The Effects of Hurricane Katrina
The most memorable storms are always hurricanes. They are massive storm systems that last for days. On August 23, 2005, Hurricane Katrina formed and went on a war path. Katrina caused a devastating amount of destruction, costing the United States $90.3 billion (Blake). This makes Katrina the costliest hurricane in United States history. Katrina swept the area of the United States around the Gulf of Mexico, affecting southern Florida, The Florida panhandle, Mississippi, Alabama, and most notably, Louisiana. The category five storm affected levees and other structures, our economics, and human life in general.
Hurricane Katrina caused a devastating amount of damage. About eighty percent of New Orleans was flooded during the storm (Spotts). This was mainly due to the destruction of the federally built levee system. The City of New Orleans is actually below sea level, meaning water could easily flood in. Therefore, the Federal government decided to build a massive levee system, nearly 350 miles of protection. However, it was built to only withstand about a category-3 hurricane (Handwerk). The levees were doomed from the very beginning of this storm. As the storm swept through the city, many small buildings were flattened to the ground, and larger buildings sustained heavy damage, most notably the Hyatt Regency New Orleans building and the Superdome. On August 29, it was reported that the Hyatt Regency building had its front windows completely blown out, and high rises in the surrounding area had received structural damage as well (Lathom ). The Superdome was used to hold evacuees during the storm, and took significant damage to the roof. The roof overall received damage, and the waterproof cover of the dome was essentially peeled off, which caused leaking (Gibson). The Superdome also lost electricity and didn’t have a functioning toilet (Gibson). The State of Louisiana was in complete disarray.
Hurricane Katrina was the most costly natural disaster in U.S. history. Katrina was responsible for damaging or completely destroying thirty oil platforms, which caused nine different oil refineries to shut down (US Department of Commerce). This shut down cost 24% of the annual production and 18% for gas production (MMS Press Release). In Mississippi, 1.3 million acres of forest were destroyed, costing the forest industry roughly $5 billion (Sheikh). Thousands of jobs were lost, and it is estimated that Katrina will ultimately cost Louisiana and Mississippi $150 billion (Burton). Thousands of people became unemployed, which ultimately affects the government and the entire nation because those thousands of unemployed people were no longer paying taxes. The hurricane had a major impact on the economy.
Hurricane Katrina drastically changed the lives of everyone involved. From the very beginning of the storm, many needed help. People were left stranded wherever they could find dry ground, which mostly consisted of climbing on a roof. The National Guard was extremely busy with all of the rescues. Roughly 1,500 people were killed by the hurricane (“Fast Facts about the Aftermath: Personal Impact”). A massive exodus of people was a result of Katrina. Over one million people left the Gulf Coast area to find another way of life. By 2006, about 220,000 people were living in New Orleans, less than half of the pre-Katrina population (Stone). The State of Louisiana declined by 4.87 % in population (Les). Residents that remained in Louisiana began to loot. Thousands of National Guard members were sent to try to maintain order. About 300,000 were evacuated to the state of Texas, where the number of homicides increased by 243%, and 29 of the 170 murders involved evacuees both as victims and suspects (Kennet). Homelessness greatly increased: over 204,000 homes in New Orleans alone were destroyed (“Fast Facts about the Aftermath: Personal Impact”).
Kathleen Blanco, the governor of Louisiana, described Katrina perfectly by stating that “The situation is untenable. It’s just heartbreaking” (Blanco). Relief efforts for Katrina are still being carried out. Thousands of buildings had to be repaired. Some families still have not been able to build a home, even after all these years. This was a biblical hurricane that caused so much damage mainly due to human error. Due to the extreme devastation and loss of life, the name “Katrina” was officially retired from the list of possible hurricane names. Katrina will always be remembered for its major impact on our national society, causing structures within the hurricane path to fail, causing a major impact on the effected state’s economies, as well as the national economy, and changing many of the population’s way of life.
Works Cited
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Blake, Eric S., Edward N. Rappaport, and Christopher W. Landsea. "The Deadliest, Costliest, and Most Intense United States Tropical Cyclones From 1851 To 2006 (And Other Frequently Requested Hurricane Facts)." NOAA Technical Memorandum NWS TPC-5. NHC Miami, Apr. 2007. Web. 22 Oct. 2010. <http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/pdf/NWS-TPC-5.pdf>.
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Stone, Greg, Tim Grant, and Nathaniel Weaver. Rapid Population Estimate Project. City Of New Orleans. 28-29 Jan. 2006. Web. 22 Oct. 2010. <http://katrina.lsu.edu/downloads/research/NOLAPopEstimate.pdf>.
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Kennett, Jim. "Louisiana Gangs That Fled Katrina Heighten Houston Murder Rate - Bloomberg." Bloomberg - Business & Financial News, Breaking News Headlines. 3 Mar. 2006. Web. 23 Oct. 2010. <http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=az6n8C6gsqf0>.
"Fast Facts about the Aftermath: Personal Impact." Women of the Storm. Web. 23 Oct. 2010. <http://www.womenofthestorm.net/facts.php>.
