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.

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State Wide Damage Caused by Hurricane Katrina as of September 10, 2005.

LOUISIANA

• The CDC said that five people who survived Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans died after becoming infected with Vibrio vulnificus, caused by a form of the bacteria. One of the deaths occurred in Texas; the other four were in Mississippi. The bacteria are in the same family as the bacteria that cause cholera, and the victims apparently became infected through open cuts on their skin.* The total number of deaths is unknown. Recovery teams are searching house to house in New Orleans for hurricane victims, and helicopters are continuing to circle the city for survivors. Officials raised the death toll in Louisiana to 118.
• The Air Force will conduct aerial spray missions targeting disease-spreading insects in the area affected by Katrina. Two Air Force Reserve C-130s from the 910th Airlift Wing in Youngstown, Ohio and nearly 50 Air Force Reservists are scheduled to takeoff Friday, September 9, at 2:30 p.m.. Each C-130H is capable of spraying about 60,000 acres a day. They are planning to spray the New Orleans area first, then work other affected areas as required.
• St. Bernard Parish Sheriff Jack Stevens said "30-plus" bodies were found in St. Rita's Nursing Home in lower St. Bernard Parish -- one of the areas hardest hit by the storm and flooding. Between 40 and 50 other people were rescued from the facility.
• New Orleans water is unsafe to drink without boiling. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said Wednesday, September 7, that initial findings from sampling of floodwater in New Orleans indicate high levels of E. coli and coliform bacteria as well as lead. Administrator Stephen L. Johnson told reporters the amounts exceeded 10 times the safe limit in all cases. People should do all they can to avoid contact with the water, said Dr. Julie Gerberding, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). E. coli bacteria comes from human and animal waste and can be found in untreated sewage. Drinking water contaminated with E. coli can lead to serious illness and death if not properly treated.
• Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are helping search for survivors in the New Orleans area. The UAVs began flying Wednesday, September 7, although they arrived at the Naval Air station in Bell Chase, La. five days ago. The unmanned aircraft have thermal imaging, which will aid in spotting survivors at night. The UAVs, which can fly 500 to 25,000 feet above ground, will fly out of Bell Chase and search Orleans and St. Bernard parishes.
• Mayor Ray Nagin instructed all public safety officers "to compel the evacuation of all persons ... regardless of whether such persons are on private property or do not desire to leave," according to a written statement from his office. The order did not apply to people in Algiers on the West Bank side of Orleans Parish.
• Over 42,000 people, including those who sought refuge at the Superdome and convention center, have been evacuated from New Orleans. However, there are still people coming to the two locations seeking assistance. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has said the entire city will need to be evacuated, even though some residents would like to stay.
• Soldiers and police officers are patrolling the city, bringing an eerie calm to a city that, during the previous week, was the scene of "nightmarish chaos".
• The Associated Press reported a large oil spill spotted in the Mississippi River downstream from New Orleans. The oil was seen during a flyover to the Venice area by the Department of Environmental Quality.
• Fleets of helicopters brought sick and injured people from the heart of New Orleans to the airport for treatment.
• About 4,000 Hurricane Katrina evacuees will move Tuesday, September 7, from the Astrodome and Reliant Complex in Houston to two cruise ships docked in Galveston, TX. Elderly evacuees would be given first priority, and authorities would try to keep families together.
• Breaches in three levees allowed water from Lake Pontchartrain to swamp sections of New Orleans. The Army Corps of Engineers was using helicopters to drop 15,000-pound sandbags into breaches in the city's levee system. On Monday, September 5, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said repair crews had patched the ruptured levee along the 17th Street Canal and have begun pumping out water. However, only 23 of the 148 permanent pumps in New Orleans were working, their efforts augmented by three portable pumps. Lt. Gen. Carl Strock said it would take between 24 and 80 days to dry parts of the city.
• FEMA has taken over and put on hold an airlift operation Texas initiated to send displaced persons to other states, Texas Gov. Rick Perry said in a statement on his Web site Monday, September 5. The agency is reviewing how to best handle the influx of evacuees to Texas, which Perry said Sunday had reached 230,000. The American Red Cross, meanwhile, said the largest response to a natural disaster in its history has provided housing for more than 130,000 people in 470 shelters in 12 states.
• On the morning of Friday, September 2, there was a large explosion in the city's railroad district, possibly from a rail car. Later, two major fires broke out along the New Orleans waterfront.

• On Thursday, September 1, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin sent out a statement that he called a "desperate SOS," advising those gathered at the Convention Center to march over the Crescent City Connection bridge to the west bank of the Mississippi River to find relief in neighboring Jefferson Parish.
• Federal Emergency Management Director Michael Brown claimed that federal officials were unaware of the crowds at the convention center until Thursday, September 1, 2005, despite the fact that city officials had been telling people for days to gather there. A convoy of military vehicles plowed through the flooded streets of New Orleans on Friday, September 2, bringing food, water and medicine to the thousands of people trapped at a downtown convention center.
• The Houston Astrodome in Texas, where thousands of evacuees had been bused, stopped accepting evacuees late Thursday, September 1. However, authorities later decided to process evacuees at the Astrodome and house them in the nearby Reliant Arena. Other New Orleans evacuees were taken to Huntsville, Texas, along with San Antonio and Dallas.
• Governor Blanco declared Wednesday, August 31, 2005, a day of prayer: "As we face the devastation wrought by Katrina, as we search for those in need, as we comfort those in pain and as we begin the long task of rebuilding, we turn to God for strength, hope and comfort."
• The entire city of New Orleans, with a population of 485,000, was ordered to be evacuated before the storm struck. The mayor estimated that 80 percent of the city's residents fled. Thousands remained in the New Orleans Superdome, where the storm ripped two holes in the vast roof.
• An estimated 80 percent of New Orleans was under water, as deep as 20 feet in places, with miles of homes swamped. At least 370,000 customers were without power in southeast Louisiana.

MISSISSIPPI

• There have been 204 confirmed deaths.
• Just west of Biloxi, three people died from wounds infected with Vibrio vulnificus; a shelter in Biloxi was closed after more than 20 residents had dysentery-like symptoms; and officials received reports of another stomach virus, norovirus, in places where large numbers of evacuees are staying.
• In a meeting with President Bush, Senator Trent Lott demanded more help for Mississippi and called on the president to authorize sending to his state 20,000 trailers he said are "sitting" in Georgia.
• A shelter in Biloxi was closed Sunday, September 4, after over 20 people became ill with what may be dysentery. Officials believe people may have ignored warnings not to drink tainted water.
• Biloxi's Keesler Air Force Base -- home to the U.S. Air Force fleet of hurricane-hunter aircraft -- is 95 percent "smashed," an Air Force official at the base said Wednesday, August 31.
• The state is asked for doctors, nurses and emergency medical technicians from neighboring states for help. Those who want to assist should contact their state's licensing board, which should then get in touch with Mississippi's board for accreditation.
• A foot of water swamped the emergency operations center at the Hancock County courthouse, which sits 30 feet above sea level. The back of the courthouse collapsed.
• The storm swept sailboats onto city streets in Gulfport and obliterated hundreds of waterfront homes, businesses, community landmarks and condominiums.
• Eighteen urban search-and-rescue crews made up of FEMA teams and crews from other states are heading to the coastal region, along with 39 medical disaster teams, four veterinary disaster teams and two mental health teams.
• More than 1,600 Mississippi National Guardsmen were activated.
• Many casinos that dot the coast were damaged or destroyed. Emergency officials had reports of water reaching the third floors of some of the barge-mounted casinos.
• At least 900,000 customers statewide were without power

ALABAMA

• Two deaths were reported.
• A major bridge over the Mobile River remained closed Tuesday, August 30; it was struck by an oil drilling platform that floated away from a shipyard.
• Flooding reached 11 feet in Mobile, matching a record set in 1917, according to the National Weather Service. Water rose up to roofs of cars in downtown Mobile and bayou communities. Piers were damaged and grand homes flooded along the Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay.
• About 718,000 homes and businesses were without power.

GEORGIA

• Two deaths have been reported, one from a car accident in stormy weather.
• Damaged pipelines send gasoline prices soaring to as much as $3.55 a gallon, and even $4.99 a gallon in Atlanta, according to some reports.
• More than 30 buildings were damaged or destroyed by a tornado in west Georgia's Carroll County.

FLORIDA

• There were 11 deaths, according to state's tally from Katrina's South Florida strike the previous week.
• 77,000 customers were without power Tuesday morning, August 30, in the Panhandle, hit by eastern edge of the storm Monday. In South Florida, 136,300 customers were still without power Tuesday evening.

WASHINGTON, D.C.

• Coast Guard Vice Admiral Thad Allen will replace Michael Brown, the embattled FEMA director, as the on-site head of hurricane relief operations in the Gulf Coast. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff made the announcement at a news conference in Baton Rouge on Friday, September 9.
• President Bush issued a proclamation Thursday, September 8, declaring the following Friday, September 16, a national day of prayer and remembrance for the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
• After touring parts of New Orleans, Vice President Dick Cheney said Thursday, September 8, tax increases will not be needed to help pay for the massive, and expensive, reconstruction efforts.
• A bipartisan, joint congressional committee will review the response at all levels of government to Katrina and report its findings to Congress no later than February 15, the leaders of the House and Senate said Wednesday, September 7.
• The U.S. Postal Service has delivered 15,000 Social Security checks to people otherwise unable to receive mail in regions devastated by Hurricane Katrina.
• Public schools in St. Bernard Parish will be closed at least until January 2006, parish President Henry Rodriguez said.
• The Bush administration will ask Congress to approve $51.8 billion to pay for the recovery from Hurricane Katrina on Wednesday, September 7. The administration will present a supplemental aid bill that would include $50 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, $1.4 billion for the Department of Defense, and $400 million for the Corps of Engineers. The funds would be in addition to the $10.5 billion already approved by Congress.
• President Bush met with his Cabinet Tuesday, September 6, to discuss the relief efforts and said that he was sending Vice President Dick Cheney to the region to monitor the progress. Bush also said that he would lead an investigation "to find out what went right and what went wrong." Congress also plans a probe. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee initiated an oversight review Tuesday, September 6, of the government's response to Hurricane Katrina.
• Offers of support have poured in from all over the world in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Many countries have offered their condolences and made donations to the Red Cross, including Britain, Japan, Australia and Sri Lanka, which is still recovering from the 2004 tsunami
• When commenting on his administrations response to Hurricane Katrina, President Bush said Friday, September 2, "The results are not acceptable." He has pledged to bolster relief efforts with a personal trip to the Gulf Coast.
• Congress rushed a $10.5 billion recovery bill to President Bush, who called the relief effort the biggest in U.S. history.
• The Pentagon began mounting one of the biggest search-and-rescue operations in U.S. history, sending four Navy ships to the Gulf Coast with drinking water and other emergency supplies, along with the hospital ship USNS Comfort, search helicopters and eight swift-water rescue teams.
• The Federal Emergency Management Agency sent medical teams, rescue squads and groups prepared to supply food and water into the disaster areas.
• President Bush cut short his Texas vacation to return to Washington on Wednesday, August 31, two days earlier than planned.

OIL MARKETS

• The operators of two key pipelines that carry fuel out of the region announced Thursday, September 1, that they were resuming limited operations.
• Gasoline prices spiked as high as $5 a gallon in some areas Thursday, September 1, as consumers fearing a gas shortage raced to the pumps. The run-up in prices prompted Bush to warn against gouging and to encourage Americans to conserve.
• Katrina forced operators to close more than a tenth of the country's refining capacity and a quarter of its oil production, which sent gasoline prices surging and prompted the White House to tap the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Some analysts say that gas prices are still likely to climb to more than $4 a gallon.
• Oil and gas companies surveyed the Gulf of Mexico, finding oil rigs as far as 17 miles from their original location.
• Oil prices jumped by more than $3 a barrel, above $70 a barrel, because of the shutdown of oil platforms and refineries along the Gulf Coast.

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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