Hurricane Katrina

Question 1

vulnerable city

Answer 1

• high incidence of hurricane
• 95% of New Orleans has subsided 1.5m below sea level
• relies on levees and 100 year old flood protection

Question 2

Wetlands

Answer 2

• should protect the city from storm surges
• storage capacity
• wave and storm protection
• erosion due to:
• man-made modification fo drainage systems
• hurricane/.storm surge activity
• not being replenished with Mississippi flood water/sediment
• estimated disappearance by 2050

Question 3

Canal system

Answer 3

• designed to drain water from the city into the lake and out to the gulf of Mexico
• following Katrina, storm surges pushed water back up the canals
• 17th Street Canal flood walls failed (flooding the city)

Question 4

flood walls failed

Answer 4

• not overtopped, weakened
• I walls
• piling was not to bedrock
• weak sands
• cheaper

Question 5

indirect effects

Answer 5

• lack of electricity/power
• lake of telecommunications
• lack of clean water
• lack of food/water/clothing/medicine
• lake of health care
• lack of employment
• looting for supplies

Question 6

indirect effects

Answer 6

• lack of electricity/power
• lake of telecommunications
• lack of clean water
• lack of food/water/clothing/medicine
• lake of health care
• lack of employment
• looting for supplies

Question 7

major impacts

Answer 7

• > 1500 lives lost
• 210,000 homes damaged, 85,000 destroyed
• 12,000 businesses flooded (many large companies did not return)