When are where? Hurricane Katrina formed over the

Bahamas on 23rd August 2005. Because of the ocean’s favourable

conditions, the depression turned into a tropical storm and then Katrina became a category 5 hurricane.

Katrina made its first landfall in Florida as a Category 1.

The eye passed east of New Orleans on August 29th as a category 3.

Prediction and Preparations

The 26th, Mississippi activated its National Guard. The U.S Coast Guard began prepositioning

resources on August 26, and activated more than 400 reservists.

The state government started its Emergency Operations Centre the 27th.

The president declared a state of emergency in the affected regions the 27th. (Alabama, Louisiana Mississippi).

The 27th, local governments began issuing evacuation orders .

New Orleans

29% of computer models predicted Katrina’s path and claimed that it would directly hit New Orleans.

New Orleans is surrounded by the Mississippi, the lake and the Gulf.

49% is sub-sea level making it prone to ………………flooding.

The National Weather Service's New Orleans/Baton Rouge office issued a vividly descriptive bulletin.

urgent - weather message national weather service New Orleans la 1011 am cdt sun aug 28, 2005 ...devastating damage expected unprecedented strength.... most of the area will be uninhabitable for weeks.... at least one half of well constructed homes will have roof and wall failure....leaving homes severely damaged or destroyed. the majority of industrial buildings will become non functional. partial to complete wall and roof failure is expected. all wood framed low rising apartment buildings will be destroyed.... high rise office and apartment buildings will sway dangerously...some will totally collapse. all windows will blow out. airborne debris will be widespread andcreate additional destruction. persons...pets...and livestock exposed to the winds will face certain death if struck. the vast majority of native trees will be snapped or uprooted. ... power outages will last for weeks...as most power poles will be down and transformers destroyed. water shortages will make human suffering incredible by modern standards. few crops will remain. livestock left exposed to the winds will be killed...do not venture outside!

Evacuation Mayor Nagin ordered the first ever

mandatory evacuation of New Orleans on the 28th (NHC).

Many factors meant that Many couldn’t or chose not to evacuate despite severe warnings. (end-of-month, H Ivan, poor, underestimate, too proud)

Superdome was a last resort shelter for 26,000 people.

FEMA preposition disaster medical teams and supplied survival material.

REM were handed out along with water and blankets.

Impact The Hurricane cause a huge storm surge which meant 80% of the city was flooded by the 31st. 2/3 of the damage could have been prevented had the federally-built levees and floodwalls not failed.Communication lines were broken making rescue effort hard to coordinate. Electricity was cut-off from millions of homes as the base stations were destroyed.Damaged roads and basic infrastructure further complicated evacuations and rescues.

Looters invaded the streets as the hurricane moved away.

New Orleans flora & fauna has not been fully restored to this day.

FEMA compensation checks were inefficiently distributed and the amounts didn’t always suffice.

Despite the destruction, the New Orleans spirit lives on…

The deadliest and costliest Hurricane in the United States’ history.

Damages approximated at $81.2 billion

Deaths by stateAlabama 2Florida 14Georgia 2

Kentucky 1Louisiana 1,577

Mississippi 238Ohio 2Total 1,836

Missing 705