life-threatening situations. The very basic principles of planning we all should be familiar with could save the lives of millions. Next, conducting thorough disaster drills should always “be
Numerous different aspects were altered due to the ruckus of Hurricane Katrina. The first major aspect was housing and location. Katrina nearly demolished 300,000 homes. The ascending sea level along the coast resulting from onshore winds is a storm surge. With a twenty-two foot storm surge in New Orleans and a twenty-seven foot storm surge in Mississippi, Hurricane Katrina averaged a shocking twelve foot storm surge. As a storm surge’s footage increases, the surge will continue to move inland farther and farther. Hurricane Katrina’s storm surge is documented as moving inland a total of twelve miles into the state of Mississippi (FAQS, 2013). Hurricane Katrina impacted a total of seven states. Five of these states were Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. Kentucky and Ohio were two more states affected but in a different way. Because of the tremendous amount of water, Kentucky and Ohio were victims of the Mississippi River flooding. Some states experienced more extreme destruction than others. Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana experienced Hurricane Katrina’s wrath firsthand. These three southern states were affected the worst by the massive storm (FAQS, 2013). Mississippi’s forest industry experienced a great amount of destruction losing 1.3 million acres of valuable forest land. The main cause of destruction in New Orleans was blamed on the failure of the levee system to stand its ground
On August 29th, 2005 Hurricane Katrina caused catastrophic damage and flooding in Mississippi, Louisiana, New Orleans and areas in between. It destructed the lives and homes of thousands of people, with a total of 1,883 fatalities (Hurricane Katrina Statistics Fast Facts, 2015). Hurricane Katrina left many homeless and hospitals unprepared for the challenges posed to the healthcare system as a whole. Some of these challenges included gaining access to healthcare facilities, providing expedited care to those most in need, and preventing spread of disease that commonly occurs during natural disasters. Many facilities did not evacuate in time and many were left stranded in flooded waters as patients conditions worsened and access to essential medications and treatments became limited.
In the history of the United States of America, Hurricane Katrina was known as one of the worst hurricanes in the world. The hurricane was a combination of tropical waters and gushing winds. It was the vicious hurricane that caused severe damage to the citizens of the United States of America. The amazing city known for its southern style, Cajun cuisines, jazz music and its celebration of Mardi Gras will never be the same. New Orleans, Louisiana was changed forever in August 2005 when this category five hurricane left the city devastated. The catastrophic storm tore through the city of New Orleans and surrounding areas destroying everything in its path and killing hundreds of people.
In the late summer of 2005, a terrible tragedy occurred that changed the lives of many in the south-east region of the United States. A Category 3, named storm, named Hurricane Katrina, hit the Gulf Coast on the 29th of August and led to the death of 1,836 and millions of dollars’ worth of damage (Waple 2005). The majority of the damage occurred in New Orleans, Louisiana. Waple writes in her article that winds “gusted over 100 mph in New Orleans, just west of the eye” (Waple 2005). Not only was the majority of the damage due to the direct catastrophes of the storm but also city’s levees could no longer hold thus breaking and releasing great masses of water. Approximately, 80% of the city was submerged at sea level. Despite the vast amount
On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast at daybreak, “pummeling a region that included the fabled city of New Orleans and heaping damage on neighboring Mississippi. In all, more than 1,700 people were killed and hundreds of thousands of others displaced.” (Laforet, New York Times)
On the morning of August Twenty-ninth, 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana and the Gulf Coast region. The storm brought the water to about twenty feet high, swallowing eighty percent of the New Orleans city immediately. The flood and torrential rainstorm wreaked havoc and forced millions of people evacuate from the city. According to the National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration, Katrina caused approximately one hundred and eight billion dollars in damage. Hurricane Katrina was one of the most destructive disasters have ever occurred in the United States, but it also revealed a catastrophic government at all levels’ failure in responding to the contingency.
Often, the government responds to natural disasters with thorough preparation and planning. The federal, state, and local levels of government do this in an effort to help reduce injury and property damage as well as ensure the overall safety of the general population. The 2005 Atlantic hurricane season saw the costliest and one of the deadliest storms in United States history. This storm was Hurricane Katrina. Hurricane Katrina displaced of an estimated 645,000 Louisiana citizens (Cepeda, Valdez, Kaplan, & Hill, 2010). This paper will examine…
(Thiede & Brown, 2013). Lastly, the improper constriction levees and floodwalls will be addressed (Thiede & Brown, 2013). By narrowing down the substantial factors, the government and public can learn from the disaster management mistakes of Hurricane Katrina so aftermath effects can be prevented/alleviated in the future. Recommendations for improving disaster management practices can also be provided and would be beneficial in saving many lives.
I clearly remember the disaster Hurricane Katrina brought to the Gulf of Mexico in 2005. Several states, counties, and citizens were affected by the storm, specifically the city of New Orleans, Louisiana. I remember seeing up washed caskets floating through the city and residents sitting on their roofs waiting to be rescued. Worst of all, I clearly remember the thousands of homes that were destroyed, practically leaving the entire city homeless. As a young, prospective scientist when this disaster occurred, I remembered learning that hurricanes were referred to as natural disasters and could not be controlled nor prevented. It wasn’t until a college class studying environmental policy did I gain knowledge that the disaster at New Orleans was
In the year 2005, New Orleans was famously hit a major natural disaster that took lives and destroyed the homes and civilians. This wrath of Mother Nature became to be known as Hurricane Katrina, a category 5 hurricane with gusts peaking at 174/mph according to the Safir- Simpson wind scale (SSHS). With this Hurricane having its path directly on a city only being on average 1-2 feet below sea level, it created conditions for serious havoc (NOAA, 2012). The aftermath left a serious physical imprint on the city, which has the potential to never be removed. This imprint left by Hurricane Katrina caused extensive damage to 134,000 housing units, destroying multiple bridges along the Gulf Coast, as well as various buildings across the city, which led to harmful chemicals leaking into the water system, such as petroleum and natural gas. Finally, Hurricane Katrina also caused the main power grid to be disoriented for a number of weeks. As a result, the damage costs from the storm added up to be about $108 billion (2005 USD), which according to Eric Blake was the costliest storm ever to hit the United States (Blake et al. 2011). Hurricane Katrina perpetuated all of these tribulations, as it drastically altered the lives of the many inhabitants of New Orleans and they continue to face the repercussions of the storm in their day-to-day lives.
On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, two days later roughly eighty percent of New Orleans was underwater. This hurricane ranked number three in the thirty deadliest US Hurricanes (Weather Underground, 2007). This disaster has had a ripple effect on the economy, the environment, the population of New Orleans, and the habitats of animals in that area. It also put to death over 1,500 people in Louisiana, more than half were senior citizens. In New Orleans, 134,000 housing units —70% of all occupied units — suffered damage from this Hurricane.
Hurricane Katrina hit the southern coast of the United States on August 28, 2005. The center of Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans on the morning of August 29, 2005. The devastating effect of this hurricane resulted in more than 1,800 citizens losing their lives, as well as more than an estimated $81 billion dollars in damages occurred. By August 31, 2005, eighty-percent of the city became submerged under water because the storm surge breached the city's levees at multiple points. If the levees are damaged massive water will flood Louisiana from the Gulf Coast, the Mississippi River, and other surrounding bodies of water. Some areas of New Orleans were 15 feet under water. Winds of Hurricane Katrina reached an astounding category 3 as
Hurricane Katrina resulted in massive loss of life and billions of dollars in property damage. There are many lessons worth learning from this event. Finger pointing started before the event was over. Most of the focus on Hurricane Katrina was on its impact on New Orleans; however, the storm ravaged a much wider area than that. This paper will briefly summarize the event, the impact on the city of New Orleans and the lessons learned to ensure preparedness today.
On August 29, 2005, hurricane Katrina made landfall in Louisiana as a category three storm and brought with it some of the most catastrophic effects that any hurricane has ever left behind. Twenty foot surges of flood water washed into New Orleans after the levees broke, and ended up flooding over 80% of the city. It was now in the hands of the United States government to help the millions of displaced Americans find proper shelter, food, water, and services that were required for their recovery.
The purpose of this plan is to document the results of the evaluations of the hurricane hazard, present the anticipated risk and damage posed by the hazard. In addition, it will assess how the city addresses hazards with an aim of identifying feasible and cost effective pre-disaster steps that should be taken in the instance of actualization of the risk. The plan will also