Hurricane Katrina Essay

706 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The consequences of hurricane Katrina

The tragedy of New Orleans

The month of August in 2005 was an extremely shocking and devastating time for the United States more particularly for the people of New Orleans, Louisiana. For a city that was already crumbling for many years something tragic was about to happen. On the 29th of August a rated Category 3 hurricane made landfall. The name of the tragic disastrous storm is Hurricane Katrina. Hurricane Katrina, will forever be known as one of the worst storms in United States history. Tearing apart the lives of so many people in just a short period of time(Hurricane Katrina, par. 1). Before the devastation of hurricane Katrina New Orleans population had already begun to decline. In fact the population had been declining for roughly …show more content…

People were able to begin evacuating before the hurricane hit due to the warnings from the meteorologists. The meteorologists discovered the path of the storm when Hurricane Katrina first formed as a tropical depression over the Bahamas on the 23rd of August. Knowing that the levees would be breached, the Mayor of New Orleans, Ray Nagin sent out a mandatory evacuation notice to the whole city. For the people that could not evacuate the city Mayor Nagin reserved the Superdome stadium as a shelter because it sat on a higher ground level. By the time the evening came nearly all the people except about twenty percent had evacuated the city. Of the remaining people thousands of them decided to stay home and the remaining thousands decided to seek out safety at the Superdome stadium(Hurricane Katrina, par. 2 & …show more content…

A large number of them are located in Houston, Texas. With the rest being spread all across the United States. Only a portion of those people have returned to the area to help clean up and rebuild their homes. Many of the other people are choosing to stay in the location they evacuated to, because they feel they have better opportunities there than they would back in New Orleans. Others fear that there is a possibility that another massive disaster such as Hurricane Katrina will happen again. But, for those that will not be returning they say that New Orleans will always hold a special place in their hearts(Kotkin, Pars

Show More
Related

  • Hurricane Andrew Ptsd Case Study

    461 Words  | 1 Pages

    In 1992, hurricane Andrew was a category four hurricane and said to be one of the worst natural disasters to happen in the United States at the time. It’s winds surpassed 160 miles per hour and caused damage to over 125,000 homes within 400 square miles. Hurricane Andrew left approximately 175,000 families and children temporarily homeless.

    Read More

  • The Bias and Suffering after Hurricane Katrina: Trouble The Water, and Zeitoun

    1460 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the late summer of 2005, a terrible tragedy occurred that changed the lives of many in the south-east region of the United States. A Category 3, named storm, named Hurricane Katrina, hit the Gulf Coast on the 29th of August and led to the death of 1,836 and millions of dollars’ worth of damage (Waple 2005). The majority of the damage occurred in New Orleans, Louisiana. Waple writes in her article that winds “gusted over 100 mph in New Orleans, just west of the eye” (Waple 2005). Not only was the majority of the damage due to the direct catastrophes of the storm but also city’s levees could no longer hold thus breaking and releasing great masses of water. Approximately, 80% of the city was submerged at sea level. Despite the vast amount of damage and danger all throughout the city, officials claimed that there was work being done to restore the city of New Orleans as a whole but many parts, and even the people, of the city were overlooked while areas of the city with higher economic value, and more tourist traffic, were prioritized along with those individuals.

    Read More

  • Superdome Hurricane Fail

    1676 Words  | 4 Pages

    During the two previous hurricanes that made their way onto the New Orleans coast, the Superdome was also used for a shelter during these times. The use of the building as a sanctuary then, even in the face of much lesser hurricanes, was nothing short of a disaster. In Hurricane Georges and Ivan, supplies and planning were not evident. Reports were made that during Georges, citizens were stealing items from the dome and damaged much of the Superdome which cost the city thousands. This shows the lack of attention to patterns in the Superdomes’ past and It was also very difficult during Georges to get the supplies they did have to citizens inside the dome. During this disaster, there were only an estimated number of 14,000 people in the dome compared to the over 20,000 during Katrina. If it was difficult to provide citizens with essential services inside the Superdome during a far less severe hurricane with approximately 6,000 less people involved, the idea to let the Superdome weather Katrina with little to no planning was a astronomical mistake and a scary decision coming from the mayor who is in charge of keeping his people safe.

    Read More

  • Hurricane Katrina American Identity Essay

    660 Words  | 2 Pages

    Eleven years ago Hurricane Katrina hit us, hard. The levees failed to do what they were made for. It was both a natural and man made disaster that was destined to happen and too late to stop. The damage has been done; the lives lost. But this storm, awful as it was, did more than destroy. The hurricane brought people closer as we cleaned up cleaned up after it’s mess. There were people donating, volunteering. It all just goes back to show our identity as Americans. It shows that even when we get knocked down, we always resurface, united as one, and if that isn’t our identity; I don’t know what is.

    Read More

  • Essay About Houston

    645 Words  | 2 Pages

    Katrina is the costliest U.S hurricane, with estimated damage over $81 billion and costs over $160 billion.” The people that were affected the most was the poor people, children, the sick, and the elderly. Most of New Orleans was underwater; it was going to take a long time for the city to come back from this. “The The rescue and recovery efforts following Katrina became highly politicized, with federal, state and local officials pointing fingers at one another.” People didn’t get the proper warnings to evacuate. After the hurricane “Government officials have sought to learn from the tragedy and implement better environmental, communications and evacuation policies.” Ten years after the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina the city is still dealing with still trying to recover. The have lost a lot when the hurricane hit and it affected them financially, because of the popular areas that are in New Orleans. In all, almost everyone that evacuate from New Orleans fled to Houston which led to the population to grow, but also those that came to Houston had a different feeling about things. Houston has also had its fair shares has had 27 disasters- eight hurricanes, eight floods, six severe storms, three

    Read More

  • Hurricane Katrina Impact

    1498 Words  | 3 Pages

    According to Hurricane Katrina At Issue Disasters, economic damages from Hurricane Katrina have been estimated at more than $200 billion… More than a million people were displaced by the storm… An estimated 120,000 homes were abandoned and will probably be destroyed in Louisiana alone (At * Issue). For this perspective, “Hurricane Katrina change the Gulf Coast landscape and face of its culture when it hit in 2005” (Rushton). A disaster like Katrina is something the victims are always going to remember, for the ones the lost everything including their love ones. Katrina became a nightmare for all the people that were surround in the contaminated waters in the city of New Orleans. People were waiting to be rescue for days,

    Read More

  • The Cause of the Devastation of Hurricane Katrina

    926 Words  | 2 Pages

    The historical event of Hurricane Katrina, a category three hurricane with winds ranging from 111-130 mph, in August 2005 revealed major structural failures in the levee systems of New Orleans. Though not all structural failures are as catastrophic, the breeched levees led to loss of life, homes, businesses, highways, and left a trail of destruction that is still being repaired today. The result of this failure led to lawsuits, conspiracy theories, and court cases. Hurricane Katrina had a major effect upon our country and those results are still rippling on today. Though a city once devastated, major improvements to the failed system have been made and leave the city feeling safe once again.

    Read More

  • Impact Of Hurricane Katrina

    1195 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hurricane Katrina was one of the most devastating natural disasters to happen in the United States. The storm resulted in more then US$100 billion in damage when the cities flood protection broke and 80% of the city was flooded (1). The protection failure was not the only cause for the massive flooding, the hurricanes clockwise rotation pulled water from north of New Orleans into the city. 330,000 homes were destroyed and 400,000 people from New Orleans were displaced, along with 13,00 killed (1). Although the population quickly recovered, the rate of recovery slowed down as the years went on leading us to believe not everyone

    Read More

  • The Natural Causes Of Hurricane Katrina

    993 Words  | 2 Pages

    Through the path of history, there have been several major events that influenced thousands of lives and were significant in forming the world today. One of the largest and deadliest events that occurred in history was a disaster not anybody could control or be held accountable for. This was Hurricane Katrina. On the early Monday morning of August 29th, 2005, a Category 5 rating Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast of the United States with winds up to 175 miles per hour and a storm surge of 20 feet high. Hurricane Katrina was one of the greatest and most destructive natural disasters recorded to make landfall in the United States. The natural causes of the hurricane, poorly structured levees, disaster inside the Superdome, and the

    Read More

  • Hurricane Katrina Fault

    1903 Words  | 4 Pages

    On August 29, 2005 Hurricane Katrina made landfall on the Gulf Coast of the United States. The storm was measured as a category three hurricane which had reached winds of approximately one hundred and forty miles per hour. The storm had initially measured almost four hundred miles across affecting the areas of Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. Of these three affected areas, Louisiana contained the largest amount of damage; however, one city in particular suffered the greatest damage and was the primary focus of this disaster. That was the city of New Orleans. The city of New Orleans was at an incredibly high risk for a few reasons. One reason was that New Orleans was surrounded by significant bodies of water. Each of these bodies of water had contained levees that were built in the twentieth century, where some were stronger than others. Those levees that were not built properly held the greatest risk of being breached and causing treacherous flooding as well. Another factor included New Orleans being located below sea level, which had included the “city’s poorest and most vulnerable pe...

    Read More

  • Hurricane Katrina

    1157 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hurricane Katrina had a huge impact on the world and more specifically, New Orleans for there was substantial damage to the citizens property and more importantly their body and minds. The biggest impact Hurricane Katrina has was on the people of New Orleans. Having their homes destroyed or uninhabitable, thousands of New Orleans residents were forced to flee in the Superdome and t...

    Read More

  • The History of Hurricane Katrina

    1811 Words  | 4 Pages

    On August 29, 2005, the third strongest and biggest hurricane ever recorded in American history hit the Gulf Coast at eight o’clock a.m. The interaction between a tropical depression and a tropical wave created a tropical storm later referred to as Hurricane Katrina (FAQS, 2013). Forming over the Bahamas, Hurricane Katrina gradually strengthened as it moved closer and closer to the Gulf of Mexico. Recorded on August 28th, 2005, Katrina jumped from a category three storm to a category five storm with maximum sustained winds up to 160 miles per hour. Although other hurricanes, such as Hurricane Rita and Hurricane Wilma, exceeded Katrina, this dominant storm was classified as the fourth most intense hurricane based its pressure capacity. Once Hurricane Katrina hit land, it was pronounced as a category four storm moving slowly. While people thought that the slow speed of this storm prevented trauma, records show that Katrina did more damage than any fast-moving storm could have ever achieved (Solanki, 2013). Katrina produced abundant debris. The debris was in such large quantity that if it was stacked together on a football field, the rubble would reach the elevation of ten and a half miles. The size of Katrina also caused 90,000 square miles to be affected. Once proclaimed a category three storm, Hurricane Katrina slowed to the speed of 155 miles per hour. At this point in time, Katrina proved to be the sixth most prevailing hurricane traced in history. (Solanki, 2013). Several different aspects of life were impacted by Hurricane Katrina such as availability of gasoline, economic issues, and the ability to have an adequate supply of drinking water (Solanki, 2013). Hurricane Katrina was a large storm ...

    Read More

  • Hurricane Katrina

    1533 Words  | 4 Pages

    On August 29, 2005 Hurricane Katrina forced its way into New Orleans, Louisiana with winds of more than 140 mph. This storm was a strong category three when it hit New Orleans. Hurricane Katrina destroyed homes, businesses, and factories from the high winds and flooding. The devastation that the city suffered was terrible; many people lost family members young and old and also their most prized possessions. Most of all it displaced families and caused an abundance of damage to properties. Due to the costly destruction that the city of New Orleans faced after Katrina, they must now find a way to alleviate the blighted properties from their environment and also face the challenges.

    Read More

  • Hurricane Katrina: Causes, Effects, and Aftermath

    1428 Words  | 3 Pages

    Every year, many natural disasters happen around the world. In New Orleans, and several other states, a devastating hurricane struck. High-speed winds and major flooding caused many people to lose their homes and even their lives. Many people have heard of Hurricane Katrina, but not everybody knows what caused it and the affect it had on the United States. On the early morning of August 29th, 2005 on the Gulf Shore near New Orleans, a devastating hurricane struck.

    Read More

  • Natural Disasters- Hurricanes

    1668 Words  | 4 Pages

    Hurricanes occur all over the world, at different times, but commonly through June first and late November. However in late August 2005 a catastrophic hurricane struck. This was Hurricane Katrina. With winds traveling over one hundred miles per hour making it a category five on the Saffir- Simpson Hurricane Scale it was said to have cause billions of dollars’ worth of damage. Hurricane Katrina flooded nearly forty thousand homes, and killed at least two thousand people (“Hurricane”). An average category five hurricane has enough energy to power street lamps for more than twenty seven thousand hours (Williams 58). Knowing about Hurricane Katrina, and the devastation of the city in New Orleans would be beneficial. Also, general information on hurricanes can help civilians and people of higher authority better understand and prepare for damage that could once hit their town and community. Because experts know the general information on these storms they can help explain to the public why and how Hurricane Katrina and other hurricanes occur. Hopefully, in the future civilians will know and use this information to their advantage against hurricanes.

    Read More

More about Hurricane Katrina Essay

Open Document