Executive summary
Hazard mitigation planning is an approach aimed at ascertaining ways to reduce the effects, deaths and damage to property that might result in the occurrence of a natural of man-made hazard.
Hurricanes are among the costliest and the most destructive of natural disasters. Since 1995, the United States has witnessed more intense activities by hurricanes with Mobile County in Alabama experiencing hurricane Ivan and hurricane Dennis in 2004 and 2005 (Link, 2010). In 2005, Hurricane Katrina was the costliest and one of the deadliest hurricanes to have hit the United States and was rated category three in Mobile County (Marchi, 2007). The response to the disaster was poor owing to the lack of proper disaster preparedness as
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Introduction
It is with the salient awareness of its susceptibility to hurricanes that the city of Mobile in Alabama initiates the development of hazard mitigation planning. The Mobile County Alabama Hurricanes Hazard mitigation plan is a multi-jurisdictional guide for the county of Mobile. Its communities and other stakeholders who are the vital players in their efforts to successfully prepare a plan that will act as a roadmap in responding to hurricane disasters. The plan addresses the hurricane hazard that is a major threat to the people, property and the infrastructure of Mobile County in Alabama. The plan focuses on hazard mitigation planning and actions necessary to reduce or eliminating long–term effects to people and their property as a result of the occurrence of hurricanes. The purpose of the mitigation plan is to ensure that the repetitive cycle is broken by producing less vulnerable conditions amongst the people, property and topographical features.
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
Hurricanes are disastrous forces that destroy homes and families. Making life harder for those already suffering or completely obliterating the financial status of a family. Not to mention the issues it can cause for local wildlife among damage to humans.
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
Hurricane Katrina, one of the most destructive hurricanes to whirl through the southern states of America in 2005, is probably one of the worst natural disasters of the United States in the 21st century. Damages from the storm were estimated at more than $100 billion . People living in the southern states fled north to reach safety from the storm after hearing about it being a category five hurricane on the news a few mornings before Katrina hit the shore. Authorities were doing what they were supposed to be doing, telling everyone to seek shelter, board up windows, head north and prepare for the storm. Everything in the beginning appeared to be just another
(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.
On October 20, 1991 a large suburban conflagration swept through the hillsides of Oakland California and into the backyards of Berkley. The Oakland Hills Firestorm went down in history as one of the worst fires since the Great San Francisco Earthquake and Fire of 1906. Twenty-five people lost their lives that Sunday, one hundred and fifty others were injured, and a total of one thousand five hundred and twenty acres of land was scorched. The destruction included three thousand three hundred and fifty four single family dwellings and four hundred and thirty seven apartments. All and all, they estimated the total loss at 1.5 billion dollars.
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.
The U.S. has suffered from many Natural Disasters from Hurricane Katrina to wildfires in California. When it comes too natural disasters Hurricanes are by far one of the most devastating. The results can be catastrophic, possibly leaving the death tolls in thousands and leaving millions homeless. Even though the U.S. has responded to and recovered from Hurricanes, Meteorologists are presently not able to predict them early enough, and the U.S. government is unprepared financially, and responsively. Being well prepared for a hurricane is critical to saving peoples lives and their well-being. The government needs to do more not for just hurricanes but any disaster.
Being prepared for a hurricane is not just the responsibility of first responders like firefighters, law enforcement, and EMS. An entire community from one individual or a family all the way up to state and federal government personnel need to work together and do their part and everybody has their own role to play. It is very important for communities to have strong collaborative planning teams. These teams are made up of governmental, nongovernmental, private, and public organizations and agencies that need to be integrated and share information and also trained together during the planning phase to increase the successfulness of the response to a disaster. Having educated and informed citizens is key for a prepared community, for example they can create evacuation and family reunification plans, compile disaster kits, and engage in trainings and neighborhood preparedness activities so that during an emergency they are able to help themselves, their families, neighbors, and friends. Another way to lessening the effects of a hurricane is to implement mitigation
In the year 2005, New Orleans was hit by a major natural disaster that took lives and destroyed the homes of many civilians. This wrath of Mother Nature came to be known as Hurricane Katrina, a category 5 hurricane with gusts peaking at 174/mph according to the Safir- Simpson wind scale (SSHS). The mix of both poor geographical characteristics and scientific accuracy resulted in damage costs accumulating up to $108 billion (2005 USD). The high damage costs made this natural disaster to be ranked as the costliest storm ever to hit the United States of America (Blake et al. 2011). The entirety of the damage is exemplified by the plethora of housing units dismembered, the annihilation of several bridges and buildings, which led to petroleum and
One of the most costly hurricanes in U.S. history was the 2005 hit from Hurricane Katrina where the total damages were estimated to exceed $100 billion to the U.S. The storm was a category 3 when it finally struck land at the Louisiana and Mississippi coast but out at sea it reached a staggering category 5. This massive storm caused massive flooding to New Orleans after it had caused the levees to break due to the strong surges. The breakdown of the levees grew much attention because it was revealed about how vulnerable the coastline really was to these types of strong storms which in return caused such a catastrophe to the communities in its path. The flooding catastrophe was to follow the storm due to the vulnerabilities which grew worldwide
On August 29, Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast. Winds of more than 125 miles per hour, coupled with storm surges reaching up to 34 feet, devastated several coastal communities. These communities were “Bay St. Louis, Biloxi, Gulfport, Pascagoula, and Pass Christian in Mississippi; and Bayou La Batre, Dauphin Island, and Mobile in Alabama (Funk and Wagnalls)”. The storm destroyed a amount numerous homes, businesses, and roads and bridges. “In New Orleans, winds of up to 100 miles per hour damaged many buildings (Funk and Wagnalls)”. But rapidly increasing water levels brought the most destruction. A storm surge pushed water over the New Orleans levee system. The city’s low level neighborhoods became submerged within minute of the levees
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
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.
In today’s world, there has been one disaster or another, and hurricanes are one of those disasters that always happens. But, for one reason or another we are never prepared or understand the danger of any type of hurricane over a category one. Most of us have been through many hurricanes, like this learner who has lived in Miami, Fla. for over 30 years, and experienced her last hurricane which was Hurricane Andrew. Warnings are always given, first responders are trained to all ways be on alert, and FEMA is supposed to be ready to jump in once the storm has done its damage. But we can never be prepared, because hurricanes are unpredictable, and can become deadly for citizens and create millions of dollars in damages. Within this post we will discuss Hurricane Katrina, preparedness and Emergency management before and after the disaster.
On August 29, 2009, Hurricane Katrina struck the United States Gulf Coast. It was a Category 3 Hurricane, according to the Saffir Simpson Scale. Winds gusted to up to 140 miles per hour, and the hurricane was almost 400 miles wide . The storm itself did a tremendous amount of damage, but the storm’s aftermath was cataclysmic. Many claimed that the federal government was slow to meet the needs of the hundreds of thousands of people affected by the storm. This paper will examine the four elements of disaster management – preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation – as well as an analysis on the data presented.