Katrina

Question 1

hazards

Answer 1

• 9.1m surge
• 280kmph sustained winds
• cat 5 storm

Question 2

Impacts

Answer 2

Soc:
- pop orig fell by 50%+
- 1836 deaths, mainly drowning
Econ:
- $125bil in damage
- $1.3mil acres of forest destroyed, costing $5 bil
- damage to oil rigs
Env:
- beach erosion
- 7 million gallons of oil leaked
- flood waters w/ sewage pumped into lake
Pol:
- govt criticised
- levees not up to standard
- 80% new orleans flooded
- most stranded were african/american

Question 3

management

Answer 3

Before:
- effective prediction + 70% left of those told to evac
- Louisiana Superdome shelter suffered damage
- risk perception as residents had only experienced small hurricanes before
During:
- 273000 in shelters
- coast guard rescued ppl
- India delivered 25 tons of relief supplies
After:
- congress authorised $62.3bil for aid
- dewatering of city took 6 weeks
- 1/5 trailers requested for housing were supplied
criticism:
- 50 levees failed
- superdome designed to handle 800
- effective prediction however