Tuesday, February 19, 2008


2005 Atlantic hurricane season
General
Impact
Relief
Analysis
Other wikis
Hurricane Katrina was the costliest and one of the deadliest hurricanes in the history of the United States. It was the sixth-strongest Atlantic hurricane ever recorded and the third-strongest hurricane on record that made landfall in the United States. Katrina formed on August 23 during the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season and caused devastation along much of the north-central Gulf Coast of the United States. The most severe loss of life and property damage occurred in New Orleans, which flooded as the levee system failed catastrophically, in many cases hours after the storm had moved inland.

Timeline
Meteorological history
Preparations

  • New Orleans preparedness
    Economic effects
    Political effects
    Criticism of gov't response
    Social effects
    Effects by region

    • Effects on Mississippi
      Effects on New Orleans

      • Levee failures
        Infrastructure repairs
        Reconstruction
        Disaster relief
        International response
        Alternative theories
        Historical context
        Media coverage
        Commons: Katrina images
        Wikinews: Katrina stories
        Wikisource: Katrina sources Storm history

        Main article: Preparations for Hurricane Katrina Preparations
        Many people living in the area were unaware when Katrina strengthened from a tropical storm to a hurricane in one day and struck southern Florida near the Miami-Dade–Broward county line. The hurricane struck between the cities of Aventura, in Miami-Dade County, and Hallandale, in Broward County, on August 25, 2005. However, National Hurricane Center (NHC) forecasts had correctly predicted that Katrina would intensify to hurricane strength before landfall, and hurricane watches and warnings were issued 31.5 hours and 19.5 hours before landfall, respectively — only slightly less than the target thresholds of 36 and 24 hours.

        Florida
        On the morning of August 26, at 10 a.m. CDT (1500 UTC), Katrina had strengthened to a Category 3 storm in the Gulf of Mexico. Later that afternoon, the NHC realized that Katrina had yet to make the turn toward the Florida Panhandle and ended up revising the predicted track of the storm from the panhandle to the Mississippi coast.

        Federal government
        On August 26, the state of Mississippi activated its National Guard in preparation of the storm's landfall. Additionally, the state government activated its Emergency Operations Center the next day, and local governments began issuing evacuation orders. By 7:00 p.m. EDT on August 28, 11 counties and eleven cities issued evacuation orders, a number which increased to 41 counties and 61 cities by the following morning. Moreover, 57 emergency shelters were established on coastal communities, with 31 additional shelters available to open if needed.

        Gulf Coast
        See also: Hurricane preparedness for New Orleans
        By August 26, the possibility of unprecedented cataclysm was already being considered. Many of the computer models had shifted the potential path of Katrina 150 miles westward from the Florida Panhandle, putting the city of New Orleans right in the center of their track probabilities; the chances of a direct hit were forecast at 17%, with strike probability rising to 29% by August 28.

        Greater New Orleans area

        Main articles: Hurricane Katrina effects by region and Hurricane Katrina death toll by locality Impact
        Hurricane Katrina first made landfall on August 25, 2005 in South Florida where it hit as a Category 1 hurricane, with 80 mph (130 km/h) winds. Rainfall was heavy in places and exceeded 14 inches (350 mm) in Homestead, Florida,

        South Florida and Cuba
        On August 29 Hurricane Katrina made landfall near Buras, Louisiana with 125 mph (205 km/h) winds, as a strong Category 3 storm. However, as it had only just weakened from Category 4 strength and the radius of maximum winds was large, it is possible that sustained winds of Category 4 strength briefly impacted extreme southeastern Louisiana. Although the storm surge to the east of the path of the eye in Mississippi was higher, a very significant surge affected the Louisiana coast. The height of the surge is uncertain because of a lack of data, although a tide gauge in Plaquemines Parish indicated a storm tide in excess of 14 feet (4.3 m) and a 12 foot (3 m) storm surge was recorded in Grand Isle.

        Hurricane Katrina Louisiana

        Main articles: Effect of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans and Levee failures in Greater New Orleans, 2005 New Orleans

        Main article: Effect of Hurricane Katrina on Mississippi Mississippi
        Although Hurricane Katrina made landfall well to the west, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle were both affected by tropical-storm force winds and a storm surge varying from 16 to 12 ft (5-3 m) around Mobile Bay,

        Southeast United States
        Hurricane Katrina weakened as it moved inland, but tropical-storm force gusts were recorded as far north as Fort Campbell, Kentucky on August 30, and the winds damaged trees in New York. The remnants of the storm brought high levels of rainfall to a wide swath of the eastern United States, and rain in excess of 2 inches (50 mm) fell in parts of 20 states.

        Other U.S. States and Canada
        See also: Social effects of Hurricane Katrina, Political effects of Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Katrina disaster relief, and IDPs in the United States

        Aftermath

        Main article: Economic effects of Hurricane Katrina Economic effects

        Main article: Environmental effects of Hurricane Katrina Environmental effects
        Further information: Effect of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans
        Shortly after the hurricane moved away on August 30, 2005, some residents of New Orleans who remained in the city began looting stores. Looters were in search of food and water that were not available to them through any other means as well as non essential items.

        Looting and violence
        Within the United States and as delineated in the National Response Plan, disaster response and planning is first and foremost a local government responsibility. When local government exhausts its resources, it then requests specific additional resources from the county level. The request process proceeds similarly from the county to the state to the federal government as additional resource needs are identified. Many of the problems that arose developed from inadequate planning and back-up communications systems at various levels.
        Some disaster recovery response to Katrina began before the storm, with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) preparations that ranged from logistical supply deployments to a mortuary team with refrigerated trucks. A network of volunteers began rendering assistance to local residents and residents emerging from New Orleans and surrounding Parishes as soon as the storm made landfall, and has continued for more than six months after the storm.
        Of the 60,000 people stranded in New Orleans, the Coast Guard rescued more than 33,500.

        Government response

        Main article: Criticism of government response to Hurricane Katrina Criticism of government response

        Main article: International response to Hurricane Katrina Non-governmental organization response

        Main article: 2005 levee failures in Greater New Orleans Analysis of New Orleans levee failures

        Main article: Media involvement in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina Media involvement
        See also: List of retired Atlantic hurricanes
        Because of the large loss of life and property along the Gulf Coast, the name Katrina was officially retired on April 6, 2006 by the World Meteorological Organization at the request of the U.S. government. It was replaced by Katia on List III of the Atlantic hurricane naming lists, which will next be used in the 2011 Atlantic hurricane season.

        Retirement

        Hurricane on the Bayou
        List of Category 5 Atlantic hurricanes
        List of notable Atlantic hurricanes
        List of storms in the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season
        List of tribute songs to Hurricane Katrina See also

        Survivor and eyewitness accounts

        ImanusT (Crisis Relief Non-Profit Organization)
        Docs in a Box
        Project: Katrina Volunteers is a single web location to facilitate the sharing of experiences by volunteers of the hurricane relief effort. The site is also part of an effort to help those who are thinking of going to the Gulf Coast an opportunity to see and hear the stories of those who have already volunteered their time. Volunteers have found that spending their vacation in the Gulf region is a life-changing experience, and the website will be a place to share their experiences and to stay connected to the community that needs continuing support. The website is easy to use, and allows links to videos by volunteers and a discussion page to post dialogue and commentary about volunteering and volunteer experiences. The website is run by a grassroots group of volunteers who want to help the recovery efforts.
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