Hurricance Katrina & Cyclone Nargis Flashcards
What was the date of Katrina?
23rd August-31st August 2005
What was the total number of casualties because of Katrina?
1,838
What was the cost of damage because of Katrina?
$150 billion
What was Katrina’s maximum wind speed?
175mph
What category was Katrina?
Category 5
What were the economic effect of Katrina
- The government had to pay billions in repairs
- Farmland was ravaged and landowners couldn’t work their land meaning lost income
- New Orleans port was closed which meant lost trade
- The storm interrupted oil production which had a major affect on fuel prices
- The export of cotton, soybeans, wheat and corn was affected
What were the social affects of Katrina?
- Hundreds killed and even more displaced
- Physical and mental stress on those who suffered the storm
- People with lung disorders (e.g. Asthma) may of had health complications due to toxic mould and airborne irritants leading to ‘Katrina Cough’
- Looting
What were the environmental affects of Katrina?
- Industrial waste and sewage leaked into New Orleans
- 7 million gallons of oil spilled
- Pesticides, heavy metals and other toxic chemicals seeped into the ground and contaminated groundwater
- The coastline which had many nature reserves was damaged
- Offshore islands were destroyed
What was the response to Katrina?
- 350,000 people were given shelter in the Superdome
- The army helped keep order and bring supplied
- The UK: Urban Search and Rescue equipment, Marine engineers and high-volume pumps
- Spain: sent 2.1 million barrels of crude oil from its strategic reserves for a 30-day period
- Iceland: Offered $500,000
- 220 miles of levees were rebuilt
- The Us department of commerce provided $1.3bilkion to improve hurricane related public broadcasting stations
Where was Cyclone Nargis?
Indian Ocean, Bangledesh, India, Myanmar and Sri Lanka
When was Nargis?
April 27th-May 3rd 2008
What were the total number of casualties due to Nargis?
138,366
What was the cost of damage because of Nargis?
$10 billion
What were the maximum wind speeds of Nargis?
130mph
What category was Nargis?
Category 4 (Safir-Simpson scale)
What were the economic effects of Nargis?
- $10 billion worth of damage
- Immediate impact on agriculture due to lost crops and drowned animals
- Expensive roads and bridges swept away
- Land contaminated with salt water means it can’t be worked so lost harvest for years to come
- 65% of rice production is lost
- Many young people killed so the future work force is reduced
What were the social effect of Nargis?
- Hundreds of thousands of deaths
- 95% of buildings destroyed and 75% of hospitals
- 4000 schools destroyed
- Outbreak of illnesses e.g. Diarrhoea
- Looting and social unrest
- No education for a generation
What were the environmental effects of Nargis?
- 75,000 mangrove swamps damaged
- Pollution of ground water stores
- Rice paddy fields eroded and inundated with salt water
- Rivers filled with sediment
- increased likelihood of future flooding
What was the response to Nargis?
-46 nations gave aid e.g.
•Bangledesh gave 20 tonnes of food
•India gave 4 tonnes of supplies
•Italy gave 30 tonnes of emergency equipment
•The UK gave Navy support
-Only 17,000 of the 450,000 homes destroyed have been rebuilt
-500,000 people still in temporary shelter
-Aid for agriculture is 42% less than hoped
Where was Hurricane Katrina?
In the West Pacific, it affected the West Caribbean and the South West coast of the US.
What is the minimum temperature the sea has to be for a tropical storm?
27°C
What is the minimum wind speed there has to be for a tropical storm to form?
75mph
How high was the storm surge of Katrina?
8.5m
How high was the storm surge of Nargis?
3.5m
