Hurricane Katrina Flashcards
What was Hurricane Katrina for the US?
Hurricane Katrina is the costliest natural disaster in the history of the United States
Where was it ranked in strength in the history of Atlantic hurricanes?
Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall
What made it so deadly?
What made it deadly was where it hit and the physical and human geography of that region.
How many people died? (estimate)
At least 1,836 people died in the actual hurricane
What was the property damage? (estimate)
In the subsequent floods and total property damage was estimated at $81 billion.
How did Hurricane Katrina begin?
Hurricane Katrina began as a very low- pressure weather system
How did Hurricane Katrine evolve?
It strengthened to become a tropical storm and eventually a hurricane
- as it moved west and neared the Florida coast on the evening of 25 August 2005
What happened after HK crossed southern Florida?
After crossing southern Florida - where it left some 100,000 homes without power - it strengthened further before veering inland towards Louisiana,
made landfall on 29 August 2005
What were the levees and floodwalls in New Orleans designed to cope with?
They were only ever designed to cope with a category 3 storm, not enough to cope with the strength of the storm surge of Katrina, a category 5 storm.
Did they know this?
A simulation exercise one year before the storm revealed this, but was not acted upon.
- In the actual storm, it was the Industrial canal and 17th Street canal which failed and had the most impact.
Where were the most significant number of deaths and why?
The most significant number of deaths occurred in New Orleans, Louisiana,
which flooded as the levee system catastrophically failed,
How much % of the city and large tracts of neighbouring regions became flooded?
Eventually 80% of the city and large tracts of neighbouring regions became flooded, and the floodwaters lingered for weeks.
Where was the most property damage?
The worst property damage occurred in coastal areas, such as all Mississippi beachfront towns, which were flooded over 90% in hours, as boats and casino barges rammed buildings, pushing cars and houses inland
How far inland did the waters reach from the beach?
Waters reached 6–12 miles (10–19 km) from the beach.
In which areas were the impacts?
Economic, environmental and social
Economic:
How much did the Bush Administration have to be for repairs and reconstruction?
105 billion for repairs and reconstruction in the region,
What didn’t this include?
This didn’t include
- potential interruption of the oil supply,
- destruction of the Gulf Coast’s highway infrastructure,
- and exports of commodities such as grain.
Katrina damaged or destroyed 30 oil platforms and caused the closure of nine refineries;
What was HK impact on oil platforms and refineries?
Katrina damaged or destroyed 30 oil platforms and caused the closure of nine refineries
How much forest land was destroyed and what did this cost?
1.3 million acres (5,300 km2) of forest lands were destroyed costing about $5 billion
