EQ4- Hurricane Katrina 2005 Flashcards
How did hurricane katrina start?
It began as a very low pressure weather system which strengthened to become a tropical storm and eventually a hurricane
Where and When did Hurricane katrina start?
It moved west and neared the Florida coast on 25th August 2005.
Why was there criticism about hurricane katrina?
Government agencies perceived the response to be slow and underprepared.
What made hurricane Katrina deadly?
It was the 6th strongest Atlantic hurricane but what made it deadly was the physical and human geography of that region.
What were the social impacts of Hurricane Katrina?
-Redistributed over one million people from central gulf coast to Texas which saw an increase of people
-Many people were totally traumatized
-Louisiana had a population decline
-Racial tensions were exposed and intensified as many of the victims were black African Americans.
What were the economic impacts of Hurricane Katrina?
-Estimated cost of $160 billion
-Most expensive natural disaster in the history of the US
-Katrina damaged/destroyed 30 oil platforms
-Some insurance companies stopped insuring homeowners because of the high costs from hurricane katrina/or raised insurance to cover the risk.
What were the environmental impacts of hurricane katrina?
-The storm surge caused substantial beach erosion.
-217 square miles of land was transformed to water by the hurricanes katrina + rita.
-Oil spills from 44 facilities
-As part of clean up efforts, flood waters were pumped into a lake. this water contained raw sewage, heavy metals and oil so massive number of fish died.