The Devastating Effects Of The Catastrophic Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina was one of the deadliest hurricanes ever to hit the United States. Hurricane Katrina started out as any other hurricane, as the result of warm moisture and air from the oceans surface that built into storm clouds and pushed around by strong forceful winds until it became a powerful storm. Hurricane Katrina formed over the Bahamas on August 23, 2005 and crossed southern Florida as a moderate Category 1 hurricane, causing some deaths and flooding there before strengthening rapidly in the Gulf of Mexico. The hurricane strengthened to a Category 5 hurricane over the warm Gulf water, but weakened before making its second landfall as a Category 3 hurricane on the morning of Monday, August 29 in southeast

On August 29th, 2005 Hurricane Katrina caused catastrophic damage and flooding in Mississippi, Louisiana, New Orleans and areas in between. It destructed the lives and homes of thousands of people, with a total of 1,883 fatalities (Hurricane Katrina Statistics Fast Facts, 2015). Hurricane Katrina left many homeless and hospitals unprepared for the challenges posed to the healthcare system as a whole. Some of these challenges included gaining access to healthcare facilities, providing expedited care to those most in need, and preventing spread of disease that commonly occurs during natural disasters. Many facilities did not evacuate in time and many were left stranded in flooded waters as patients conditions worsened and access to essential medications and treatments became limited.

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.

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.

On the morning of August Twenty-ninth, 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana and the Gulf Coast region. The storm brought the water to about twenty feet high, swallowing eighty percent of the New Orleans city immediately. The flood and torrential rainstorm wreaked havoc and forced millions of people evacuate from the city. According to the National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration, Katrina caused approximately one hundred and eight billion dollars in damage. Hurricane Katrina was one of the most destructive disasters have ever occurred in the United States, but it also revealed a catastrophic government at all levels’ failure in responding to the contingency.

“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

Hurricane Katrina was a catastrophic natural disaster in American history. The aftermath had substantial negative impact on New Orleans and it could have been avoided if proper disaster management practices were put in place. Therefore, it is important to determine the factors that caused the hurricane to be catastrophic. One factor that was responsible for the disaster was failure of the three levels of the government working cohesively (Thiede & Brown, 2013). The incoherent interaction between the three levels of government will be assessed. Another factor that will be examined is social and psychological refusal of Hurricane Katrina

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.

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

Hurricane Katrina hit the southern coast of the United States on August 28, 2005. The center of Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans on the morning of August 29, 2005. The devastating effect of this hurricane resulted in more than 1,800 citizens losing their lives, as well as more than an estimated $81 billion dollars in damages occurred. By August 31, 2005, eighty-percent of the city became submerged under water because the storm surge breached the city's levees at multiple points. If the levees are damaged massive water will flood Louisiana from the Gulf Coast, the Mississippi River, and other surrounding bodies of water. Some areas of New Orleans were 15 feet under water. Winds of Hurricane Katrina reached an astounding category 3 as

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.

On a normal August day, Hurricane Katrina inflicted massive damage on 3 of the poorest states in the United States. Mississippi, with a poverty rate of 22 percent; Louisiana, with a poverty rate of 20 percent; and Alabama, with a poverty rate of 22 percent (Rodriguez, H. & Aguirre, B, E.). Katrina was the cause of one of the biggest evacuations of any major American city in history. These cities also housed a major socio-economic gap with over 23 percent of the residents living in some form of poverty (Schneider, 2007). Over 1 million Americans were forced to leave their ruined homes, especially in areas like New Orleans where the majority of the affected citizens were forced to relocate elsewhere. As many as half of a million people have been relocated to other states of refuge, like Texas and many of which have high rates of poverty themselves like the 22 percent of Texans (Schneider, 2007).

Formed off the Bahamas August 23, 2005 and after crossing Florida as a category one hurricane, Katrina entered the Gulf of Mexico as a tropical storm. Once in the gulf, she stalled, gained strength and once again became a hurricane. August 28, 2005 Katrina reached the highest category available for a hurricane, category five with winds in excess of one hundred and seventy five miles per hour. Downgraded to a category three hurricane before making landfall, Gulfport and Biloxi, Mississippi took a direct hit from Katrina on August 29, 2005.

On August 29, 2005, hurricane Katrina made landfall in Louisiana as a category three storm and brought with it some of the most catastrophic effects that any hurricane has ever left behind. Twenty foot surges of flood water washed into New Orleans after the levees broke, and ended up flooding over 80% of the city. It was now in the hands of the United States government to help the millions of displaced Americans find proper shelter, food, water, and services that were required for their recovery.

Hurricane Katrina pounded the Gulf Coast with tremendous force at daybreak, August 29, 2005, severely punishing regions that included the city of New Orleans and its neighboring state Mississippi. Resulting in a total of just over 1700 people killed, and hundreds of thousands missing. When we think of Hurricane Katrina stories, we think of stories that were published by the media such as, “Packing 145-mile-an-hour winds as it made landfall, the category 3 storm left more than a million people in three states without power and submerged highways even hundreds of miles from its center. The hurricane's storm surge a 29-foot wall of water pushed ashore when the hurricane struck the Gulf Coast was the highest ever measured in the United States.