Hurricane Katrina Case Study Flashcards
(54 cards)
When did Hurricane Katrina take place?
August 2015
When did the storm first develop?
23rd August
Whereabouts did the storm first develop?
Over the Bahamas
When was Hurricane Katrina upgraded to a Category 4 storm?
28th August
Where was it headed on 28th August?
Mississippi and Louisiana
What category did Hurricane Katrina reach?
5
What record did it reach in regards to the Atlantic basin/
It was the 5th most intense Atlantic basin hurricane on record
What was a sustained windspeed of the hurricane?
280km/hr
What were gusts up to?
345km/hr
What was the central pressure of the hurricane?
902mb
When were advance warnings in force?
By 26th August
When and were did President Bush declare a state of emergency?
On 27th August in Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi.
This was two days before the hurricane was expected to make landfall.
What did authorities find difficult?
The sheer scale of the disaster.
When was New Orleans evacuated?
28th August
Where does New Orleans lie?
The Gulf Coast of the USA
Why did the original flood defences put the city at an even greater risk?
The flood control measures had resulted in the shrinkage of soils.
What did the shrinkage of soils mean for New Orleans?
Over 50% of the land was now below sea level
What was the problem with the levee system?
Much of it had not been constructed to modern standards and the replacement work was only 60-90% complete.
What happened to the levee during the storm?
The levee failed during the storm surge.
When was the evacuation plan for New Orleans drawn up?
19 hours before Katrina’s landfall
How many people didn’t evacuate New Orleans?
150,000
Why didn’t everyone evacuate?
They wanted to stay
Where did refugees seek protection?
The Louisiana Superdome
How long did the basic supplies of food and water last the 150,000 people who stayed?
3 days
