Hurricane Katrina

This article is about the 2005 hurricane. For other storms with this name, see Hurricane Katrina (disambiguation).

Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina with winds of 160 mph on August 29, 2005 at 0045 UTC (August 28, 7:45 PM CDT)

Duration:

Aug. 23 – 31, 2005

Highest winds:

175 mph (280 km/h)

Total damages (in USD):

$10 to 25 billion (insured damage reported so far), $20 to 100 billion (proj. — likely to be the most expensive Atlantic hurricane of all time: CNN reported on September 2, 2005 that damages to New Orleans alone will exceed 100 billion)

Total confirmed fatalities:

1619 direct, 321 indirect, and likely more; 29,000 missing. 10,000 + estimated dead.

Areas affected:

extreme destruction in Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana (especially Greater New Orleans); strong impact on Florida; also affected Texas, Arkansas, Georgia, Tennessee, and many other eastern U.S. states, eastern Ontario and eastern Quebec, Canada, and the Bahamas

Part of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season

Hurricane Katrina was a significant tropical cyclone of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. It developed from a tropical wave about 175 miles east of Nassau. The hurricane strengthened to a Category 1 hurricane before making landfall on the Miami-Dade/Broward county line in Florida. After moving southwest across Florida the hurricane exited west into the Gulf of Mexico where it underwent rapid intensification, reaching Category 5 on August 28, 2005 and remaining there for the entire day. It made its second landfall near Grand Isle, Louisiana with 140 mph winds, or Category 4, on August 29 2005. Hurricane Katrina's eyewall then passed over the eastern edge of New Orleans before the hurricane was again over water. A few hours later it made landfall for a third time near the Louisiana/Mississippi border with 125 mph winds, or Category 3. It weakened from this point forward, losing hurricane status crossing over 100 miles inland, near Laurel, Mississippi. It was downgraded to a tropical depression near Clarksville, Tennessee as it continued to race northward.
As the hurricane approached landfall near New Orleans, Mayor Ray Nagin placed the city under a mandatory evacuation order. Many residents remained in the city. The vast majority of those who stayed were reported to have been unable to leave because they did not have vehicles, money for gas and other transporation. Also, many residents were unable to travel because they were elderly or infirm. Federal disaster declarations blanketed 90,000 square miles (233,000 km²) of the United States, an area almost as large as the United Kingdom. The hurricane left an estimated five million people without power, and it may be up to two months before all power is restored. Disaster relief plans are in operation in the affected areas.

Early in the morning of August 30 2005 and as a direct result of Hurricane Katrina, breaches in three places of the levee system on the Lake Pontchartrain side of New Orleans caused a second and even greater disaster. Heavy flooding covered almost the entire city over a sustained period, forcing the total evacuation of over a million people. The city was now uninhabitable, due to 80% of its area being below sea level meaning that the water had nowhere to go.

On September 3, 2005 US Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff described the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina as "probably the worst catastrophe, or set of catastrophes" in the country's history, referring to the Hurricane itself plus the flooding of New Orleans.

Hurricane Katrina may be the deadliest hurricane in the United States since the Galveston Hurricane of 1900, which killed around 8,000 (possibly up to 12,000) people. As of 7 PM CDT September 1, 2005, more than 20,000 are still reported missing. New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin stated on August 31 that the death toll of Katrina may be "in the thousands", an estimate also provided through a statement by Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco on September 1. Accurate numbers are not known. Damage was reported in at least 12 states. Hurricane Katrina will be remembered for its vast devastation of the Gulf Coast regions of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. The hurricane will also be remembered for the ineffective pre-planning for hurricane prepardness in New Orleans, as well as the slow response on the part of federal, state and local governments to provide effective search and rescue and safe refuge for the storm's victims.

Storm development

The U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) issued a statement on August 23 saying that Tropical Depression Twelve had formed over the southeastern Bahamas. The numbering of the system was debated, as Tropical Depression Twelve formed partially from the remains of Tropical Depression Ten. The naming and numbering rules at the NHC require a system to keep the same identity if it dies, then regenerates, which would normally have caused this storm to remain numbered Ten. However, the NHC gave this storm a new number because a second disturbance merged with the remains of Tropical Depression Ten on August 20, and there is no way to tell whether the remnants of T.D. Ten should be credited with this storm. (This is different from Hurricane Ivan in the 2004 season, when the NHC ruled that Ivan did indeed reform; the remnant of Ivan that regenerated in the Gulf of Mexico was a distinct system from the moment Ivan originally dissipated to the moment it regained tropical storm strength[1].) The system was upgraded to Tropical Storm Katrina on the morning of August 24. Katrina became the fourth hurricane of the 2005 season on August 25 and made landfall later that day around 6:30 p.m. between Hallandale Beach and Aventura, Florida.

Hurricane Katrina on August 28, 2005, near its peak intensity

At 12:40 a.m. CDT (0540 UTC) on August 28, Katrina was upgraded to Category 4. Later that morning, Katrina went through a period of rapid intensification, with its maximum sustained winds reaching as high as 175 mph (280 km/h) (well above the Category 5 threshold of 156 mph (250 km/h)) and a pressure of 906 mbar by 1:00 p.m. CDT. Nonetheless, on August 29 the system made landfall as a strong Category 4 hurricane at 6:10 a.m. CDT near Buras-Triumph, Louisiana with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph (230 km/h). Katrina, which affected a very wide swath of land covering a good portion of eastern North America, was last seen in the eastern Great Lakes region. Before being absorbed by the frontal boundary, Katrina's last known position was over southeast Quebec and northern New Brunswick.

Its lowest minimum pressure at landfall was 918 mbar, making it the third strongest hurricane on record to make landfall on the United States. A 15 to 30 foot (5 to 9 m) storm surge came ashore on virtually the entire coastline from Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama to Florida. The 30 foot (10 m) storm surge recorded at Biloxi, Mississippi is the highest ever observed in America.

Eye of Hurricane Katrina seen from a NOAA Hurricane Hunter aircraft. Image taken on August 28, 2005, before the storm made landfall.

At 11 p.m. EDT on August 31 (0300 UTC, September 1), U.S. government weather officials announced that the center of the remnant low of what was Katrina had been completely absorbed by a frontal boundary in southeastern Canada, with no discernible circulation. The Hydrometeorological Prediction Center's last public advisory on Katrina was at 11 p.m. EDT Wed 31 August 2005 and the Canadian Hurricane Centre's last public advisory on Katrina was at 8 a.m. EDT Wed 31 August 2005.

Tornadoes

There were tornado reports near Adams and Cumberland Counties in Pennsylvania, in Fauquier, Virginia, in Atlanta, Georgia, in White County, Georgia, in Helen, Georgia, and in Mobile, Alabama. No deaths were reported from the tornadoes, but several injuries were reported in Georgia. 500,000 chickens were killed or set free after dozens of poultry houses were damaged in Georgia. There was major damage in Helen, Georgia, destroying homes and a hotel.

Historical context

Comparisons

By hurricane intensity Katrina was the third most intense hurricane to hit the United States in recorded history. In the Atlantic Basin it achieved the status of the fourth lowest central pressure ever recorded.

Top four most intense Atlantic hurricanes since measurements began Hurricane intensity is measured solely by central pressure, source:NOAA
North Atlantic				Landfall U.S.
Rank	Hurricane	Year	Pressure	Rank	Hurricane	Year	Pressure
1	Gilbert	1988	888 mbar	1	Labor Day	1935	892 mbar
2	Labor Day	1935	892 mbar	2	Camille	1969	909 mbar
3	Allen	1980	899 mbar	3	Katrina	2005	918 mbar
4	Katrina	2005	902 mbar	4	Andrew	1992	922 mbar
Based on data from: The Weather Channel				Based on data from: National Hurricane Center

By cost Many estimates predict that Katrina was the costliest storm in history to strike the United States, surpassing Hurricane Andrew which ravaged Miami-Dade County, Florida, in 1992. By death toll In terms of fatalities it was the second deadliest named storm to hit the US, and may be declared the deadliest after more casualties are discovered. It is not yet known whether this storm will leave as many fatalities behind as the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 which killed an estimated 8,000& ndash; 12,000, because New Orleans is still under water and may continue to be for several months. News reports initially claimed that Katrina would be the deadliest hurricane since Hurricane Camille (which killed 256) in 1969 [2]. Katrina has since far surpassed that number. The deadliest named storm in the United States prior to Katrina was Hurricane Audrey in 1957 which officially killed 390, although up to 160 more were never accounted for. Roughly 20,000 people are still believed to be missing as of September 1, so it is possible that this will be the most profound disaster of any kind in U.S. history.

For comparison. the deadliest named Atlantic storm was Hurricane Mitch, which killed over 18,000 people in Central America in 1998; the deadliest Atlantic storm on record was the Great Hurricane of 1780, which killed over 22,000; and the deadliest tropical cyclone on record anywhere is the 1970 Bhola cyclone, which killed at least 150,000 (some figures are closer to 500,000) people in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). Other USA hurricanes Katrina has been compared with Hurricane Camille in that the hurricane was also an intense Category 5 storm which made landfall in the same general area. Katrina has also drawn comparisons to Hurricane Betsy, because of its similar track and potential effects on New Orleans. In 1965, Betsy struck New Orleans after passing over the Florida Keys, causing over $1.5 billion USD in damage in 1965 (over $9 billion in inflation-adjusted dollars), and the deaths of 75 people, earning it the nickname " Billion Dollar Betsy" . However, Betsy was only a fast-moving Category 3 hurricane, limiting its potential for devastation, while Katrina was a massive, slow-moving Category 4 storm. For Katrina, some potential damage estimates exceed the $36 billion damage (in current dollars) caused by Hurricane Andrew (previously the most destructive natural disaster to have hit the United States). Other USA city devastations/disasters Katrina also caused the first total devastation of a major American city since the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and subsequent fires. Other disasters in New Orleans This is the greatest disaster in New Orleans since its founding in 1700's.

Other levee and flood disasters No other levee breach in the USA has caused such a level of death or such an extensive evacuation. However, devastation in other parts of the world, caused by levee breaches, has been greater.

1931 Huang He flood and following levee breaches killed millions.
Flooding along the Mississippi River in 1927&

ndash; 1928 killed 246 people and left more than 600,000 homeless. [3]

Comparison to other evacuations/refugee crisis Other cities which have been evacuated are:

In 2002 severe flooding led to the evacuation of 50,000 residents of Prague, Czech Republic, on 14th August [4], with a total of 200,000 Czechs during the second August week. [5]. Also partially evacuated in the same week were the German city of Dresden (120,000 evacuees) [6] and the town Bitterfeld (16,000).

In January 2002, 300,000 residents of the city of Goma (Democratic Republic of the Congo) were evacuated in 3 days due to the eruption of the volcano Nyiragongo.[7][8][9]

In 1999 the Kosovo War led to 800,000 refugees, not all of them urban residents, leaving Kosovo and being accommodated for up to 3 months in other parts of Europe.

In September 1939, at the outset of World War II, London and major British cities were evacuated with 1.5 million displacements in the first 3 days of the official evacuation taking place reaching a final total of 3.75 million.

Hurricane and flood preparedness

"It's only a matter of time before South Louisiana takes a direct hit from a major hurricane. Billions have been spent to protect us, but we grow more vulnerable every day." New Orleans Times-Picayune June 23 - 27 June 2002 [10]

Preparations and expectations before landfall

Predictions

Template:Wikinewshas

Florida had little advance warning when Katrina strengthened from a tropical storm to a hurricane in one day, and struck southern Florida later that same day, on August 25.

On August 27, after Katrina crossed southern Florida and strengthened to Category 3, the President declared a state of emergency in Louisiana, two days before the hurricane made landfall [11]. This declaration activated efforts by Federal Emergency Management Agency to position stockpiles of food, water and medical supplies throughout Louisiana and Mississippi more than a day before Katrina made landfall. On August 28 the National Weather Service issued a bulletin predicting "devastating" damage rivaling the intensity of Hurricane Camille.

The risk of devastation from a direct hit, however, was well documented. The Times-Picayune newspaper ran a series on the risk [Wall Street Journal Online, by Joe Hagan, 8-31-05, p. A5]. National Geographic ran a feature in October 2004 [12]. Scientific American covered the topic thoroughly in an October 2001 piece titled "Drowning New Orleans" [13]. Walter Williams did a serious short feature on it called "New Orleans: The Natural History", in which an expert said a direct hit by a hurricane could damage the city for six months [14].

The city of New Orleans was considered to be particularly at risk since most of it is below sea level and it was likely that the expected storm surge would flood the city after topping the surrounding levees.

Evacuation

At a news conference 10 a.m. on August 28, shortly after Katrina was upgraded to a Category 5 storm, New Orleans mayor C. Ray Nagin, calling Katrina "a storm that most of us have long feared", ordered the first ever mandatory evacuation of the city. Roughly 150,000 people did not obey the order to evacuate. It is not currently clear what percentage of those who did not evacuate were unable, rather than unwilling, to do so. Future analysis of Motor Vehicle Registration, Census and Social Security Information, and Death Certificates may help to provide clarity. During the Hurricane Ivan evacuation, 600,000 people remained in the city. [15]

Nagin established several "refuges of last resort" for citizens who could not leave the city, including the massive Louisiana Superdome, which housed over 9,000 people along with 550 National Guard troops when Katrina came ashore [16]. A National Guard official said on Thursday, September 1 that as many as 60,000 people had gathered at the Superdome for evacuation, having remained there in increasingly difficult circumstances [17], [18], [19].

Mandatory evacuations were also ordered for Assumption, Jefferson (Kenner, Metairie, as well as Grand Isle and other low lying areas), Lafourche (outside the floodgates), Plaquemines, St. Charles and St. James parishes and parts of Tangipahoa and Terrebonne parishes in Louisiana.

In Alabama, evacuations were ordered for parts of Mobile and Baldwin counties (including Gulf Shores). In Mississippi, evacuations were ordered for parts of Hancock, Harrison and Jackson counties.

Transportation and infrastructure

On Sunday, August 28, Canadian National Railway (CN) suspended all rail traffic on its lines south of McComb, Mississippi (lines owned by its subsidiary Illinois Central Railroad that extend into New Orleans, Louisiana), in anticipation of damage from the hurricane. To help ease the resumption of services after the storm passes, CN also issued an embargo with the Association of American Railroads against all deliveries to points south of Osyka, Mississippi [20]. CSX Transportation also suspended service south of Montgomery, Alabama until further notice. The CSX (former Louisville and Nashville Railroad) main line from Mobile to New Orleans is believed to have suffered extensive damage, especially in coastal Mississippi, but repair crews were not able to reach most parts of the line as of August 30.

Amtrak, America's rail passenger carrier, announced that the southbound City of New Orleans passenger trains from Chicago, Illinois, on August 29 and through September 3 would terminate in Memphis, Tennessee, rather than their usual destination of New Orleans; the corresponding northbound trains will also originate in Memphis. The southbound Crescent from New York, New York, for the same period terminated in Atlanta, Georgia, with the corresponding northbound trains originating in Atlanta as well. Amtrak's westbound Sunset Limited originated in San Antonio, Texas, rather than its normal origin point of Orlando, Florida. Amtrak announced that no alternate transportation options would be made available into or out of the affected area [21].

The Waterford nuclear power plant was shut down on Sunday, August 28, before Katrina's arrival.

Local effects and aftermath

Areas affected include southern Florida, Louisiana (especially the Greater New Orleans area), Mississippi, Alabama, the western Florida Panhandle, western and north Georgia were affected by tornadoes, the Tennessee Valley and Ohio Valley regions, the eastern Great Lakes region and the length of the western Appalachians. Over 300 deaths have been reported in seven states, a number which is expected to rise as casualty reports come in from areas currently inaccessible. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin estimates hundreds, and as many as thousands, are feared dead. Two levees in New Orleans gave way, and eighty percent of the city is now under water, which in some places is 20 to 25 feet (7 or 8 meters) deep [22].

By September 2, NOAA had published satellite photography[23] of many of the affected regions.

Hurricane Katrina will go down in history as the most devestating hurricane ever to hit the United States, surpassing the devestation of Hurricane Andrew by leaps and bounds.

Death toll (summary)

State	Location (county/parish)	Deaths	Direct deaths
Florida	Broward	6	3
	Miami-Dade	4	3
	Walton	2	0
Louisiana	E. Baton Rouge	3	0
	Jefferson	200	5
	Livingston	1	1
	Orleans	59 Reported*	1000+
	St. Bernard	130	52
	St. Landry	1	0
	St. Tammany	12	9
	Tangipahoa	8	0?
Mississippi	Adams	2	2
	Forrest	10	10
	Harrison	426	426
	Hancock	85	85
	Hinds	1	1
	Jackson	15	15
	Jones	6	6
	Lauderdale	1	1
	Leake	1	1
	Pearl River	17	17
	Simpson	1	1
	Stone	1	1
	Warren	1	1
Alabama	Washington	2	0
Georgia	Carroll	2	1
Kentucky	Christian	1	1
Ohio	Jefferson	2	0
Total		1,941+	1,342+
Number Missing		35,000+

The unconfirmed death toll reported in various regions is given in the chart to the right. These are confirmed deaths from local news agencies. Direct deaths indicate those caused by the direct effects of the winds, flooding, storm surge or oceanic effects of Katrina. Indirect deaths indicate those caused by hurricane-related accidents (including car accidents), fires or other incidents, as well as clean-up incidents and health issues.

However, the projected death toll may be much higher especially in New Orleans. But efforts are presently focussed on rescue and restoring order, rather than recovery of the dead. On 31 August, the Mayor of New Orleans, Ray Nagin told reporters that the hurricane probably killed thousands of people in the city [24].

This view was confirmed on September 1 by U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu who said "We understand there are thousands of dead people" [25].

In a press conference broadcast live on 4WWL at 1915 UTC on September 1 Governor Kathleen Blanco said that thousands of deaths were believed to have occurred in New Orleans. The FEMA representative said that they have brought in a deployable morgue.

On September 3 US Senator David Vitter said that the death toll from Hurricane Katrina could top 10,000 in Louisiana alone. "My guess is that it will start at 10,000, but that is only a guess," Vitter said.

Health concerns

Aside from the lack of water, food, shelter, and sanitation facilities, there is growing concern that the prolonged flooding will lead to an outbreak of health problems for those who remain in hurricane-affected areas. In addition to dehydration and food poisoning, there is also a potential for West Nile virus, St. Louis Encephalitis, tuberculosis, hepatitis A, cholera and typhoid fever, all related to the growing contamination of food and drinking water supplies in the area. The longer these people are stranded in the searing heat the more will perish from the aforementioned causes. President Bush has declared a public health emergency for the entire Gulf Coast and Secretary of Health and Human Services Mike Leavitt announced that the DHHS will be setting up a network of 40 medical shelters to speed the relief efforts. There is concern the chemical plants and refineries in the area could have released their contents into the flood waters. People who suffer from allergies or lung disorders, such as asthma, will have health complications due to toxic mold and airborne irritants. In Gulfport, Mississippi, several hundred tons of chicken and uncooked shrimp were washed out of their containers at the nearby harbor and could have contaminated the water table.

Animals need to escape too

Many people treat their animals as part of the family. So much so that some families would not evacuate without their pets. Rescue teams were set up in the worst hit regions in reponse to desperate pleas from pet owners. Horses posed a particular problem, as they are easily stranded and cannot stand up in water for great lengths at a time. Rescue agencies had to set up shelters and find homes to adopt pets, due to people losing their home. [[26]]

Price gouging

Hundreds of reports have poured into Louisiana (and other) authorities regarding price gouging on products like gasoline and bottled water, or of hotels dishonoring reservations in favor of accepting larger offers for rooms by desperate travellers. The three major U.S. TV networks' nightly news programs have shown images of a BP gas station selling gasoline for over $6 per gallon ($1.59/L). Another BP station in Stockbridge, Georgia, south of Atlanta, was selling gas at $5.87 per gallon ($1.55/L) within a day after Katrina hit. Gas prices in the U.S. just prior to Katrina were in the range of $2.50 per gallon ($0.66/L). During this time the average price of gas per gallon has reached a new all time high. The rapid price increase fueled the energy crisis of 2005.

Effects outside the affected region

Economic effects

Most experts anticipate that Katrina will be the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history. Some early predictions in damages exceeded $100 billion, not accounting for potential catastrophic damage inland due to flooding (which would increase the total even more), or damage to the economy caused by interruption of oil supply (much of the U.S. energy operations are in the Gulf Coast region), and exports of commodities such as grain. Other predictions placed the minimum insured damage at around $12.5 billion (the insured figure is normally doubled to account for uninsured damages in the final cost). There are also effects on ocean shipping, the casino industry and tourism.

Space Shuttle program

The hurricane has passed over the Michoud Assembly Facility and materially interrupted the production of external tanks for the Space Shuttle, leading to a further interruption of the shuttle flights [27]. Evan McCollum, a Lockheed Martin Space Systems spokesman in Denver has reported that "there is water leakage and potential water damage in the buildings, but there's no way to tell how much at this point" [28].

The Michoud Assembly Facility will remain closed until at least September 26. [29] Plans to ship three tanks -- including the one for NASA's next mission -- back to Michoud for retrofitting are on indefinite hold. The next Shuttle flight, STS-121, could be postponed to May or later during the second half of 2006 [30].

Internet

Technology for All [31] is setting up technology centers for Internet access in the Astrodome. There are also reports that SBC and TMobile are installing and providing free wifi access in the Astrodome. [32] Cisco, Vonage, and SBC are providing similar services at the Dallas Convention Center and Reunion Arena where another 8,000 evacuees are sheltered.

DirectNIC [33], run by Intercosmos Media Group, is one of the largest domain name registrars and is based out of New Orleans. They are still up and running through the use of diesel power generators and have made several arrangements to resupply fuel to their generator. They are currently running a very popular blog that is documenting things that are happening around them, including pictures of the New Orleans aftermath, with a link to a webcam showing part of the Central Business District on Poydras St. A LiveJournal community, InterdictorNews [34] has been started for those who have been commenting in this blog. It includes FAQs about the actions of the DirectNIC team in setting up Outpost Crystal.

The effects of the storm disrupted the OC-12 Abilene Network [35] Internet2 link between Houston and Atlanta, as well as some of DirectNIC's many high-speed connections. The staff on site are working to restore more upstream connectivity, as well as Internet access to local municipal organizations.

As of September 1 2005, Sans Infocon [36] is reporting code green for Internet attacks. Keynote Internet Health Report [37] is reporting code green for select Internet networks. The Internet Traffic Report [38] was reporting code yellow for North America. Earthlink network status [39] reports that DSL is unavailable in New Orleans. Perhaps one of the more interesting sets of status information is Googling New Orleans and checking the reachability of the top 20 websites. On September 1, 25% were unreachable, 20% were impaired, and 55% remained reachable.[40] The NO Visitor's Bureau [41] reports "There is virtually total internet disruption as well, as locally hosted servers and routers have gone down with the loss of primary and backup power. Only those hotels with corporate housed servers in other cities have any internet possibility."

Cybertelecom.org has established a webpage to collect data on the status of and impact on the Internet. [42].

Disaster relief response

A Jayhawk helicopter crewman assists in search and rescue efforts.

A National Guard truck brings relief supplies to the Superdome.

The disaster recovery response to Katrina began before the storm, with Federal Emergency Management Agency preparations that ranged from logistical supply deployments to a mortuary team with refrigerated trucks. President George W. Bush asked Secretary Michael Chertoff of the Department of Homeland Security to coordinate the Federal response. Chertoff designated Michael Brown, head of the FEMA as the Principal Federal Official to lead the deployment and coordination of all federal response resources and forces in the Gulf Coast region.

The Department of Homeland Security issued these key statistics as of 10 AM on September 3 2005: [43]

Lives Saved -- 11,500
Citizens Evacuated -- 25,000
Water distributed by FEMA -- 6.7 million liters
MREs distributed by FEMA -- 1.9 million
U.S. Coast Guard -- 4,000
National Guard -- 22,000
FEMA Responders -- 5,000

USNORTHCOM established Joint Task Force (JTF) Katrina based out of Camp Shelby, Mississippi to act as the military's on-scene command. Lieutenant General Russel Honoré of the U.S. First Army in Fort Gillem, Georgia, is the commander.

At President Bush's urging, the U.S. Senate approved a bill authorizing $10.5 billion in aid for victims on September 1 2005. The U.S. House of Representatives voted and approved on the measure Friday, September 2 2005 without any debate; Bush signed it into law an hour later. This is said to be only the initial aid package.

In addition to asking for federal funds, President Bush has enlisted the help of former presidents Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush to raise additional voluntary contributions, much as they did after the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. On September 3, Governor Blanco hired James Lee Witt, the well-regarded FEMA director during the Clinton Administration, to oversee recovery efforts in Louisiana [44].

Several Carnival Cruise ships have been charted by the American government to provide housing for those who require it. The Salt Lake Tribune reported on September 4, 2005 that the authorities had requested that aid workers not disclose the final destination of those making the transit because a few had caused a ruckus upon finding that they were heading to a location that they held disfavorable.

US States Respond

More than a dozen other U.S. states are sheltering refugees displaced by the storm including Texas, Florida, Georgia, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and places as far away as Utah. The majority of the evacuees from this crisis have been taken to Texas, with over 230,000 persons being sheltered in Texas by Labor Day, September 5, 2005 as reported by the American Red Cross. The majority of this burden is being borne by the cities of Houston, Dallas/Ft. Worth/Arlington, and San Antonio with over 25,000 persons each. As Texas has filled to capacity, it has become a waypoint for the other evacuees still leaving the area of crisis. From Texas these thousands of more evacuees are being dispersed to other states via buses, trains, and airplanes.

The affected states themselves have also absorbed tens of thousands of evacuees, with one city alone, Baton Rouge, Louisanna, taking in 250,000 short term evacuees, effectively doubling the size of the community.

International response

Over 50 countries have pledged money or other assistance to recovery from the hurricane, including inter alia Cuba and Venezuela, despite differences with Washington; Sri Lanka, which is still recovering from the Indian Ocean Tsunami; Russia, whose initial offer to send a relief plane and a helicopter was declined by the U.S. State Department; and Dominica, one of the smallest countries in the world by any measure. [45] Countries and organizations offering to send aid mentioned by the State Department are Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Belgium, Canada, China, Colombia, Cuba, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, the European Commission, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Lithuania, Mexico, the Netherlands, Qatar and other members in NATO, New Zealand, Norway, the OAS, Paraguay, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, the UAE, the United Kingdom, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and Venezuela. Other countries not on this list have also offered aid, but the State Department mentioned that they had not been asked. Later, the US State Department said all offers were being examined. [46]

The United States is currently accepting foreign aid. Canada is sending three warships and one coast guard vessel to the US Gulf Coast to assist in the relief and reconstruction effort. Also several hundred crisis Canadian Red Cross workers will be flown in on military planes.

Many citizens across the United States and the international community, some outraged over the seemingly slow Federal response in the days immediately following Katrina, did what they could to help. The "Blogosphere" exploded with an assortment of blogs to assist and provide comfort to those in need, including blogs posted by local newspapers in the affected areas, national media organizations and private citizens, including even a blog of poems written by, for and about the victims of Hurricane Katrina, called "Hellicane" at [47].

Bloggers from around the world also organized an unprecedented "Blog for Relief Weekend" -- Thursday, September 1 through Monday, September 5. Each blog was asked to select a recognized charity to encourage its readers to consider supporting toward the Katrina relief effort: [48]

Political effects

Evacuation issues

Aerial view of flooded New Orleans school buses that could have been used for the evacuation.

Many critics have noted that while the local government gave a mandatory evacuation order on August 28, before the storm hit, they did not make provisions to evacuate the homeless, the poor, the elderly, the infirm, or the car-less households. Evacuation was mainly left up to individual citizens to find their own way out of the city. It was known that many residents of New Orleans lacked cars. A 2000 census revealed that 27% of New Orleans households, amounting to approximately 120,000 people, were without privately-owned transportation. Additionally, New Orleans has one of the highest poverty rates in the United States at about 38%. These factors may have prevented many people from being able to evacuate on their own. Consequentially most of those stranded in the city are the poor, the elderly, and the sick.[49][50]

Many supporters of the evacuation efforts from Mayor Ray Nagin note that Nagin had sent city buses to help shelter those that stayed behind. These buses were intended to bring the remaining people to the Superdome for a last haven and for relief (but the dome was never stocked with any relief supplies). Many supporters also note that school buses, while powerful, can be difficult to control in normally high windspeed of 50-80 MPH. Additionally, supporters note that drivers of the school buses must own and maintain an A, B, or C class commercial license for vehicles over 26,000 pounds, and D for commercial vehicles less than 26,000 pounds. School buses filled with children often weigh under 26,000 pounds. To safely operate these buses when filled with adults, drivers would require special licensing and additional training.

In spite of these risks and his lack of formal training or government-issued licenses, 20-year-old Jabbar Gibson commandeered a New Orleans school bus and rescued 70 people from the rising flood waters before making the 13-hour drive to Houston, arriving on Wednesday evening. Photo of Gibson's arrival in Houston Houston Chronicle article on Gibson's heroic rescues.

Some evacuees report that the drive from New Orleans to Baton Rouge took anywhere from 5 hours to 9 hours; this drive usually takes up to an hour. Reports from the Associated Press state that 80% of the near 500,000 had evacuated safely from New Orleans prior to the hurricane's landfall. Even if licensed drivers had been available and the available buses had been used to evacuate the remaining approximately 150,000 people, they may not have made it to safety before landfall.

Class and race issues

See also: Effect of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans (criticism of relief effort) .

The question of demographics has been raised in the media as news media video and photographs showed primarily black citizens stranded in New Orleans. After decades of white flight, New Orleans is two-thirds black and more than 25% live at or below the poverty line. Within the city itself, the poorest tended to live in the lowest parts that are most vulnerable to flooding. Therefore, it rapidly becomes clear to some that the seemingly large proportion of African-Americans in relation to European-Americans left in New Orleans can be attributed to economical and sociological factors.

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus, Black Leadership Forum, National Conference of State Legislators, National Urban League and the NAACP held a news conference expressing anger and charging that the response was slow because those most affected are poor and black.[51][52] This has led to city officials being accused of racism, with critics saying they didn't bother to formulate an evacuation plan for those who cannot afford private transportation. These groups were also very displeased that the citizens in New Orleans were being referred to as "refugees".

On September 2, while presenting on the NBC Concert for Hurricane Relief, rapper Kanye West strayed from his script and addressed what he perceived as the racism of both the government and of the media, stating: "George Bush doesn't care about black people", and called for the media to stop labelling African-Americans as the only ones responsible for the chaos in New Orleans, after which, filming of him was cut and footage resumed with Chris Tucker. (West's comments were heard in the entirety in the eastern U.S., where the telecast was shown live; NBC later removed a portion of the comments on the tape-delayed telecast shown in the west. NBC also issued a denouncement of the comments.) [53]

Commentator Lou Dobbs of CNN stated, "We should put in context, it seems to me also, that the city of New Orleans is 70% black, its mayor is black, its principal power structure is black, and if there is a failure to the black Americans, who live in poverty and in the city of New Orleans, those officials have to bear much of the responsibility."

The U.S. Census Bureau estimates the 2004 New Orleans population to be 20.0% white and 67.9% black.[54]

Government response issues

President George W. Bush and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin September 2, 2005.

Criticism of local and national government response is widespread in the media, as reports continued to show hunger, deaths and lack of aid.[55] About 6,200 Army and Air National Guard troops were on duty in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida when Katrina struck [56], and by 31 August, that number climbed to 11,000 Army and Air National Guard members from around the nation and 7,200 active-duty troops, mostly Navy. 10,000 more National Guard troops are expected to join the effort within the following 48 hours [57]. However more than two and a half days after the hurricane struck, police, health care and other emergency workers voice concerns, in the media, about the absence of National Guard troops in the city for search and rescue missions and to control looting. It was not until Friday that the military arrived in New Orleans in sufficient numbers to ease the suffering of the storm survivors.

Media reports have also proposed National Guard units are short staffed in Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama because they are currently on a tour of duty in Iraq, including 3,000 members of the Louisiana National Guard's 256th Brigade.[58] The National Guard Bureau denied that there was a problem noting that over 300,000 Guard troops are in the United States and available if needed. [59] However, even though there were states ready and willing to send National Guard troops to the rescue in New Orleans they did not get the bureaucratic go-ahead until days after the storm struck. The delay is likely to be investigated by Congress. While President Bush had the legal authority to order the National Guard to the disaster area himself, presidents of both parties traditionally defer to governors to deploy their own National Guardsmen and request help from other states when it comes to natural disasters. [60]

Nevertheless, the failure to immediately evacuate or re-supply flooded New Orleans area hospitals and the lack of a visible FEMA presence in the city and surrounding area in the hurricane's immediate aftermath have also been criticized by some members of the press. In addition, the federal government did not activate the Civilian Reserve Air Fleet, a major air support plan under a pre-existing contract with airlines that lets the government quickly put private cargo and passenger planes into service. [61]

The 2004 hurricane season was the worst in decades. In spite of that, the federal government came back in the spring of 2005 with the steepest reduction in hurricane and flood-control funding for New Orleans in history. Because of the proposed cuts, the Army Corps of Engineers office there imposed a hiring freeze. Officials said that money targeted for the SELA project was reduced to $10.4 million, down from $36.5 million. [62] The money would have gone into funding studies about the feasibility of upgrading the current levees to withstand Category 4 and 5 Hurricanes instead of just Category 3, although such projects would certainly not have been completed in time for Katrina even with the requested amount of funding.

See also: International response to Hurricane Katrina.

Environmental issues

Many scientists and critics have stated that global warming was responsible for the rise in ocean surface temperatures that caused Katrina to go from a tropical storm to a devastating hurricane as it crossed the Gulf of Mexico between south Florida and New Orleans.[63][64] [65] Other scientists acknowledge the possible long term effects of global warming on cyclonogenesis, but attribute the strength of Hurricane Katrina to a 12 year cycle. [66] [67]

Another direct environmental cause has been the destruction of wetlands in the affected regions, which traditionally have a mitigating effect on hurricaine damage acting as a sponge to slow floodwaters.[68][69]

Sewage, decomposing bodies and toxic chemicals, from the city's many factories, have mixed into the floodwaters creating a potentially toxic cesspool throughout New Orleans. Experts fear it will pose a serious threat to residents now and into the future.[70][71]

External links and sources

Disaster recovery

Government

Live streaming local coverage

The status of the following news feeds is subject to change.

WWL 870 AM

22 minute video from WLBT 3 (NBC) news helicopter, surveying damage over coastal MS from Gulfport to Biloxi. August 30 2005, approx 4:00 p.m. Central.

Message board thread from WWLTV.com's forums detailing webstreaming statuses of various Gulf Coast TV and radio stations - this list includes local scanner coverage of police, USCG, and Amateur Radio communications in the affected areas.

DirectNIC's live webcam of downtown's Central Business District, looking East from 650 Poydras towards Camp St. blog A map is at krioni.100free.com/interdictor.html

Station	Ntwk	Home city	Broadcast from	URL	Status	as of
Direct (mms:) Windows Media URL
Comments
WDSU-6	NBC	N.O.	Jackson MS (WAPT), Orlando FL (WESH)	WMV	working	2005/09/03T1334EDT
mms://a845.l1291238844.c12912.g.lm.akamaistream.net/D/845/12912/v0001/reflector:38844
WDSU anchors at WAPT and WESH; alternating orig; simulcasting MSNBC overnight; local simulcast on WPXL-49 New Orleans; channel 6 transmitter apparently flooded out
WWL-4	CBS	N.O.	Baton Rouge LA (KLPB-PBS)	WMV WMA	working	2005/09/03T1345EDT
mms://beloint.wm.llnwd.net/beloint_wwltv -- Backup WMV
broadcasting from transmitter; newsgathering at KLPB
WKRG-5	CBS	Mobile AL	own studio	(none)	working	2005/09/03T1345EDT
mms://wmbcast.mgeneral.speedera.net/wmbcast.mgeneral/wmbcast_mgeneral_aug262005_1435_95518
on-air from own studio, apparently
WLOX-13	ABC	Biloxi MS	Off-air	(none)	down	2005/09/02T1636EDT
mms://a432.l1243132943.c12431.n.lm.akamaistream.net/D/432/12431/v0001/reflector:32943
major damage to station; off-air completely

(The mms: URLs are links to the direct streams, provided for users of other operating systems than Microsoft Windows, though windows users can utilize them as well, using Windows Media Player's "Open URL" menu item. Linux users can use the mplayer media player to play these streams.)