Hurricane Katrina Flashcards
Where and when was it
South-east USA
29th August 2005
One of the wealthiest countries in the world
Struck Louisiana and Mississippi as a category 5 storm
Rain levels and wind speed
250mm of rain
285km/h winds
Storm surge height
8.5m in Mississippi
How much of New Orleans was flooded
80% due to the levees being overwhelmed
Social impacts
1836 killed 300,000 homes destroyed 60,000 homeless 3 million without electricity Water supplies were polluted 18 schools destroyed in New Orleans and 74 damaged, affecting education
Economic impacts
230,000 jobs were lost from damaged businesses
30 oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico were damaged/destroyed
5300 square km of forest was destroyed - $5 billion loss to the logging industry
Overall $100 billion in costs
Environmental impacts
Coastal habitats damaged e.g. sea turtle breading grounds
Coastal conservation areas destroyed
Oil spills from flooded oil refineries
Salt marshes flooded - loss of habitat
Human responses
The national hurricane centre tracked it with sophisticated technology
1000 people busses left New Orleans every hour, 80% of the people in NO were evacuated before the Hurricane reached the land mass
Emergency shelters were established - 26,000 were sheltered in the Louisiana Superdome
Us coastguard positioned helicopters and boats around the most affected areas
50,000 people were rescued by emergency services after the storm hit
How much internal aid payment was received from the FEMA
$85 billion
They’re a branch of the US government
How much money was collected by charities
$4 billion
