Hurricane Katrina

Question 1

Background info? (Date, development)

Answer 1

• Occured 29th August 2005
• Developed over the Bahamas due to tropical depression and hit Louisiana
• Moved through categories 1-5 as it moved up the Gulf of Mexico due to high ocean temps of 28 degrees
• Category 5 with wind speeds of 280 km/h and cat 3 as moved through Mississippi

Question 2

Primary impacts? (Deaths, homes, % flooded, schools, depth and size of disaster zone)

Answer 2

• 1836 deaths
• 300,000 homes destroyed
• 80% of New Orleans flooded
• 18 schools destroyed
• 4.5m deep flooding in some areas
• disaster zone same size as UK

Question 3

Secondary impacts?

Answer 3

• Population of New Orleans halved from 455,000 to 230,000 and in 2020 was 15% below pre-Katrina levels (384,000)
• Damage costs exceeded $125 billion making it one of the costliest hurricanes on record
• 5300km of forest destroyed in Mississippi costing the logging industry $5 billion
• Cultural demographic changed drastically due to large decline in African American population.
  E.g. the lower 9th ward declined from 14,000 to 3,000
• 55,000 homes damaged too badly to be repaired
• Over 1 million refugees across 50 states

Question 4

Responses?

Answer 4

• Advance warnings on 26th, state of emergency declared by bush on the 27th
• Evacuation orders on the 28th but 25% had no car so couldn’t leave
• public donated $1.8 billion to the Red Cross
• 26,000 sheltered in the super dome but conditions were awful with 3 deaths and high crime rates
• 220 miles of levees repaired as previous ones only build to withstand category 3
• $16 billion provided for rebuilding homes

Question 5

Criticisms?

Answer 5

• Levees only built to withstand category 3 hurricane
• Evacuation plan implemented only 19 hours before hurricane hit
• Simulation of flood was carried out which showed how badly the lower 9th ward would be affected but no further action was taken