Alex Teeple, Sarah Singley

Hurricane Katrina August 23, 2005-Three tropical storms formed together and headed for tip of Florida August 25, (Category 1)Katrina landed through Hallandale Beach, Florida up through Miami (destroyed some houses and killed a few people) August 26,2005- Headed North-northeast of Key West, Florida to Mississippi/Louisiana coast (Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco called for a state of emergency… military took action) August 27,2005- (Category 3) Louisiana residents were told to evacuate –New Orleans Mayor announced state of emergency and evacuation August 28,2005- (Category 4 then 5) Traveled in Gulf of Mexico August 29,2005- (Category 3) Made landfall south of Buras, Louisiana (“Hurricane Katrina”)

Hurricane Katrina cont… In comparison to… Galveston Hurricane killed 6 to 12 thousand people (Katrina killed around 1,800 people) Hurricane Andrew cost $21 billion in insured losses (Katrina cost …as of August 2006, $60 billion in insured losses) The government slowly reacted to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina City and State governments didn’t have any transportation or prevention of crime plans made up Department of Homeland Security unveiled a National Response Plan (Jan. 2005)- promised to improve coordination with federal, state, local and tribal organizations by increasing speed, effectiveness and efficiency of organizing the clean up of Katrina’s aftermath (waited days after Katrina) Critics had claimed Homeland Security’s efforts focused more on preventing terrorism instead of preparing for natural disasters (Brunner) Beachfront towns in Mississippi and Louisiana were destroyed Millions of people were homeless in Louisiana and Mississippi 20,000 people found shelter in New Orleans Superdome, emergency center 20% percent of New Orleans 500,000 citizens were with out power, drinking water, or food (80% of the city was flooded) After Katrina hit New Orleans, the city was filled with chemicals, sewage, dead bodies and 15% of New Orleans police force walked off the job due to total mayhem (looting)

Hurricane Katrina cont… President Bush displayed leadership toward the 9/11 attacks but failed showing such leadership with the Hurricane Katrina Americans trust in Bush dropped and this became a major issue when he could be reelected A year later… New Orleans population decreased by half after Katrina hit Half of it’s Hospitals remained closed and half of the doctors moved out of the area Just 60% of New Orleans had electricity Thousands of African Americans were unable to return due to not having a house or a job Building efforts were extremely slow (Brunner)

Effects of Hurricane Katrina New Orleans after Katrina www. Wikipedia.com Economical Bureau of Economic Crisis estimated the impact of Hurricane Katrina was around 150 billion dollars Gulf coast’s oil supply was disturbed and oil and gasoline prices rose Economy slowed down Environmental Oil spills, industrial wastes, sewage, toxic chemicals along with other things polluted hit areas such as New Orleans Flooding effected long-term health issues for humans and animals and the pollution of groundwater reserves Social Victims of Hurricane Katrina were left without homes, social security, and jobs Loved ones and family members were separated or died ( Sandhyarani)

In Retrospect Hurricane Katrina was one of the costliest and deadliest hurricanes the U.S. ever encountered in it’s history. Not only did Katrina’s winds and storms destroy towns and cities, it also destroyed the citizens lives who lived in those towns and cities. 1,800 Americans lost their lives due to the negligence of the U.S. government. At the time "War on Terrorism”, became the main concern in the U.S. Preparation of natural disasters was one of many important concerns put aside to discuss at a later time. It was shocking to Americans how slow the government jumped into action to help rebuild and help the areas and people that were affected by Katrina. It’s been 6 years since the hurricane and cities like New Orleans are still recovering and rebuilding.

Works Cited "Hurricane Katrina." NOAA Public Affairs (2007): n. pag. Web. 5 Jan Brunner, Borgna. "Hurricane Katrina." Pearson Education (2007): n. pag. Web. 5 Jan Sandhyarani, Ningthoujam. "Effects of Hurricane Katrina." Buzzle.com n. pag. Web. 5 Jan