Hurricane Katrina 2005

Hurricane Katrina
RELATED TOPICS	New Orleans
SERMONS, ESSAYS AND OPINIONS
CONTENTS

Hurricane Katrina was one of the most destructive tropical cyclones ever to hit the United States causing extensive damage to the coastal regions of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama on August 29, 2005. By late morning of August 29 the storm had caused several sections of the levee system in New Orleans, Louisiana to collapse. Subsequent flooding over most of the city, a large part of which lies below sea level, resulted in widespread damage and many deaths, largely due to inadequate hurricane preparedness for New Orleans.

Later estimates placed the death toll in the thousands, and the damage made the hurricane the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history (estimates run as high as $200 billion). Over a million people were displaced - a humanitarian crisis on a scale unseen in the U.S. since the Great Depression.

United States Federal Disaster Declarations blanketed 90,000 square miles (233,000 km) of the United States, an area almost as large as the United Kingdom. The hurricane left an estimated five million people without power.

Statistics and Key Facts

Hurricane Katrina made landfall near Empire, Louisiana, shortly after 7 a.m. ET on Monday, August 29, 2005. Its effects are being felt from Louisiana to Washington, D.C.

Key Facts about Hurricane Katrina As of September 10, 2005

Duration Aug. 23 - 31, 2005

Highest winds 175 mph (280 km/h) sustained

Damages $25-30 billion insured (Total damages put as high as $100 billion) [1] (Costliest Atlantic hurricane of all time)

Fatalities 601 direct, 956 indirect (up to 3,000 estimated total), tens of thousands missing.

Areas affected Bahamas, South Florida, Louisiana (especially Greater New Orleans), Mississippi, Alabama, Florida Panhandle, most of eastern North America.

Quotes

On September 3, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff described the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina as

"Probably the worst catastrophe, or set of catastrophes" in the country's history

Links

• NASA Hurricane Resource Page
• 500 Satellite images

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