The Causes Of Hurricane Katrina

In the late summer of 2005, a terrible tragedy occurred that changed the lives of many in the south-east region of the United States. A Category 3, named storm, named Hurricane Katrina, hit the Gulf Coast on the 29th of August and led to the death of 1,836 and millions of dollars’ worth of damage (Waple 2005). The majority of the damage occurred in New Orleans, Louisiana. Waple writes in her article that winds “gusted over 100 mph in New Orleans, just west of the eye” (Waple 2005). Not only was the majority of the damage due to the direct catastrophes of the storm but also city’s levees could no longer hold thus breaking and releasing great masses of water. Approximately, 80% of the city was submerged at sea level. Despite the vast amount

Hurricane Katrina began as tropical Depression twelve, which formed over the Bahamas on August 23, 2005. On August 24, the storm strengthened and became known as Tropical Storm Katrina, the 11th named storm of the 2005 hurricane season. A few hours before making landfall in Florida on August 25, Tropical storm Katrina was upgraded to Hurricane Katrina (Category1, 74mph winds). An analysis by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA’s) climate prediction center

On Sunday August 28, 2005 the National Weather Service warned the storm would make southeast Louisiana “uninhabitable for weeks, perhaps longer” and also warned of “human suffering incredible by modern standards.” This same

Hurricane Katrina is the most expensive natural disaster in American history (Kates et al., 2006). This is supported by the statistics from August 2006, where the death total surpassed 1836 and the cost of the destruction was projected to be near $108 billion (Kates et al., 2006). On August 29, it made landfall in Louisiana as a category 3 Hurricane and its aftermath was devastating

The seriousness of Katrina's loss made it clear that local and state resources were overcome, leaving only federal services as capable responders (DW, 2009). There were problems with evacuation and housing. The quantity of individuals in need of shelter was overpowering. Due to the flooding, thousands of Louisiana citizens were made homeless (DW, 2009). There were concerns of mismanagement. There are ongoing fears over the mismanagement and lack of leadership in the assistance hard work in response to the storm and its outcome, and the hindered response to the flooding of New Orleans, and the following state of disorder (DW, 2009). The government was blamed for the death and disorder due to their slow response. There were a communication breakdown

Winds from the storm tore down businesses, houses, and levees. “…It brought sustained winds of 100-140 miles per hour and stretched some 400 miles across.” (Slams gulf coast). The storm covered half of Louisiana, all of Mississippi, and half of Alabama. The Eye of the storm entered near the bottom of the state, and started to move north as the storm progressed. “ I had a tree fall through the middle of my house.” (Shields) luckily his house took a very short time to fix and he stayed with a relative until it was ready. Because Hurricane Katrina reached so far and was so strong many other homeowners were left without homes and without much

On the morning of August 29, 2005 Hurricane Katrina made landfall bringing with it winds between 100-104 miles per hour. Upon landfall the storm stretched approximately 400 miles across and was rated a category 3 hurricane (History.com Staff, 2009). The aftermath of the storm left the areas of Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana with flooding displacing hundreds of thousands of residents and caused more than $100 billion in damages (Townsend, 2006). The events of the hurricane and its aftermath including government response or rather the perceived lack of was widely broadcasted. Hurricane Katrina provoked an enormous response from all levels of government, the private sector, and foreign countries, however even with the vast resources the response

Hurricane Katrina was a colossal storm with incredibly fierce winds resulting in the death of almost 2000 people. Because of the environmental conditions of the Gulf Coast, Katrina was able to build up wind speed and mass over the water at an exceptional rate. At its strongest, Katrina had hurricane force winds stretching out 104 miles, and tropical storm force winds reaching 230 miles from its eye. After breaching the coast of Louisiana and Mississippi, the

On Sunday, August 28, 2005 the National Weather Service warned the storm would make southeast Louisiana “uninhabitable for weeks, perhaps longer” and also warned of “human suffering incredible by modern standards.” This same agency also warned in capital letters

During the time of Hurricane Katrina, there were numerous failures from the government to provide aid to those who resided within the boundaries of New Orleans. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina became one of the deadliest hurricanes to strike North America. With over 1,500 people killed and over $100 billion in property damage, all levels of government were not prepared for and did not cooperate efficiently with one another to react to this type of natural disaster. The many government officials near the New Orleans area, all failed to provide proper assistance while the hurricane cycled through and wreaked havoc about the state.

More than 7 trillion gallons of water fell in Louisiana and Mississippi over the course of eight days (Sergent et al., 2016). There have been at least 13 deaths recorded and over 40,000 homes have been destroyed. Rainfall numbers in double digits from a storm can bring havoc to an area, thus triggering rivers to ascend swiftly, and exceed flood levels (Dolce, 2016).

The United States government was highly criticized during the late summer of 2005 of how they went about responding to the call to the hurricane. George W. Bush was the 43rd president at the time of the hurricane and unfortunately for the people down in New Orleans, his administration was not very active in the way they aided New Orleans. Debarshi Chaudhuri goes on to write it best in his article Government: Response to Katrina; “As the situation unfolded, it became clear that the government’s response was inadequate and inefficient. The federal government did not have adequate information concerning the true devastation that the hurricane had caused (White House). Despite the quantity of government workers in the area, the effects of the hurricane continued to wreak havoc on the city with people still stranded in New Orleans and looters robbing stores left and right.” Not even after the hurricane past was the U.S. government very active in restoring New Orleans to its old self. In Bill Mckibben’s New York Times Bestseller Eaarth he goes on to write “sometimes its hue and traumatic and obvious; after Hurricane Katrina the federal government ponied up $130 billion for repairs, which as anyone who has visited Louisiana can attest, was not enough…. if you wanted to keep that one city safe from a Category 5 hurricane, you’d need $80 billion and another twenty years of work.” Now I have no idea as to why the Bush administration was not helpful as should have been but it is truly sad to know that thousands of people lost their life to a disaster such as this one and with the government downplaying how the storm was affecting everyone living in the

Another issue the was presented when Hurricane Katrina hit American soil revolved around the how the United States governments agencies at all levels approached the environment that was damaged. As was stated earlier the local government is always first to come to the rescue when disasters hit, but when has such as immense as Katrina would call for the likes of the federal government. The Federal Emergency Management Agency was among many of the agencies that would be called into questioning during this dreadful disaster.

Hurricane Katrina brought sustained winds of 100 to 140 miles per hour. It stretched 400 miles across where it was. The levee breaches led to massive flooding. Hundreds and thousands of people in Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi were displaced from

First, the horrific events of Katrina were devastating to the citizens who were affected by this massive hurricane. Many people lost just about everything they owed and some even lost their lives. The federal government could have implemented a better strategy on how to take care of those affected. Before the hurricane made landfall, the state government should have put martial law in affect and deployed the National Guard to force people to leave their homes and seek shelter outside of the city or area that was going to be hit the hardest. The news networks should have sent out better information and outlined the hurricane evacuation routes more effectively. The people who were left behind and survived the hurricane should have been provided