hazards -hurricane Katrina Flashcards
(17 cards)
when was hurricane Katrina?
.august 2005
where did hurricane Katrina hit?
.New Orleans
.Florida
.Louisiana
what made hurricane Katrina so deadly?
.the location it hit
.the physical and human Geography of that region
what were the natural factors that made New Orleans so vulnerable to the impacts of hurricane Katrina?
.sits below sea level -so high flood walls (levees) keep the water at bay
.lies on the USA Gulf Coast -an area which can expect severe tropical storms -the city was grazed by the eye wall and hit by a storm surge, up to 10m in places
how has human interference caused the city to sink even lower in relation to sea level?
.engineers drained swamplands around the area so they could continue expansion and construction of New Orleans -this drainage led to subsidence which led New Orleans being 6 feet below sea level
what were the human factors that caused New Orleans to be so vulnerable to the impacts of the hurricane?
.the levees were built to cope with a category 3 storm but not the storm surge from a category
.original flood measures caused soil shrinkage -leaving 50% of the land below sea level
what magnitude was the hurricane when it hit land on the 29th of august?
.category 4
.levees also broke
what were the social national primary impacts?
.1836 fatalities, most in Louisiana
.more than 1 million became refugees displaced from their home
.5 million people left without power
what were the local environmental primary impacts?
.80% of New Orleans was flooded including 60% of houses (some of which were beyond repair)
what were the national environmental primary impacts?
.1 million acres of forest lands were destroyed
.oil spills from 44 facilities throughout South Eastern Louisiana
what were the international economic secondary impacts?
.global oil price shot up as many oil refineries and rigs were damaged
.major insurance companies issued profit warnings and raised premium
.damages of around $125 billion
what were the international social secondary impacts?
.unemployment
what were the political secondary impacts?
.the government had to deal with criticism of the rescue and aid programme -racial tensions were exposed as reports claimed that most affected by Katrina were black American -the poorest and most disadvantaged
.president Bush was criticised for being slow to visit the area
what were the local short term responses
.the day before the hurricane was to make landfall the mayor or New Orleans ordered that the city be evacuated
.New Orleans Superdome was used as a sanctuary for people fleeing the hazard but could not cope with the numbers that arrived -so conditions quickly became unsafe
what were the national short term responses?
.President Bush declared a state of emergency in Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi, two days before the storm was due to make landfall there
.most of the management and aid came from within the USA
what was given to the effected states in terms of aid?
.US Senate assigned $10 billion in the first week of september -followed by $50 billion
.Kuwait gave $500 million
.india blankets and hygiene kits
.public donated $1.8 billion to the American Red Cross
what were the long term responses?
.US spent over $800 million on rebuilding flood defences
.220 miles of flood walls and levees were strengthened or replaced to reduce the risk of flooding
.funding provided for environmental clean-up operations
