Case Study - Hurricane Katrina Flashcards
How did Hurricane Katrina develop?
As a tropical depression off of the west coast of Africa.
Where and when did Hurricane Katrina make its first landfall and what category on the Saffir-Simpson Scale was it?
The southern tip of Florida on 25th August 2005 as a Category One Hurricane.
What happened to Hurricane Katrina as it moved throughout the Gulf of Mexico?
The Hurricane escalated from a Category One hurricane after leaving Florida’s southern tip on 26th August to a Category 5 hurricane by noon on 28th August before falling to a Category 4 hurricane when reaching Louisiana just before midnight on the 29th August.
What enabled Hurricane Katrina to escalate so quickly through the Gulf of Mexico?
An average surface ocean temperature of 28 degrees celcius in the Carribean.
What were the sustained wind speeds when Hurricane Katrina struck Louisiana?
145mph.
What percentage of New Orlean’s population fled the city as a result of Hurricane Katrina?
Around 80%.
How many people died as a result of Hurricane Katrina?
Around 1,800 including those killed by the aftermath.
Where was the highest storm surge in the USA recorded from Hurricane Katrina and how high was it?
In Biloxi, Mississippi, where storm surge was recorded at 10 metres (32 feet).
What percentage of New Orleans was left underwater from the storm surge from Hurricane Katrina?
80%.
What made evacuating New Orleans as a result of Hurricane Katrina difficult?
Large amounts of traffic due to a high density of evacuees, eventually flooding occurred, making roads impassable and toxic pollution flooded the roads.
How did Hurricane Katrina affect the local economy of Louisiana?
Thousands of jobs were lost, vast amounts of agricultural land was lost to tornadoes and flooding and therefore millions of dollars were lost from tax revenue.
How was the Superdome a failure of an attempt at aid for Hurricane Katrina?
Crime and squalor was reported, including thefts and rape, one case of attempted suicide was recorded.
There was no working facilities including running water, no working electricity, no washing facilities and no functioning toilets.
100mph winds ripped the Superdome roof off.
What quote highlights the racial divide in America at the time of Hurricane Katrina?
‘The women pleading for their lives in handwritten signs, children clinging to tree branches, the prisoners herded onto a jail roof - they were overwhelmingly black’
What quote highlights the horrific conditions so many people had to live through during Hurricane Katrina?
‘I was stuck in [a] tree for five days with corpses floating by…I wouldn’t have wished this on Saddam Hussein’ - Gary Mullins, refuggee in New Orleans.
How much financial aid did Congress approve on September 2nd 2005 as a result of Hurricane Katrina?
US$10.5 billion.
How did the American Red Cross provide aid to those devastated by Hurricane Katrina?
They set up 356 shelters, holding over 107,400 people across 9 states.
Worked with the Southern Baptist Convention and other Christian Churches to serve 500,000 hot meals each day.
600 new aid workers were moving to the area in need every day.
Over 4,200 red cross workers left their families to serve the affected areas.
How was the military involved in providing aid for Hurricane Katrina?
They took over New Orleans and conducted the largest ever airlift, saving thousands of lives, focusing on the sick and injured and taking them to Houston, Texas.
Why was the US government critisised for its response to Hurricane Katrina?
The response was slow, and many people died and suffered unnecessarily.
The US Central Government blamed lcal and state authorities for all the delays.
