[StBernard] Surviving Katrina

[Westley Annis]

Surviving Katrina
Brought to you by the Discovery Channel
Sunday, August 27 - 8 PM  on the Discovery Channel
<http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/katrina/katrina.html>

"CATASTROPHIC." The one-word headline in The Times-Picayune newspaper on
Aug. 30, 2005 summarized what would become one of the U.S.'s deadliest
natural disasters. The morning prior, Hurricane Katrina pummeled the Gulf
Coast, with Louisiana and neighboring Mississippi taking the brunt of the
mammoth storm's 125-mph winds, rain and subsequent flooding. The destruction
reached mind-boggling proportions when the storm surge the hurricane created
caused several breaches in New Orleans's levees and floodwalls. People
drowned and thousands were left homeless as floodwaters rose and overtook
most of the city. Storm victims were stuck in makeshift shelters with
dwindling food and water supplies and others scrambled to attics and
rooftops to survive.

Katrina destroyed homes, land and lives across hundreds of miles of the
Southern coastline in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. The storm killed
more than 1,500 people. Damage estimates approach $100 billion-making
Katrina the U.S.'s costliest natural disaster. The nation had not faced a
storm like Katrina since Florida's 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane, which killed
at least 2,500 people.

People pleaded for help during Katrina using message boards on Web sites,
including the online site for New Orleans's Times-Picayune. "As of 9/1 at 8
a.m., the Rodriguez family-including an elderly couple and three babies-are
stranded on a rooftop at St. Roch and Claiborne. Please send help." Another
e-mailed: "Our relatives need immediate rescue," noting one person had heart
problems and another went into premature labor. "Please send rescue ... they
called from payphone, they cannot get out, they have no gas for their car.
No water, no food and little meds to last." 

Just 3 weeks after Katrina, Hurricane Rita hit the Gulf Coast, further
devastating the region. Both storms were part of the busiest Atlantic
hurricane season with 28 named storms and 15 hurricanes. Seven were major
hurricanes and six impacted the United States, according to the National
Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration.

The 2005 season was a continuation of a heightened hurricane cycle that
began in 1995 and is expected to continue for several decades. NOAA pegs the
spike to natural fluctuations in climate patterns known as the tropical
multi-decadal signal. It causes warmer waters and lower wind shear, key
hurricane ingredients. Policymakers, coastal residents and weather buffs
continue to assess Katrina and its aftermath as a blueprint of what to
do-and what not to do-should future catastrophic storms strike.

The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to Nov. 30. A hurricane is a
severe tropical storm that is spawned by a combination of warm ocean waters,
moisture and wind. A tropical storm turns into a hurricane when minimum
sustained surface wind reaches 74 mph. Hurricanes move in a counterclockwise
direction around a center, or an eye, and produce fierce winds, massive
waves and heavy rain. Related storm surge and precipitation can cause
flooding. Hurricanes are ranked from 1 to 5 using the Saffir-Simpson
Hurricane Scale and occur east of the international date line.

Katrina first made landfall on the southeastern coast of Florida on Aug. 25
as a Category 1 hurricane, spending roughly 6 hours swirling over land
before tapering off briefly to a tropical storm and spinning out to the
southeastern Gulf of Mexico. Katrina quickly became a hurricane again. On
Aug. 28, Katrina reached Category 5 intensity with winds of 175 mph.

NOAA released a prophetic bulletin at 10:11 a.m. CDT on Aug. 28.
"Devastating damage expected...Hurricane Katrina...a most powerful hurricane
with unprecedented strength," it read. "Most of the area will be
uninhabitable for weeks...perhaps longer....Power outages will last for
weeks....Once tropical storm and hurricane force winds onset...do not
venture outside!"

Katrina made landfall again near Buras, La. at 6:10 a.m. CDT on Aug. 29 as a
strong Category 3 storm and then moved toward Mississippi. Entire coastal
towns in Louisiana and Mississippi were decimated by wind, water and massive
power outages. Parts of Alabama were deluged. Family keepsakes, trees and
pieces of homes littered miles of the area's coastline. The storm also
impacted Florida's panhandle and Georgia.

The disaster hit particularly hard in New Orleans. Some 20,000 people
crammed into Louisiana's Superdome for shelter. The arena and the city's
convention center quickly became overcrowded and under-supplied. In the days
following Katrina, thousands of evacuees were sent to Texas, including
Houston's Astrodome, and other states for refuge. Meanwhile, rescue workers
toiled in sweltering heat and extreme conditions. Eighty percent of New
Orleans was flooded. Construction crews, police, National Guard units and
healthcare teams were among those aiding recovery efforts.

President Bush declared Louisiana, Mississipi and Alabama major disaster
zones. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency
Management Agency worked with local and state leaders on emergency response
efforts. However, many critics have blasted both the regional and national
response to the storm as inadequate, spurring a heated debate. FEMA's head
Michael Brown resigned under pressure and Congress launched an investigation
of the response to Katrina. Officials are still working to restore damaged
areas and learn ways to better respond to future disasters. While New
Orleans and other ravaged coastal areas are forever changed by Katrina, many
residents and businesses have returned to rebuild.