Hurricane Katrina Flashcards
Date
29th August 2005 USA Medc
Deaths
1,836
Causes
Bgan as low pressure weather system in Atlantic over 270c sea it obtains energy and moisture here. Air rotates anti-clock wise
→then strengthened to become a tropical storm
→moved west and neared Florida coat on 25th August
Percentage of city flooded
80%
Depth of water
6m
What contributed to flooding
Rainfall from storm
Effects of people
→ thousands of homes and businesses destroyed
→jobs lostt
→ millions of dollars lost in tax incomes
→ Tourism centres were badly affected
Refuge
Superdome stadium ; conditions were unhygienic and there was a shortage of water
Congestion
Major highways disrupted and major road bridges destroyed
Number of people made homless
1 million
Costs
$300 billion
Environment affects
Flodded refineries and broken pipe lines
- oil rings in gulf of Mexico damaged causing oil spills
- petrol process rose in UK and USA
- Agricultural production damaged by tornadoes and flooding, cotton and sugar cane crops flattened
Crime
Looting and commonplace throughout the city, people were looking for food and water
- some lotters were shot on sight
- business owners took the law into their own hands and defended their properties
- Car jackings, murders, thefts ,rapes in NewOrleans
- National guard and federal troops mobilized
Percentage of marshes overun by water
20% and lands were lost for marine mammals, brown pelicans, turtles and fish, redhead ducks
Human response Before
President Bush declared state of emergancy in Louisians, Alabama and Mississippi two days before hurricane made landfall
-New Orleans mayor (Ray Nagin) ordered the first ever mandatory evacuation
What time was Katrina upgraded to what storm
10.a.m on August the 28th Category 5 storm
Number of emergancy shelters established
57
Number of people int he superdome
20,000
During the storm
Government established sveral “refuges of last resort for citizens who couldnt leave the city
- mobile hospitals
- water treatment plants
- canned food
- bottled water
- poorsest people remained in city
After the storm short term
- sandbags airlifted by army
Long term
several months for water to drain, made new building standards for leeves to ensure saftey( rebuildt them stronger), they are not building on low land areas (flooding)
Amount air given by government
$50 billion
Criticism of authorities
- lack of evacuation and planning
- Lack of coordinated response
- slow process in evacuating people, poorest and most vulnerable left behind
- Bush didn’t arrive untill several days had passes
What did Katrina highlight
when a disater is large enough even very developed countries stuffle to cope with natural disasters especially poorest people
