Hurricane Katrina In New Orleans

Geologically speaking, Louisiana is a very young state. Environmentally speaking, Louisiana is a very fragile state. Louisiana has always been dependent upon the nutrient rich deposits from the Mississippi River to build up the land. Centuries ago the Mississippi River periodically changed its course, building up Louisiana one delta at a time. The erosional forces of the Gulf of Mexico and annual hurricanes depleted Louisiana’s coastline, but the mighty Mississippi River would replenish the land losses. Such is the relationship that forces of nature have with one another. Place mankind in the mix, and the relationship becomes stressed and dysfunctional. The present day Louisiana coastline is a mere shadow of its former self. Let’s look

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

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.

Katrina hit New Orleans, Louisiana on August 29th, 2005, but the failure of the government started before this day “by allowing building and growing in areas in low flood lands.” The government did not regulate these land areas that have always been at a threat for flooding and natural disaster, which was ignored by the government and public, and was in place, still a place for growing infrastructure. Failures included by the author of the national agencies include design limits that can lead to levees being overtopped by flood and hurricane events that are larger than they were designed for and design flaws and construction and maintenance shortcomings that lead to protective works being breached when they cannot stand up to the forces exerted by large flood and hurricane events. The author also points out the problems with the hundred-year flood event, which only has a one percent chance of happening every year. When the NFIP focuses on this possible catastrophe, it losses the

Obviously, it has been largely ignored in how resources are extracted, leading to the issue of wetland degradation. Oil drilling and driving boats to and from drills eroded large sections of the wetlands. However, the issue of degradation cannot be completely solved. The Louisiana state government has acknowledged that even with its restoration program, it cannot build enough land to offset the losses. Under the principle of stewardship, we understand that the poor are affected first and worst, which is clearly seen in coastal Louisiana. Not only are the poor affected more because they often live on the front lines of environmental decay but also because, as a culture, we rush to protect more affluent communities first. More resources are allocated to protect New Orleans from flooding than coastal fishing communities like Jean Lafitte. Within the coastal towns though, residents have upheld stewardship in their communion with the area and reciprocal understanding of how to care for

The most significant implementations that were put into effect to protect the city of New Orleans were the levee and floodwall systems. Floodwalls are just as they appear to be. They are vertical walls that serve as barriers, in this case surrounding the city of New Orleans that is vulnerably sinking below sea level, in attempt to contain a river or waterway and prevent water from flooding the city. These floodwalls created a “fishbowl” effect, “with the water on the outside and half a million homes on the inside” (Flynn et al). However, the walls

The failure to adequately prepare for the storm led to increased and more widespread devastation, which in many cases harmed those living in the affected areas. An independent analysis of the reason for such massive chaos was performed and determined that “Most of the damage was due to the failure of the levee system that surrounds the city to protect it from flooding” (Ubilla). Had these levees been properly built, and had there been more of them protecting the city of New Orleans, major flooding could have potentially been lessened. A simple feature of the levee structure which engineers neglected to include is the concrete

Marti Grah was another big part of this city, hundreds would flock to New Orleans before Ash Wednesday to take part of the festivities. Rowdy, drunk frat boys would clog the streets at night. But when the levees broke most of these grounds would be flooded. After Katrina hit no one was in the street, instead people were stranded on roof tops seemingly abandoned by the ones they thought would protect them. How could this happen in modern day United States of America? The people of New Orleans were failed by their local, state and federal government. Before Katrina hit about 484,000 people lived in the city, after Katrina hit about 360,400 people remained (AP).

While the city did not take a direct hit, New Orleans also felt the impact of Katrina as she came ashore. The wind and rain from the storm put enormous stress on the levees protecting the city. Unfortunately, the levees could not withstand the forces applied to them and they eventually gave way flooding large portions of the city of New Orleans and surrounding areas. Large public places began to become places of refuge for those still in the

Due to the ability to maintain these wetlands and barrier islands, the aftermath Hurricane Katrina did a lot more damage than the actual hurricane. The deterioration of the wetlands and barriers islands are just some issues that arise from the ability to not respect and maintain the environment because the State and government didn’t have good laws in placed to help with persevering the environment. Because of the neglect of wetlands and barriers islands, the environment couldn’t hold help drain the water out into the Gulf Coast were where normally these wetlands and barrier island help

“The Big Uneasy” by Harry Shearer is a documentary about the disastrous flooding of New Orleans during the Hurricane Katrina in a different viewpoint. While mass media describe the flood as well as the hurricane as a natural disaster, Shearer claims that the flooding was actually a man-made disaster, not a natural one; and the film contains comprehensive investigations with scientific data to support the claim. “The Big Uneasy” highlights on the ineffective design and maintenance of the flood-protection system, as well as the engineering structure of the Mississippi River’s waterway in the city. Severe environmental damages due to poor infrastructural planning also ruin the natural flood barrier of the region. Furthermore, these problems

Hurricane Katrina, One of the deadliest tropical cyclones in earth’s history was formed by a tropical wave and the remnants of a previous tropical depression.It hit on August 29, 2005 Hurricane Katrina was only a category 3 but as it got closer it became a category 5. Because Katrina had a wide footprint it caused a large area of ocean swells to develop in the Gulf of Mexico. It left at least 80% of New Orleans underwater. Katrina also claimed over 1,800 lives and caused about 125 billion dollars worth of damage. Very many people lost their homes, had to evacuate and some even lost their lives.

The ecology of New Orleans worsens the impact of Hurricane Katrina. According to Ari Kelman, after the flood of 1849 in New Orleans, levees-only decision was made to prevent further flooding into the city. However, this decision resulted in a “bowl shaped” New Orleans in which, on one side there is the ever-high levee barrier blocking off the Mississippi River and, on the other side, an uninhabitable swampland area. Moreover, with the influx of immigration and increasing population, the swampland area is being cultivated to an inhabitable place; thus, resulting in a decrease in swampland. With swampland diminishing, the water that stationed at the swampland is now

Katrina at first shaped over the Bahamas on Aug. 23, 2005, as a tropical sorrow. A decently characterized band of storm mists started to wrap around the north side of the storm 's flow focus in the early morning hours of Aug. 24. The storm was named Tropical Storm Katrina. The day preceding Katrina hit, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin issued the city 's first-ever obligatory clearing request. He likewise pronounced that the Superdome, a stadium found on moderately high ground close downtown, would serve as a "haven of final resort" for individuals who couldn 't leave the city. By dusk, very nearly 80 percent of the city 's populace had emptied. Around 10,000 had looked for sanctuary in the Superdome, while countless others decided to endure the storm at home.[2]

Hurricane Katrina, one of the worst natural disasters in American history, struck the city of New Orleans on Aug 29,2005. It was a categorised as level 3 storm with wind speeds of up to 127 mph after making landfall. Approximately 80 percent of the city was submerged under 20 feet of water. Levees have been built around the city of New Orleans to keep the rising water level at the bay. However, it also kept out the silts and sediments. Without the renewal of these sediments, New Orleans continues to sink. Today, nearly all the basins around the city are sinking by roughly an inch every 30 months. Ironically, it is these sinking lands, and not the levees, that truly protect New Orleans from the danger of flooding as every 3 miles of wetland absorb 1 foot of the storm surge. Since 1930, Louisiana has lost 1900 square miles of wetland; by 2050 many natural barriers will disappear altogether. According to studies, if nothing is done then by the end of the century these wetlands will sink by almost 3 feet. Should another hurricane or storm devastate the city, the whole area may end up submerged under water. Many studies done by many independent and public institutions and all agreed on one thing- the