Hurrican Katrina

Question 1

Temporal

Answer 1

25th Aug - Landfall over Florida leaving 100,000 homes without power

29th Aug - Landfall at New Orleans

Hurricane 50 miles of New Orleans every 7-11 years

Strong hurricane every 20 years

Question 2

Spatial setting

Answer 2

Struck florida

Veered inland and struck 90km south of New Orleans

Passed through NO

Devastated an area the size of Great Britain

Question 3

Perception

Answer 3

Area vulnerable to flooding

Levees only suitable up to a Category 3 storm - simulated to not withstand higher

Category 5 hurricane

Question 4

Factors affecting perception

Answer 4

NO is sinking as the drained soft sediment it was built upon has compacted under the weight of the buildings increasing flood risk

Question 5

Causes

Answer 5

Interaction of tropical wave and remnants of a tropical depression

Insufficient/poorly built levees

Low lying land

Next to Mississippi River and lake

Storm surges up to 7.8m

200km/h winds

Question 6

Social Impacts

Answer 6

80% of city flooded - some areas under 20ft
1200 people drowned
1 million made homeless
By 2006, pop. In NO had halved

Question 7

Economic impacts

Answer 7

Insurance companies stopped insuring
$125 billion in damages
Many jobs lost - loss of income

Question 8

Environmental impacts

Answer 8

1.3 million ha of forest lands were destroyed costing $5bn

Breeding grounds lost

Question 9

Responses to the event

Answer 9

• Superdome - 150,000 people evacuated
• 33,000 rescued by coastguards
• Monetary aid offered from Cuba, Kuwait, Australia and China
• 58,000 national guard personnel deployed to assist with rescue and discovery
• 220 miles of flood walls & levees were strengthened
• $16.7pm supplied by US Congress to rebuild
• Spent $14.5bn on sewers, pumps, sea walls and drainage to defend against flooding and storm surges

Question 10

Factors affecting response

Answer 10

Kanye west claimed there were racial reasons for a slow response

HIC