Hurricane Katrina Essay

546 Words2 Pages

Hurricane Katrina, the most expensive natural disaster in the history of the United States of America, hit the Gulf Coast on the 29th of August 2005, leaving behind an estimated damage worth $125 billion US, and a total death toll of over 1800(Graumann et al., 2006). The essay will discuss why Hurricane Katrina had such a devastating effect on New Orleans, the worst affected area, and the post-disaster recovery process.

Like in any other natural hazard, geographical factors had a strong influence on Hurricane Katrina. Making its first landing between the beaches of Hallandale and North Miami on 25 August (Graumann et al., 2006), Katrina travelled across South Florida and into the Gulf of Mexico, where the warm weather and the lack of strong winds resulted in a sharp increase in intensity from a category 1 to a category 5 storm, with winds travelling at up to 175mph. However, due to the natural phenomenon of ‘eyewall replacement’ (Travis, 2005, p.1656) the hurricane decreased to a high-end category 3 as it hit New Orleans, with wind speed up to 127mph (shown in Fig.1) (Graumann et ...

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