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Economic Impact Of Hurricane Katrina

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The United States commemorated the tenth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina last August 29, 2015. Hurricane Katrina was a Category 3 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale and brought sustained winds of 100 to 140 miles per hour, when it hit the Louisiana-Mississippi border it had a width of about 400 miles. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Hurricane Katrina was initially a tropical depression that formed 200 miles southeast of the Bahamas on August 23, 2005. Early morning of August 24, 2005, the tropical depression became Tropical Storm Katrina with winds as strong as 40 miles per hour. On August 25, 2005, Hurricane Katrina was already a Category 1 hurricane and made its first landfall on Florida. Hurricane …show more content…

The storm caused massive flooding because levees were breached. Also, hundreds of thousands of people from Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi were displaced from homes. Experts on the matter say that the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina amounted to around $108 billion dollars. The effect of the storm was catastrophic and the victims felt that the government was not fast enough in delivering the aid and relief supplies that they needed. New Orleans was one of the hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005. The impact of Hurricane Katrina was so vast because of the powerful winds, heavy rainfall, and storm surge that it brought. The wind and rain cause heavy damage to the trees and agriculture but the storm surge amplified the effects of Hurricane Katrina. The storm surge damaged New Orleans’ levees and canals. The peak of the storm surge was at Clermont Harbor, Mississippi and had a height of 10 meters. The storm surge was caused by the rush of water towards the shore that was associated with the hurricane because of the hurricanes’ large area and powerful winds. According to a study by McCallum and Heming in 2006, the unusually high storm surge was because of “the long, gently sloping shelves and shallow water of the Gulf coast” (McCallum & Heming, 2006 p. 2014). The storm surge brought massive flooding and residents who were in low-lying areas had to go to their rooftops and attics to stay dry. Hurricane Katrina flooded almost 80% of New

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