Storm Hazard: Case Study

Question 1

Describe the background info of hurricane Katrina

Answer 1

South East USA
Formed in Bahamas and moved North west and struck Louisiana and Mississippi.
Winds of 200 km/h
Storm surge of 8.5km in Mississippi

Question 2

How did the storm surge of hurricane Katrina affect New Orleans?

Answer 2

Heavy rainfall overwhelmed levees and caused 80% of the city to flood.

Question 3

What were the social impacts of hurricane Katrina?

Answer 3

• 1836 killed
• 300,000 houses destroyed
• 3 million without electricity
• 5 died due to contaminated water

Question 4

What was the economic impacts of Hurricane Katrina?

Answer 4

• 230,000 jobs lost from damaged businesses.
• 5300km^2 of forest destroyed causing $5 billion lost income from logging.
  Cost of damage: $300 billion.

Question 5

What were the environmental impacts of Hurricane Katrina?

Answer 5

• Coastal conservational areas destroyed (Breton National Wildlife refuge)
• Flooding damages caused oil spills

Question 6

Was America able to predict hurricane Katrina?

Answer 6

Yes, the National Hurricane Centre predicted the hurricane and issued warnings on where and when it would hit.

Question 7

How did FEMA prepare for Hurricane Katrina?

Answer 7

-US Coast Guard prepared helicopters and boats for affected areas.
-Mandatory evacuation: 80% of New Orleans evacuated before hurricane hit land.

Question 8

What does FEMA stand for?

Answer 8

Federal Emergency Management Agency

Question 9

What was the response of FEMA after the hurricane had passed?

Answer 9

• Shelters set up (26,000 sheltered).
• Coastguard rescuers 50,000 people.
• Search and Rescue teams.
• Charities collected $4 billion aid.

Question 10

Describe the background info on Cyclone Nargis.

Answer 10

Storm formed in Bay of Bengal and
approached Myanmar (one of least developed countries in the world).

Question 11

What was the wind speed of cyclone nargis?

Answer 11

215mph

Question 12

What was the height of the storm surges caused by cyclone nargis?

Answer 12

5m

Question 13

What was the wind speeds of hurricane Katrina?

Answer 13

200km/h

Question 14

What was the storm surge height of hurricane Katrina?

Answer 14

8.5m

Question 15

What were the social impacts of cyclone nargis?

Answer 15

-140,000 killed.
-2.5 million left homeless
-70% had no access to clean water which leads to disease.

Question 16

What were the economic effects of cyclone nargis?

Answer 16

• 6000km^2 agricultural land damaged.
• 40% of food stores destroyed
• Million lost their livelihoods.
  Total cost = US$ 4 billion

Question 17

What were the environmental impacts of cyclone nargis?

Answer 17

-Mangrove forests destroyed.
-Flooding caused erosion and salinisation.

Question 18

Was Myanmar prepared for cyclone nargis?

Answer 18

No they don’t have a hurricane monitoring centre. India warned them soo Myanmar issued warning on television but they didn’t say how soon it would be or how to prepare or evacuate.

Question 19

Did Myanmar accept foreign aid?

Answer 19

Initially they refused, but accepted aid donations from organisations like UN refugee agency and charities.
Aid workers were not allowed into the country until 2 weeks after the disaster increasing the number of deaths.