Hurricane Katrina

By Abdulaziz Al-Kubaisi

When And WhereIt was on the 29th of August 2005, when southern

Louisiana was hit by hurricane Katrina, it was said that it did the most damage of all the hurricanes that hit the U.S.A in the past and it was also the most costly. Firstly hurricane Katrina formed over the Bahamas and that was on August 23 then crossed south Florida and it was a category 1 hurricane, it caused some deaths and flooding, after that it grew stronger in The gulf of Mexico, finally August 29 it hit New Orleans, Louisiana as a category 3 hurricane

Categories of Hurricanes

Economic effects

Hurricane Katrina is known as the priciest natural disaster in the United States History. The bush administration in april 2006 paid $105 billion for the repairs in the region and the reconstruction. Hurricane Katrina also destroyed and damaged 30 oil platforms and caused nine refineries to close down. The forest lands were also affected by Hurricane Katrina and 1.3 million acres of forest land got destroyed. After hurricane Katrina hundreds of thousands of residents in the places where hurricane Katrina hit were left unemployed causing them to face poverty and on top of that their houses and properties got damaged and destroyed. The main things that hurricane Katrina affected in the economy of the places that were hit were lack of oil supply, food export, tourism and other businesses.

in USD)

Billions Name Year

$81.2 Hurricane Katrina[1] 2005

$40.7 Hurricane Andrew[2] 1992

$32.0 Hurricane Ike[3] 2008

$29.1 Hurricane Wilma[4][5][6][7] 2005

$18.6 Hurricane Charley[8][9] 2004

Cost of hurricane Katrina

Environmental effects

Hurricane Katrina had long lasting environmental effects. Industrial wastes, oil spills, toxic chemicals, house hold sewage and other pollutants were swept to the areas where hurricane Katrina hit. The contaminated flood water effected the health of the humans, animals etc. Also it polluted the groundwater reserves which was a major water drinking source to the people. Hurricane Katrina caused a beach erosion and in some places it destroyed the coastal areas. The flood waters that hurricane Katrina caused took 43 days to completely get rid of, these waters had a mix of sewage, bacteria, heavy metals, pesticides and toxic chemicals, also it the flood waters had 24.6 million liters of oil, which caused insane numbers of fish dying.

Health effectsThe people who stayed in the city suffered from

dehydration and food poisoning, also there was

also the spread of cholera, tuberculosis, hepatitis

A, and typhoid fever. These were all related to the

drinking of the polluted water. The people who

survived the hurricane had exposure to mosquito-

borne diseases like yellow fever, malaria and west

Nile virus.

Social effects

More than 1800 people lost their lives due to the disaster of hurricane Katrina. Also hundreds of people were left homeless and a lot more didn’t have a job or social security. Most people lost family members friend and relatives. There was a lack of food and water, many people suffered from emotional and physiological stress. People were looting in the stores and stealing stuff because they didn’t have what they needed like food water. Many reports of carjacking, murders, thefts and rapes were in the news in New Orleans, some sources then reported that they were many false reports. They sent troops and they were ordered to restore the city.

Political

After the hurricane the Whitehouse and the government started to reconsider their plans on how to face natural disasters like hurricane Katrina. They came up with a report which includes certain priorities, the first is to ensure the unity of effort, and how to face natural and man made disasters more carefully. Second is that they need to develop a cultural awareness so that every one works together as 1 hand. Third is to have corrective actions and to ensure they don’t repeat the same problems that they had before. People were angry with the government and the president because they didn’t take the right action.

Solutions

There are short and long term solutions for hurricanes.Short term:• Evacuation plans – getting people out safely• Stronger buildings to minimize damage to homes during the storm

and the flooding• Teaching people how to remain calm and not panic, and how to

deal with a storm when it hits

Long term:• Relocation• Future evacuation plans• Altering the ports of New Orleans and South Louisiana

Recommendations

I recommend that the People of New Orleans relocate because a lot of hurricanes hit near New Orleans and hit New Orleans. Also I would recommend to have better houses and use a lot of money to build a secure house that wont be damaged by the hurricane. Last that I recommend is that the government should take action by clearing everyone in the city as a need too not as “ a storm is coming evacuate” but as police coming and evacuating every one there because some people just don’t have the money etc. and also the government should not take the risk that once it hears that there is a storm coming it doesn't do anything.

Bibliography• http://www.eas.slu.edu/People/ZPan/EAS-107/katrina.jpg• http://mm04.nasaimages.org/MediaManager/srvr?mediafile=/Size4/nasaNAS-10-NA/73307/

katrina_goe_2005241_lrg.jpg&userid=1&username=admin&resolution=4&servertype=JVA&cid=10&iid=nasaNAS&vcid=NA&usergroup=Earth_Observatory_(nasa)-10-Admin&profileid=46

• http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/atmosphere/hurricane/categories.gif• http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/02/20060223.html• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Katrina• http://www.hurricanekatrina.com/• http://environment.about.com/od/environmentalevents/a/katrina_impact.htm• http://www.planetizen.com/node/19202• http://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/hurricane_katrina/• http://gnocdc.s3.amazonaws.com/reports/crsrept.pdf• http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/120/4/e749• http://www.buzzle.com/articles/effects-of-hurricane-katrina.html• http://merln.ndu.edu/archivepdf/hls/WH/20060223.pdf• http://web.mit.edu/12.000/www/m2010/finalwebsite/