Hurricane Katrine Case Study

Question 1

Where did hurricane Katrina first hit

Answer 1

Around the Bahamas

Question 2

When did hurricane Katrina hit the Bahamas

Answer 2

23rd August 2005

Question 3

Where did hurricane Katrina go onto hit

Answer 3

New Orleans

Question 4

When did hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans

Answer 4

August 29th 2005

Question 5

What category of hurricane was Katrina

Answer 5

Category 5 hurricane

Question 6

What winds did this category 3 hurricane produce

Answer 6

111mph

Question 7

What was the storm surge of hurricane Katrina

Answer 7

8.5 storm surge

Question 8

Within 24 hours how much rain did New Orleans experience

Answer 8

250mm of rain

Question 9

Formation. What are the 4 essential conditions for hurricane formation

Answer 9

26 degrees sea temp for top 60m
Latitude of 5-20N/S of the equator
Seasonality (June-November)
High humidity

Question 10

Describe the reasons for a hurricane needing 26 degrees sea temp for top 60m of water

Answer 10

This is required to heat the air above which leads to the air rising, cooling , with humidity increasing. Dew point is then reached. Condensation occurs with water droplets forming around a nuclei, then the water droplets grow in size (collision theory) forming large CUMULONIMBUS thunderstorm clouds

Question 11

Why does hurricane formation need latitudes of 5-20N/S of the equator

Answer 11

Here the coriolus spin effect can help clumped thunderstorms start to spin in their anti-clockwise direction to build up their to the required 74mph category 1 status

Question 12

Why is hurricane season from late June until November

Answer 12

At this time of year the sea water has retained heat from the strong summer insulation due to LAWS OF THERMODYNAMICS. This will result in a very strong conventional uplift heating

Question 13

Why does hurricanes require high humidity

Answer 13

Hugh humidity allows the air in the Atlantic to reach dew point quickly and help drive the latent heat engine found in hurricanes. When thunderstorms pour out their rain, latent heat us given off and the storm heats up further lowering the surface pressure and drawing in more surface air

Question 14

IOP. how many people where killed in New Orleans

Answer 14

1836 people killed

Question 15

IOP. How many people were killed directly from the levee breach surge of water

Answer 15

700

Question 16

IOP. What % of people were evacuated and where too

Answer 16

90% of residents evacuated to Texas

Question 17

IOP. How many people were temporarily homeless and what did many people find difficult

Answer 17

500,000 and many people found it difficult to leave the area

Question 18

IOP. How many jobs where lost

Answer 18

250,000 jobs were lost

Question 19

IOP. Why were so many jobs lost and where

Answer 19

Many businesses damaged/destroyed and many ports were destroyed in the Gulf of Mexico

Question 20

IOP. How many people were left without electricity

Answer 20

3 million without electricity

Question 21

IOP. What were the health hazards

Answer 21

Water was contaminated with sewage and dead bodies

Question 22

IOPR. Where where many houses destroyed

Answer 22

Mainly close to the 9th Ward and London street levees

Question 23

IOPR. How many houses where destroyed

Answer 23

300,000

Question 24

IOPR. How many temporary houses were built

Answer 24

100,00 temporary houses

Question 25

IOPR. what collapsed in New Orleans

Answer 25

New Orleans Superdome roof collapsed

Question 26

IOPR. What was the most damaged hotel in New Orleans

Answer 26

Hyatt Regency hotel

Question 27

IOPR. What was the name of the mayor that had an outburst

Answer 27

Mayor Nagin

Question 28

IOPR. why did mayor Nagin have an outburst

Answer 28

He had an outburst over the no electricity supply for 3 million people for 6 weeks

Question 29

PMS. Describe the efficiency of the NHS warning system

Answer 29

The NHS had a very easy and efficient working system which was able to accurately predict and track the back of the hurricane to warm the most endangered areas

Question 30

PMS. How many hours warning did the NHS warning system give people

Answer 30

19 hours warning

Question 31

NMS. Why was the NHS warning system not totally effective

Answer 31

Although the NHS warning system was well thought out and thorough, in order to be most effective, the plan and warning needed to be given 3 days before the hurricane hit, but with Katrina the warning was only 19 hours which resulted in many people stranded in floods

Question 32

NMS. Describe the FEMA emergency service preparation

Answer 32

The preparation was robust and helped New Orleans before and 6 months after the storm but a year later the former FEMA chief reviewed that there was no plan for dealing with the aftermath of Katrina

Question 33

PMS. How was the Red Cross effective with its help and in how many states

Answer 33

The Red Cross was able to set up 356 temporary shelters to help the sick, homeless and injured in 9 states

Question 34

NMS. Why was there an improvement needed with rescuing

Answer 34

Many people were stranded on top of rooftops for days without any food or water. Many people felt that the government were slow and delayed in getting the right aid to the right people

Question 35

NMS. Why did the levees breach

Answer 35

The levees were built to survive a category 3 hurricane not a category 5 hurricane

Question 36

PMS. How did the government practice responses to a similar storm event

Answer 36

The government created a fictional Hurricane Pam in 2004 and modelled different responses to cope with category 3 hurricane

Question 37

Overall how effective were the management strategies put in place for hurricane Katrina

Answer 37

Overall ineffective

Question 38

Why was the management strategies overall ineffective

Answer 38

1. Many significant engineering errors in the structure and building of levees as they failed. The levees allowed the storm surge to enter New Orleans (9th Ward and London Avenue)