CGP Storm Hazards- Case Studies

• Hurricane Katrina Struck the South East USA on 29th August 2005
• The Hurricane had a Huge Economic Impact
• Surge and heavy rainfall occurred around New Orleans, causing over 80% of the city to flood
• Impacts of the Hurricane

  • 1836 people were killed
  • Thousands of people were made homeless
  • 3 million people were left without electricity
  • Parts of the I-10 bridge collapsed
  • Water supplies were polluted with sewage and chemicals
  • 18 schools in New Orleans were destroyed and 74 were badly damaged
  • 230,000 jobs were lost or damaged
• 30 oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico were damaged or destroyed, disrupting the oil industry
• 1.3 million acres of forest was destroyed in Mississippi, causing around $5 billion lost income from logging
• The total cost of damage was around $300 billion
• Environmental impacts

  • Coastal habitats such as sea turtle breeding beaches were damaged
  • Some coastal conservation areas were destroyed
  • Flooding damaged oil refineries, causing massive oil spills
  • Flooding of salt marshes led to habitat loss
• Effective Warning Systems Helped the USA Respond Rapidly

  1. National Hurricane Center issued a hurricane warning

  2. FEMA and other organisations started preparing

  3. Mandatory evacuation ordered

  4. Emergency shelters set up

  5. Search and rescue, medical teams and supplies sent in after the hurricane
• Cyclone Nargis Struck Myanmar on 2nd May 2008
• Cyclone Nargis strengthened to a Category 4 cyclone as it approached the coast of Myanmar
• Impacts of Cyclone Nargis

  • Over 140,000 people were killed
  • 450,000 houses were destroyed
  • Up to 2.5 million people were left without shelter
  • 4,000 schools and 75% of health facilities were destroyed or severely damaged
  • 43% of freshwater ponds were damaged by salt water
  • Almost 70% of people had no access to clean water
  • Over 6,000 km of agricultural land was damaged
  • Millions of people lost their livelihoods
  • The total cost of damage was around US $4 billion
• Environmental impacts of Cyclone Nargis

  • 300 km of mangrove forests were destroyed
  • Flooding caused erosion and salinisation, increasing salt content of land
• Myanmar wasn't prepared for Cyclone Nargis and responded slowly
• Myanmar doesn't have a dedicated hurricane monitoring centre
• There were no emergency preparation plans, no evacuation plans and the country didn't have an early warning system
• The government initially refused to accept any foreign aid, greatly increasing the number of deaths