New Orleans: The Impact Of Hurricane Katrina On American Culture

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

One of the biggest hazards created by hurricane Katrina was the flooding it produced. Louisiana was hit the hardest, but both Alabama and Mississippi also had large areas left under water following the storm. The area that was seriously affected by Katrina was New Orleans.

With Hurricane Katrina, there were major issues that the healthcare infrastructure had to face. One major issue that was created by the hurricane was extensive flooding. The flooding contaminated the region’s drinking water and sanitation system, making it hard for citizens to find adequate drinking water. Flooding also increased the spread of communicable diseases such as HIV (Taylor, 2007). The hurricane completely destroyed buildings including hospitals and other health facilities. This impacted the patients that were already admitted into these hospitals, as well as, those in need of medical attention after the hurricane. It was nearly impossible to treat patients because medical

In the history of the United States of America, Hurricane Katrina was known as one of the worst hurricanes in the world. The hurricane was a combination of tropical waters and gushing winds. It was the vicious hurricane that caused severe damage to the citizens of the United States of America. The amazing city known for its southern style, Cajun cuisines, jazz music and its celebration of Mardi Gras will never be the same. New Orleans, Louisiana was changed forever in August 2005 when this category five hurricane left the city devastated. The catastrophic storm tore through the city of New Orleans and surrounding areas destroying everything in its path and killing hundreds of people.

One of the most unique things about New Orleans particularly in the 18th and 19th centuries where this image is derived from was race and racism. People were excluded or included, considered inferior or superior based on the race they belonged to. To this end, Indians, and African Americans were classified on the lower end of the race totem pole while whites were seen as superior. Furthermore, one’s stance in society or occupation was determined by their race. The whites were majorly businessmen and land owners presiding over big farms that they owned. The blacks and the Indians were mostly peasants ‘owned’ by the white people and forced to work on the farms of the white people against their will owing to the fact that they were imported from their original residences as slaves (Appleby, Eileen and Neva 18). It is, therefore, clear that race and racism played a significant role in helping define New Orleans as we know it today. Bringing racism to the fore provides a platform upon which it can be alleviated to help

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 known 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.

Statistics show that 75% of the African Americans in New Orleans were affected compared to the 15% of African Americans in the Biloxi-Gulfport metropolitan area (Cutter and Gall, 5). It also states, “The calamitous combination of insured development certainly accounts for much of hurricane katrina’s damage, specifically in New Orleans.” All levels of government failed to do their part, which includes state and local government.

On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast at daybreak, “pummeling a region that included the fabled city of New Orleans and heaping damage on neighboring Mississippi. In all, more than 1,700 people were killed and hundreds of thousands of others displaced.” (Laforet, New York Times)

“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

In what ways do you think this storm has changed the city of New Orleans? Make sure to explain social and economic impacts.

Since Hurricane Katrina destroyed New Orleans, the city has been repopulated by rich whites and Latinos with African Americans returning to the area at much lower rates. Hurricane Katrina affected millions of people across the United States by tremendous flooding and Category 5 winds; Hurricane Katrina remains the most expensive and most destructive natural disaster to strike the United States.

Hurricane Katrina affected over 15 million peoples lives in varied ways all across the world. The impact of Hurricane Katrina was widespread and catastrophic. The economic, social, environmental and mental

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.

Futhermore, crime in New Orleans increased drastically. On September 1, 2005, victims of Hurricane Katrina reperted crimes of rape and domestic violence. The violent crimes left corpses lying on the ground everywhere in the city. “We have individuals who

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.