HURRICAN KATRINA

• 1,836 people died
• total property damage of $81 billion
• costliest natural disaster in history of US
• started in Atlantic ocean
• hit Florida coast on the 25th August 2005
• began as a low pressure weather system , strengthened to become a tropical storm and eventually a hurricane
• New Orleans is located in South- East of the USA in the state of Louisiana.
• New Orleans bordering states are Texas and Mississippi , next to Mississippi river
• New Orleans's nearby oceans:

  • north Atlantic ocean
• New Orleans is north of the gulf of Mexico
• 26th August - 31st August
• reached category 5 on the 28th August
• storm weakened as it passed over Florida , no warm water to provide energy to the storm
• reached Gulf of Mexico on 26th August , intensified rapidly
• category 3 as it passed over Southeast Louisiana and Missippi - 29th August
• New Orleans is vulnerable to damage by tropical storms as 50% of city is below sea level and in 2005 , some flood defences needed replacement
• as hurricane made landfall , storm surge flooded coastal areas , reached up 10m in some places
• New Orleans vulnerable to storm surges
• protected by levees - 50 of these failed
• levees failure = 80% cause of flooding
• levee is a natural or artificial wall that prevents overflow of a river
• 80% of New Orleans flooded , including 110,000 homes
• 1 million displaced from their homes
• number of deaths uncertain
• damage to oil rigs and refineries meant that oil prices rose rapidly , affecting global buyers
• many businesses affected , most insured - insurance companies making large pay-outs
• areas such as French quarter in New Orleans were popular tourist destinations before storm , lost revenue as tourists stayed away following storm
• storm unleashed flood of criticism for President Bush and his administration for how they handled the crisis
• storm cost $200 billion
• evacuation ordered 28th August

  • 150,000 remained in city
• those who stayed behind after evacuation went to Louisiana Superdome , basic water and food supplies for 3 days.

  • 30,000 ended up there , became overcrowded
• after storm , looting occurred , National Guard sent to restore law and order
• US Army Corps of Engineers arrived to pump water out of low lying areas of New Orleans and repair flood defences
• US Senate voted to allowed $105. billion of aid during first week of September , $51.8 billion allocated from Federal funds on 7th of September
• public donated $1.8 billion to American Red Cross
• Red Cross developed their 'safe and well' software , made it easier to reconnect with families following 2005
• people though response from gov was too slow , suggested poor Black Americans stranded in New Orleans was not a priority
• Bush criticised for flying over the city rather than making a visit in the early days of the disaster