Hurricane Katrina 2005 Flashcards
what were the areas effected?
New Orleans
worst affected areas are Gentilly and 9th ward
GNI per capita of New Orleans?
New Orleans - $37,000
US average - $57,000
what was the literacy rate and how did this affect risk?
85% - 10% lower than us average
people less able to read advice material on how to deal with the storm
how did employment status affect risk?
surrounded by other low literacy unskilled workers
how did religious background affect risk?
some christian groups had faith in god (USA motto: in god we trust) this lead to fatalist attitudes
how did marital status affect risk?
larger than average family size and more single parent families mean children receive less support
how did past experience affect risk?
biggest major flood since 1927, and without any major flooding in recent times, people may have been under a false impression that they were safe.
political reasons for disaster?
President Bush cut funding to FEMA due to war on terror (invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan)
Meant FEMA could not enlarge levees and provide buses for evacuation. help arrived after 4 days when it was promised by 48 hours.
$2 billion was required to protect the city.
how did topography affect risk?
bowl shaped topography meant 50% of land is below sea level
dimensions of storm hazard?
cat 5
250mm of rainfall
174 mph winds
8.5m storm surge
primary impacts of the hazard?
- Debris blown and littered the surrounding sea, causing plastic pollution
- flooding caused raw sewage leak
- $200 billion worth of damage
- famers crops destroyed
- 1 million people became refugees
- 1836 people died, mainly from drowning
- ineffective governance lead to racial tensions in which the non-white community felt they were not being fully supported by government
secondary impacts of the hazard?
- salt water contamination affected non-saline natural habitats
- $2.5 billion had to be spent on cleaning up waste and debris
- took 5 years to decontaminate soil from salt and allow production to return
- damaged oil rigs in gulf of Mexico caused petrol prices to rise above £1 for the first time
- 55,000 properties were damaged beyond repair and many people did not return for 6 months.
- it has taken until 2022 for population to return to pre disaster levels
- changes in governance to support the wider new Orleans community. The development of the black lives matter movement
how many people died
1836
political impacts
loss in faith to FEMA
loss of electorate to George Bush due to concerns of lack of funding to fully prepare New Orleans
environmental impacts
oil leaks into surroundings
debris spread for miles
short term responses?
- FEMA: public transport, helicopters, and boats for most effected areas. also teams and supplies such as mortuary teams. although, only 100 of the 700 planned buses arrived
- mandatory evacuation, many of whom went to the nearby superdome sports stadium
- state of emergency declared in Mississippi and Louisiana
long term responses?
- the floodwater was pumped into the lake Pontchartrain, which took over a month
- $62 billion allocated by US congress to be spent in aid of feeding and rehousing the people who were affected
- US federal state governments spent $20 billion building a new defense system with levees gates pumps and flood walls
examples of preparation?
- some food was set out at the sports stadium, but these dwindled quickly the lack of resources and overcrowding led to a further 3 deaths at this location
- public transport evacuation was planned (FEMA) but many of these did not arrive due to budget cuts under the Bush administration and the war on terror.
examples of mitigation?
- buildings can be made to withstand the strong winds and be put upon stilts to avoid floodwater. even making homes slightly higher can help as people can escape to the highest story in their home.
examples of prevention?
very hard to prevent, cloud seeding has been done successfully, such as the Moscow Olympics. but is unfeasible on a large scale such as a hurricane.
examples of adaption?
new defenses were built, and the layout of the city was changed. Additionally, there is now more awareness of potential risks from tropical storms.
According to the NOAA, how many hurricanes make landfall within 50 miles on new Orleans?
once every seven to eleven years
what did the racial zoning laws of the early 1900’s do?
restrict the integration of African Americans and Caucasians
what happened in 1927?
racial zoning laws were classified as unconstitutional and removed.
However despite this shift away from racial segregation, the hazard of tropical storms has assisted in amplifying this racial segregation in New Orleans
what were some previous storms?
storm Betsy 1965
storm Georges 1998
average property value in Gentilly?
$230,000
these properties are usually occupied by lower income families which unfortunately tend to be African American
how deep was Gentilly flooded?
10 ft
what percentage of Gentilly is African American?
78%
how much higher is uptown and what are the average property prices?
12ft
$400,000
higher, less risk land creates premium property prices
what percentage of uptown is Caucasian?
73%
what happened to the population in Gentilly after the event?
22% decline
