hurricane katrina

• characteristics of hurricane katrina

  • windspeed of 280 km/hr
  • 5th most intense atlantic basin hurricane season recorded
• where / when did it occur?

  started 23rd august 2005

  • upgraded to a cat 4, then cat 5
• when did it make landfall?

  • august 29th in Louisiana
  • was a cat 3 on landfall
• where did it initially form?

  200 miles south east of Bahamas
• how did it gain strength?

  • sea temps of 85 degrees Fahrenheit
  • low pressure
• hurricane katrinas movements

  • hit land in florida as cat 1
  • travelled gulf of mexico + had rapid energy gain
• what happened over the gulf of mexico?

  • storm stabilised as a cat 5
  • changed direction + moved towards Louisiana
• environmental impacts

  • new orleans city is mainly below sea level
  • 80% of city damaged by seawater
• social impacts

  • more than 1 million refugees
  • thousands of refugees relocated more than 1000km away
  • 1242 died
• economic impacts

  • financial cost $200 billion
  • many businesses impacted - had insurance but major insurance companies had to issue profit warnings to shareholders
  • looters ransacked abandoned homes
  • many oil installations in the gulf were damaged - oil price increased worldwide
• perception of Hurricane Katrina

  • 58% of people evacuated before landfall
  • 1/3 of those who didnt due to not wanting to leave home / families
  • 1/3 people didnt expect it to be catastrophic + so stayed at home
  • felt safe due to awareness of mitigation strategies
• how many children experience anxiety + depression after the storm?

  • 1/3 of children
• short term responses

  • national guard deployed for law + order
  • coastguard rescued 33,500 of the people stranded - those left behind were the poorest + most vulnerable
  • refuge in super dome -> unhygienic, lack of food + water
  • $50 billion aid by US gov
  • $1.8 billion donated to US red cross by the public
• why were the authorities criticised?

  due to being too slow to respond
• long term responses

  • many areas completely rebuilt
  • army rebuilt the levees
  • NOLA created text system - NOLA ready
  • 2006 congress passed an act to allow grants to cities to improve their evacuation plans
• the levee systems

  • built to withstand category 3 storms
  • failed + caused city wide flooding + contributed to many deaths