Katrina

Katrina

Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was the costliest hurricane in the history of the United States and also one of the five deadliest. Among recorded hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall and the third strongest to make a landfall in the United States. Hurricane Katrina formed over the Bahamas on August 23, 2005, and crossed southern Florida as a moderate Category 1 hurricane, causing some deaths and flooding there before strengthening rapidly in the Gulf of Mexico. The storm weakened before making its second landfall as a Category 3 storm on the morning of Monday, August 29 in southeast Louisiana. It caused severe destruction along the Gulf coast from central Florida to Texas, much of it due to the storm surge. The most severe loss of life and property damage occurred in New Orleans, Louisiana, which flooded as the levee system catastrophically failed, in many cases hours after the storm had moved inland.[4] The federal flood protection system in New Orleans failed at more than fifty spots. Nearly every levee in metro New Orleans breached as Hurricane Katrina passed just east of the city limits. Eventually 80% of the city became flooded and also large tracts of neighboring parishes, and the floodwaters lingered for weeks.[4]At least 1,836 people combined lost their lives in the actual hurricane and in the subsequent floods, making it the deadliest U.S. hurricane since the 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane. The storm is estimated to have been responsible for $81.2 billion (2005 U.S. dollars) in damage, making it the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history.


The failure of the New Orleans flood protection system prompted a congressional investigation into the Army Corps of Engineers, which by statute has sole responsibility for it. Other congressional investigations were launched into response of the federal, state and local governments, resulting in the resignation of Federal Emergency Management Agency director Michael D. Brown. Conversely, the National Hurricane Center and National Weather Service were widely commended for accurate forecasts and abundant lead time. Three years later, thousands of displaced residents in Mississippi and Louisiana were still living in trailers.

Formed August 23, 2005
Dissipated August 30, 2005
Highest
winds 175 mph (280 km/h) (1-minute sustained)

Lowest pressure 902 mbar (hPa; 26.65 inHg)
Fatalities 1,836 confirmed, 705 missing[1][2]
Damage $81.2 billion (2005 USD)
$89.6 billion (2008 USD)
(Costliest Atlantic hurricane in history)
Areas
affected Bahamas, South Florida, Cuba, Louisiana (especially Greater New Orleans), Mississippi, Alabama, Florida Panhandle, most of eastern North America
Part of the
2005 Atlantic hurricane season
Hurricane Katrina

2005 Atlantic hurricane season

General

Timeline
Meteorological history
Preparations
New Orleans preparedness
Impact

Economic effects
Political effects
Criticism of government response
Social effects
Effects by region
Effects on Mississippi
Effects on New Orleans
Levee failures
Infrastructure repairs
Reconstruction
Relief

Disaster relief
International response
Analysis

Alternative theories
Historical context
Media coverage
Other wikis

Commons: Katrina images
Wikinews: Katrina stories
Wikisource: Katrina sources

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Katrina


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