Environmental Effects Of Hurricane Katrina

Without doubt, Hurricane Katrina has been the major catastrophe of the century suffered in the United States. The category 5 hurricane which at first was on course to hit Florida drifted into the Gulf of Mexico taking a direct route to New Orleans. On his way, the hurricane left hundreds of dead, affected hundreds of thousands and left billions of dollars in damage. The largest number of deaths occurred in New Orleans where the hurricane hit the hardest and which was flooded because its levee system failed, collapsing many of them several hours after the hurricane had continued inland. Environmental damage and serious threats to public health were among the other results of Hurricane Katrina. Given the magnitude

“When communities are rebuilt, they must be even better and stronger than before the storm,” (“Bush”). This is what former president George W. Bush said during his speech in New Orleans concerning the effects of Hurricane Katrina. Hurricane Katrina was a massive natural disaster that consisted of high powered winds and immense amounts of water. The hurricane was initially a category 3, but gradually rose to the classification of a category 5 storm, which is the largest storm there is (“Hurricane Irene”). In fact, there were accounts of winds recorded at about 127 miles per hour in the Gulf areas such as Grand Isle, Louisiana, and near the Mississippi River (“Hurricane Katrina Statistics”). All of these factors are made

10 Years ago on the last week in August, one of the most brutal storms the United States has ever had hit Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. On August 28th and 29th, Fifty-five-foot waves crashed down the Mississippi coast leaving total destruction behind. In New Orleans a levee was built to protect the city but failed in 50 different places due to it being poorly designed. FEMA brought many survivors to their camps, but some weren’t that lucky. In New Orleans about 20,000 residents were trapped in the Louisiana Superdome without clean water, medical care, or working toilets. After the floodwaters receded, over 100,000 residents left the city of New Orleans to never return. 10 years later after the hurricane, most of the affected

The devastating and deeply rooted traumatic effects of Hurricane Katrina will live in the psyches of the people of New Orleans and beyond for generations to come. Katrina was the largest and third strongest hurricane to make landfall in the United States barreling in as a Category 5 with up to 175 mile-per-hour winds and a 20-ft storm surge that would create a humanitarian emergency with the likes never before seen in the United States. This hurricane caused unimaginable death, destruction, and displacement, leaving a death toll of 1,836 and an unknown number thought to be washed out to sea. The real truth is we will never know exactly how many people lost their lives during Hurricane Katrina.

Hurricane Katrina was one of the most devastating natural disasters on record in the United States (Skinner, 2006) In August of 2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall along the Gulf Coast destroying buildings, homes and communities (Skinner, 2006). Storm surges and levee failures resulted in an estimated $108 billion in physical property damage, specifically in the areas of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama (Skinner, 2006). Furthermore, Katrina proved itself to be one of the deadliest disasters in U.S. history as it claimed the lives of more than 1,800 people (Skinner, 2006).

It is well known that hurricanes are extremely dangerous and cause a significant amount of damage and devastation among many cities and countries. Researchers have studied and found that hurricanes could be classified and categorized into five different areas ranging from least severe to most extreme. Category one being the least severe and Category five would be known to destroy a whole city. Hurricanes are categorized on how much damage one can cause and how strong they are. There have been many hurricanes around the world that were known to cause a significant amount of damage but not one hurricane was compared to what the people from New Orleans, Louisiana experienced when Hurricane Katrina hit on Monday August 29, 2005. Katrina was known to be the hurricane that devastated the country, and the biggest hurricane recorded in the history of the world. The city of New Orleans was confronted with social, ethical, and economic implications after the tragic occurrence of Hurricane Katrina.

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.

The National Weather Service records indicate that on August 23, 2005, Hurricane Katrina initially developed as a tropical depression in the Atlantic Ocean, and on August 24 was upgraded to a tropical storm. The storm moved on a northwesterly and then westerly track through the Bahamas, strengthening to a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale by the time it reached landfall near North Miami Beach, Florida, on August 25. Katrina weakened slightly as it moved southwesterly across Florida and entered the Gulf of Mexico on August 26 as a tropical storm. Between August 26 and 28, the storm quickly regained hurricane status and initially strengthened to a Category 5, taking aim for southeast Louisiana (see Fig. 1). On August 28, Katrina entered the Gulf of Mexico, about 250 miles south-southeast of the

First, they were overtopped by waves of water stemming from the rain and high velocity winds (www.fofweb.com). Secondly, the levees breached or broke open and as a result, New Orleans filled up like a bowl as water from the canals and Lake Pontchartrain poured in. Consequently, the breached levees resulted in storm surges that measured to about 17 feet high. About 80% of the city was flooded during Katrina (www.nola.com). After hitting New Orleans, Katrina moved north and destroyed casinos in Mississippi. As many people predicted, the scenes from Hurricane Katrina and the Gulf Coast were horrifying and the nation watched in shock as these events unfolded. In order to rescue individuals, helicopters and boats rescued people that were trapped on roofs and treetops. Those that were stranded on treetops were forced to eat leaves because it was their only means of greenery. Many people were stranded on the overpasses of highways without water, food, or protection from the blazing sun as temperatures soared into the upper 90s and the humidity level remained above 100 percent. Homes were leveled in New Orleans and Mississippi to such an extent compared it to the scene of Hiroshima or Nagasaki. On Friday, September 2nd 2005 the National Guard arrived at the Superdome and Convention Center with food, water, and supplies. Refugees were dispersed throughout the United States to places such as Denver, Colorado. Interestingly, Katrina left as much

As a category 4 storm, Katrina decimated anything in its path, with winds blowing up to 150 miles per hour and a serge of water reaching 15 feet. Nearly seventy-percent of New Orleans was under water for weeks, as it flooded the streets due to old and left thousands stranded. Approximately 25,000 residents remaind in their homes, despite the very serious warnings, causing them to have no choice but be airlifted to safety from their roof tops. Many of the levys failed to hold back the high waters back, allowed the lake to over flow into the city and cause approximately 1,300 fatalities. Looting and crime was on the rise as people abandoned all their homes and belongings, causing the lack of people to feel safe to return

On August 29th, 2005 Hurricane Katrina, also known as Katrina, made landfall along the Gulf Coast. It hit states such as Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. As of today Hurricane Katrina is one the most destructive hurricanes to ever hit the United States. In total Katrina caused over one hundred billion dollars worth of damage. It left people homeless, starving, and in some cases dead. New Orleans, Louisiana was hit the hardest, “New Orleans will forever exist as two cities; the one that existed before that date, and the one after.” Even over a decade later, the effects of Hurricane Katrina can still be felt as the south continues to rebuild their lives and return to some normalcy.

Hurricane Katrina is considered, to this day, one of the costliest and most catastrophic disasters that has hit the United States (“Hurricane Katrina Statistics”). The total amount of damage was estimated to cost more than $123 billion dollars (“Comparing Hurricanes”). This huge amount of money accounts for damage from flooding, destruction of buildings, and helping the needy. Many people needed to flee the areas around the Gulf of Mexico in order to stay safe. Almost 70% of housing in New Orleans was damaged or destroyed because of the hurricane, which forced many people out of the city (“Hurricane Katrina Statistics”). People were likewise forced out of the city and into new areas due to flooding, which in New Orleans, was exceptionally deleterious. In New Orleans, 80% of the entire city was covered in water (“Hurricane Katrina Statistics”). This was a result of the failed levees. Levees are embankments used to keep overflowed water from rivers or streams out of cities (Levee). The levees in New Orleans were obviously not strong enough to hold back the tremendous amounts of water from the hurricane. The levees that were built in New Orleans were only designed for hurricanes going up to a category 3 (“11 Facts”). The city was not protected by these levees because of how intense the storm was. Compared to other hurricanes such as Hurricane Irene that affected the Caribbean region, Hurricane Katrina was much more intense and caused more damage (“Hurricane Irene”). These levees and excessive amounts of water throughout the city resulted in many deaths and hardships for the New Orleanian people. Nearly 40% of the total deaths that occurred in Louisiana were due to drowning (“Hurricane Katrina Statistics”). There was an overall total of nearly 15 million people affected by the hurricane (“11 Facts”). Many people were either: stranded in their homes, had to evacuate, or were missing relatives

New Orleans suffered a large number of casualties, a lack of drinkable water, severe property damage, electrical outages and many more difficulties as a result of hurricane Katrina. After the disaster, thousands of people who had lost their homes were forced to seek shelter at the New Orleans Superdome. Many others broke in to the Convention Center to find safety there. These structures were large enough to hold huge numbers of people, but did not have the proper facilities, supplies or law enforcement that was needed to sustain the amount of individuals who were forced to temporarily move in. People stayed there for several days until they were able to make other living arrangements, often in far away cities and even other states. Both of the buildings may be condemned due to the extremely

Another questionable aspect of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans is the police’s interactions public. Although the topic was not very heavily reported, the locals all had very different opinions about how the police handled the situation and communicated with the locals.

Hurricane Katrina will forever remain as one of the most devastating natural disasters to have taken place on American soil. On August 27th, 2005, more than a day before Katrina made its way to New Orleans, President Bush, at the request of Louisiana state Governor Kathleen declared a state of emergency to both Louisiana and Mississippi. In doing so, these areas were considered major disaster areas that the federal government would concentrate most of its resources. Despite a declared emergency and the need to evacuate the city immediately, many residents decided to stay in their homes and shelter in place for various reasons, while others left the city as suggested or seek refuge at the state’s designated last resort shelter, The Superdome.