The Lessons of Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina was a devastating category 5 that made landfall in Buras, Louisiana, on Monday, August, 25, 2005. It was downgraded to a level 4 hurricane when it made landfall. This hurricane was extremely devastating for the city of New Orleans 2004 (Haddow, Bullock, Coppola, 2014 p17). This hurricane was so overwhelming that it crippled local government which ceased to exist immediately after the disaster. The main problem with FEMA at the was President George W. Bush. This was less that four years after 911 and a majority of its resources were applied to terrorism 2004 (Haddow, Bullock, Coppola, 2014 p20). FEMA was focused on another 911 attack and was not prepared as should have been to handle natural disasters.

New Orleans suffered a large number of casualties, a lack of drinkable water, severe property damage, electrical outages and many more difficulties as a result of hurricane Katrina. After the disaster, thousands of people who had lost their homes were forced to seek shelter at the New Orleans Superdome. Many others broke in to the Convention Center to find safety there. These structures were large enough to hold huge numbers of people, but did not have the proper facilities, supplies or law enforcement that was needed to sustain the amount of individuals who were forced to temporarily move in. People stayed there for several days until they were able to make other living arrangements, often in far away cities and even other states. Both of the buildings may be condemned due to the extremely

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

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 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)

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.

(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.

In the year 2005, New Orleans was famously hit a major natural disaster that took lives and destroyed the homes and civilians. This wrath of Mother Nature became to be known as Hurricane Katrina, a category 5 hurricane with gusts peaking at 174/mph according to the Safir- Simpson wind scale (SSHS). With this Hurricane having its path directly on a city only being on average 1-2 feet below sea level, it created conditions for serious havoc (NOAA, 2012). The aftermath left a serious physical imprint on the city, which has the potential to never be removed. This imprint left by Hurricane Katrina caused extensive damage to 134,000 housing units, destroying multiple bridges along the Gulf Coast, as well as various buildings across the city, which led to harmful chemicals leaking into the water system, such as petroleum and natural gas. Finally, Hurricane Katrina also caused the main power grid to be disoriented for a number of weeks. As a result, the damage costs from the storm added up to be about $108 billion (2005 USD), which according to Eric Blake was the costliest storm ever to hit the United States (Blake et al. 2011). Hurricane Katrina perpetuated all of these tribulations, as it drastically altered the lives of the many inhabitants of New Orleans and they continue to face the repercussions of the storm in their day-to-day lives.

Levees were implemented as the primary form of protection from the bodies of water surrounding the city. Moreover, officials recognized these structures were critical to protecting the city’s inhabitants given the city’s topography. However, a confluence of factors led to projects that were more immediately profitable being a top priority while simultaneously allowing the infrastructure critical to protecting the city deteriorate. Because of decisions to postpone upgrades and maintenance, the city’s chances of withstanding a hurricane of Katrina’s magnitude were decreased. Ultimately, the levee breaches caused the city’s destruction.

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.

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

On August 23, 2005 through August 31, 2005 a tragic moment occurred in New Orleans. People 's lives changed by losing everything they had due to this storm. It damaged a majority of the coast leading to massive flooded houses, everything underwater, and families not able to find their loved ones. A band of storm clouds wrapped around the north side circulation center early the morning of August 24th. The wind was blowing about 40 mph. The storm was originally called Tropical Katrina. Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans early morning on Monday August 29, 2005. Over eighty percent of the city was under some quantity of water. This storm caused more than one hundred billion dollars in damage. Half of the city rose above sea level. August 29, 2005 was the day the Hurricane struck the Gulf Coast of the United States. The people charged the federal government to meet the needs of the people who was affected by the storm. There were many questions lingering as part of the aftermath. What caused the flooding in New Orleans to be so severe? What was the impact on the government’s response? How was the city/region changed since then?

After Katrina hit the city of New Orleans, it turns the city into a hopeless place to be. Eighty percent of the city was flooded and some parts of the city were fifteen under water. During the aftermath of the hurricane, there were tons of looting, shootings, murders, and rapes. Some of those events took place in the Superdome where people live before and after the hurricane hit the city since they were not able to leave the city beforehand. A lot of people lost their homes. Also, local business was destroyed. There were people sitting on their rooftops since their homes were under water and they were

Hurricane Katrina was one of the most devastating natural disasters on record in the United States (Skinner, 2006) In August of 2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall along the Gulf Coast destroying buildings, homes and communities (Skinner, 2006). Storm surges and levee failures resulted in an estimated $108 billion in physical property damage, specifically in the areas of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama (Skinner, 2006). Furthermore, Katrina proved itself to be one of the deadliest disasters in U.S. history as it claimed the lives of more than 1,800 people (Skinner, 2006).

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