![]() From Morgan City, Louisiana, to Biloxi, Mississippi, to Mobile, Alabama, Hurricane Katrinas wind, rain, and storm surge demolished homes and businesses. Towns and cities, small and large, were destroyed or heavily damaged up and down the Gulf Coast and miles inland. Indeed, one of the gravest challenges presented by this particular disaster was the vast geographic distribution of the damage. 17Įven beyond New Orleans, Katrinas span of destruction was widespread. At the time, Galveston was an economic and cultural center of Texas and was the States fourth largest city. The destruction also called to mind the Galveston Hurricane of 1900, which thoroughly devastated the town of Galveston, Texas. 16 Much as the fire that burned Chicago in 1871 and the earthquake and fire that leveled San Francisco in 1906 destroyed the economic and cultural centers of an entire region, so too did Hurricane Katrina destroy what many considered to be the heart of the Gulf Coast. The flooding destroyed New Orleans, the Nations thirty-fifth largest city. Approximately 80 percent of the city was flooded. Significant levee failures occurred on the 17th Street Canal, the Industrial Canal, and the London Avenue Canal. 14 The consequences for New Orleans, which sits mostly below sea level, were dire. 13 This storm surge overwhelmed levees all along the lowest reaches of the Mississippi River and the edges of Lake Pontchartrain. Hurricane Katrinas winds and a storm surge that crested up to twenty-seven feet high dealt a ferocious blow to homes, businesses, and property on the coast and for many miles inland. In fact, the National Hurricane Center concluded that the height of Hurricane Katrina and Camilles respective storm surges were comparable to each other. ![]() 11 The extreme intensity that Hurricane Katrina reached before landfall on the Gulf Coast, as well as its size, meant that its storm surge was consistent with a more powerful storm. 10 In all, Hurricane Katrina impacted nearly 93,000 square miles across 138 parishes and counties. 9 As a result, Hurricane Katrinas storm surge affected a larger area than did Hurricane Camilles. Hurricane Camille, a Category 5 storm that devastated the Gulf Coast in 1969, 7 had top wind speeds that exceeded those of Katrina upon landfall, but Camilles hurricane force winds only extended seventy-five miles from its center, 8 whereas Katrinas extended 103 miles from its center. 6 Yet Katrina was anything but a normal hurricane. Seventy-five hurricanes of Katrinas strength at landfalla Category 3have hit the mainland United States since 1851, roughly once every two years. energy companies estimated that the approaching storm had already reduced Gulf of Mexico oil production by more than a third. In the Gulf of Mexico, Hurricane Katrina battered the offshore energy infrastructure and forced the evacuation of more than 75 percent of the Gulfs 819 manned oil platforms. Hurricane Katrinas devastating effects were felt before the storm even reached the Gulf Coast on August 29, 2005. ![]() 2 The overall destruction wrought by Hurricane Katrina, which was both a large and powerful hurricane as well as a catastrophic flood, vastly exceeded that of any other major disaster, such as the Chicago Fire of 1871, the San Francisco Earthquake and Fire of 1906, and Hurricane Andrew in 1992. Hurricane Katrina was the most destructive natural disaster in U.S. To do this, we must understand Hurricane Katrina in its proper context. The magnitude of Hurricane Katrina does not excuse our inadequate preparedness and response, but rather it must serve as a catalyst for far-reaching reform and transformation. Our obligation is to work to prevent the acts of evil men reduce Americas vulnerability to both the acts of terrorists and the wrath of nature and prepare ourselves to respond to and recover from the man-made and natural catastrophes that do occur. We know with certainty that there will be tragedies in our future. Terrorists still plot their evil deeds, and natures unyielding power will continue. A vast coastline of towns and communities has been decimated. Chapter One: Katrina in Perspective Hurricane Katrina was one of the worst natural disasters in our Nations history and has caused unimaginable devastation and heartbreak throughout the Gulf Coast Region.
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