Hurricane Katrin A Devastating Katrina

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

One of the major hurricanes that made headline news was Hurricane Katrina. It was said that Hurricane Katrina was one of the most deadliest hurricanes to ever hit the United States. The damages done by Katrina was absolutely devastating. Costing at about an estimated $75 million dollars in repairs, Hurricane Katrina is one of the most costliest hurricanes in the history of U.S. hurricanes. The disaster lasted about eight days, starting on August 23rd and ending on August 31st of 2005. On August 28th, 2005, the tropical storm turned into a category five hurricane with winds of 175 miles per hour. The storm took away the lives of approximately 2,000

The failure of the local government to respond to Hurricane Katrina that the emergencies plan of the government were lacking. The city official responsibility for evacuation of its citizens and the intent was to assist those who needed transportation for the incoming storm but had no actual plan to implement that intent. When the hurricane Katrina made a landfall in New Orleans on 29 August 2005, heavy rain battered the area and the storm surge measuring as high as 30 feet and moving toward inland and breached several levees intended to protect New Orleans from the water of the lake. The water poured through the breaks in the days following the storm, covering approximately 80% of the city with water as deep as three meters. The flooding, wind, and waves it caused the city major damage to building and infrastructure. There is a lot of people stranded on the rooftops of their houses and people wading through the water. The communities suffered from the disaster, particularly the city of New Orleans. Most of their first responders like

New Orleans was originally founded on high ground overlooking the Mississippi River, above sea level. Also surrounded by Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Borgne, New Orleans was susceptible to hurricanes that would come up the coast into the Gulf. Originally New Orleans was naturally protected by “coastal swamps that helped absorb the energy of storm surges before they reached dry land.” (Stillman 228) At this point Americans were more concerned with the floods that happened annually from the Mississippi River. In the early days, settlers built a mile long levee to block overflows from the mighty Mississippi while landowners constructed their own levees.

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 hit the southeastern coast of the United States in August of 2005. The eye of the storm went through the city of New Orleans and caused thousands of casualties and more than eighty billion dollars in damage (Schwartz). However, poor engineering and design allowed the immense flooding to breach the levee system and flood most of the metropolitan area. Despite the Delta Service Corps admitting that they knew of the possible failures for over twenty years, they claimed that insufficient budgets set by Congress and local governments prohibited them from restructuring and preserving the levees (Can We Save New Orleans?). Katrina was the third most intense land falling tropical storm in United States history. The combination of

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.

wreaked on the city of New Orleans. New Orleans—the colorful, zealous Mississippi Delta city, home to

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.

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.

(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.

Hurricane Katrina is the unforgettable pain of American. In April 2005, a fifth hurricane caused serious damage in New Orleans. The city was full of dead bodies, some were found in the attic of the house, some were found soaked in foul water. The economic losses caused by Hurricane Katrina had estimated to at least seventy-five billion dollars, and it became the most damaging hurricane in the United State history. According to National Center for Biotechnology Information, there were “971 Katrina-related deaths in Louisiana and 15 deaths among Katrina evacuees in other states”; and according to livescience.com, “An estimated 1,836 people died in the hurricane and the flooding that followed in late August 2005.” Hurricane Katrina has the largest number of deaths of the US hurricane besides the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane.

Hurricane Katrina pounded the Gulf Coast with tremendous force at daybreak, August 29, 2005, severely punishing regions that included the city of New Orleans and its neighboring state Mississippi. Resulting in a total of just over 1700 people killed, and hundreds of thousands missing. When we think of Hurricane Katrina stories, we think of stories that were published by the media such as, “Packing 145-mile-an-hour winds as it made landfall, the category 3 storm left more than a million people in three states without power and submerged highways even hundreds of miles from its center. The hurricane's storm surge a 29-foot wall of water pushed ashore when the hurricane struck the Gulf Coast was the highest ever measured in the United States.

Hurricane Katrina made its impact on numerous families in so numerous ways. A very close friend lives on the north side of Lake Pontchartrain which is the north or New Orleans. When Hurricane Katrina hit the gulf coast she and her mother were visiting family and friends in Texas. Her father stayed behind in New Orleans. It was during that time that Katrina hit and he had not evacuated in order to stay and ride it out. Most of the damage was done in New Orleans; however, he only encountered power outages and wind damage but the lasting effect it had on that area and the people who live there lasted a lot longer.

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.