Hurricane Katrina
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Hurricane Katrina Facts: Fast Fact Sheet
Fast, fun facts and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)
about Hurricane
Katrina
When was Hurricane Katrina? Hurricane
Katrina hit the Gulf Coast of the United
States on August 23, 2005 – August 31, 2005 How
many people died in
Hurricane Katrina? The death toll of
Hurricane Katrina numbered at least 1,836
people dead, with a further 135 missing. The
worst hit state was Louisiana which
accounted for over 1500 deaths and
catastrophic damage.
What were the Hurricane Katrina affected
areas?
Hurricane Katrina affected areas in Florida,
Louisiana and Mississippi. It was then
downgraded to a tropical depression status
as it moved across Alabama, Georgia,
Kentucky, Tennessee and Ohio.
What were the Effects and Impact of
Hurricane Katrina? There were
significant Environmental, Social and
Economic effects. The impact of Hurricane
Katrina included loss of life, loss of
homes, flooding, health risks, disruption to the oil
industry, power outages, civil disturbances, travel disruption
and cost. How
much damage was caused by Hurricane Katrina?
It is estimated that it caused around
$300 billion worth of damage.
Facts about Hurricanes for kids: What Category was Hurricane
Katrina?
Hurricane Katrina was a Category 5 Hurricane according
to the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale (SSHS).
Hurricane Katrina decreased to a Category 4
and then Category 3 status as it hit the United States and was
eventually downgraded from a hurricane status to a tropical
depression as the sustained winds dropped below 39 mph. A Category 5
is a major hurricane, defined with winds of 157 mph or higher in
which catastrophic damage will occur destroying homes and
infrastructure with serious power outages lasting for weeks and much
of the area becoming uninhabitable.
Hurricane
Katrina
Facts for kids
The following fact
file contains interesting facts and information on
Hurricane Katrina
for kids.
Hurricane
Katrina
Facts for kids
Hurricane
Katrina
Facts - 1: The great storm
began on August 23, 2005
as the temperature of the ocean off the coast of the
Bahamas hovered around 85 degrees Fahrenheit in an area
of low pressure consisting of warm weather, storms and
rain - ideal conditions for a hurricane to form.
Hurricane
Katrina
Facts - 2: Hurricane Katrina was formed as winds hit 39 mph.
On August 25, 2005 The weather
phenomenon reached a Category 1 status when it briefly hit
the Florida peninsula, with 80 mph winds. A Category 1 is
described as having very dangerous winds likely to produce some
damage.
Hurricane
Katrina
Facts -
3: Katrina then spun
out into the Gulf of Mexico where it gained in intensity
reaching a Category 5 hurricane by August 27, 2005 with
winds of 160 mph and a storm surge over 20 feet high.
Hurricane
Katrina
Facts - 4: As Katrina left the Gulf and
made landfall. Without its water vapor "fuel" its intensity
decreased and when it hit Louisiana it was classed as a Category 4
hurricane, with sustained winds of 127 miles per hour. A Category 4
hurricane results in 'Catastrophic damage' which is testified in its
effects on New Orleans.
Hurricane
Katrina
Facts - 5: New Orleans is a large
Louisiana port on the Mississippi River, near the Gulf of Mexico
with a population of nearly 350,000 people.
Hurricane
Katrina
Facts - 6: 20 hours before the storm
struck New Orleans, Mayor Ray Nagin issued the first ever mandatory
evacuation order of the city. Although many New Orleanians were
evacuated, it was a slow process and the poorest and most vulnerable
people were left behind.
Hurricane
Katrina
Facts - 7: New Orleans was
devastated. Many parts of New Orleans have an elevation
that is lower than sea level. Levees and Floodwalls
catastrophically failed and 80% of the was city flooded
and power was lost. (The Levees are water barriers built
to prevent flooding).
Hurricane
Katrina
Facts - 8: Many thousands of
residents who had remained in the city were rescued.
20,000 desperate people made their way to a "shelter of
last resort" at the Louisiana Superdome and others to
the New Orleans Morial Convention Center.
Hurricane
Katrina
Facts - 9: Flooding: The main
tourist centers and business district were relatively
undamaged by the flooding. It was the residential areas
that suffered the most. Some areas were deluged with one
foot of flooding while other areas were submerged by
more than 10 feet of water.
Hurricane
Katrina
Facts - 10: Loss of Homes: In New Orleans 70% of all homes,
over 134,000 housing units, suffered damage as helpless
residents were made homless. FEMA trailers later housed at least
114,000 families.
Hurricane
Katrina
Facts -
11: Transport:
Transport links were severely effected as the Louis
Armstrong New Orleans International Airport was closed
and most roads in New Orleans were flooded and
impassable.
Hurricane
Katrina
Facts -
12:
Power Outages: 42% of homes in New Orlesns
were without power in the aftermath of the great storm
Hurricane
Katrina
Facts - 13: Drinking water: Drinking water was also
unavailable in New Orleans due to a broken water main that served
the city.
Hurricane
Katrina
Facts - 14: Civil disturbances
and violence: Gangs roamed the streets, looting homes
and businesses and committing other crimes. The National
Guard was mobilized to restore and maintain law and
order in what became a hostile and unsafe living
environment.
Hurricane
Katrina
Facts -
15: Loss of Life: More
than 1,500 people were recorded as having died in
Louisiana, most in New Orleans. The locations of
corpses were recorded, but most were not retrieved until
approximately September 9, 2005 when body collection
throughout the city began.
Hurricane
Katrina
Facts - 16: Health Risks: Concerns grew
regarding health risks following the flooding as people began to
suffer from food poisoning and dehydration. The growing
contamination of food and drinking water supplies in New Orleans
could potentially spread diseases such as cholera, tuberculosis and
typhoid fever. There was also a risk from mosquito-borne diseases
such as malaria and yellow fever.
Hurricane
Katrina
Facts -
17: Environmental
Impact: The cleanup effort involved pumping the flood
waters that covered New Orleans into Lake Pontchartrain.
The flood waters contained a mixture of oil, raw sewage,
bacteria, pesticides and toxic chemicals effecting the
fish in the lake.
Continued...
Hurricane
Katrina
Facts for kids
Facts
about Hurricane Katrina for kids
The following fact
file continues with facts about Hurricane Katrina for kids.
Hurricane
Katrina
Facts for kids
Hurricane
Katrina
Facts - 18: Hurricane Katrina
weakened to a Category 3 status as it hit near
Buras-Triumph, Louisiana and Mississippi with sustained
winds of 125 mph. The death toll in Mississippi was 238.
Hurricane
Katrina
Facts - 19: The great storm
was downgraded from a hurricane status to a 'tropical
depression' as it reached Clarksville, Tennessee. A
tropical depression produces maximum sustained winds
below 39 mph.
Hurricane
Katrina
Facts - 20: The effects of the
'tropical depression' continued across Alabama,
Georgia, Kentucky and Ohio. There were 2 deaths in
Alabama, 2 deaths in Georgia, 1 death in Kentucky and 2
deaths in Ohio.
Hurricane
Katrina
Facts - 21: The storm surge
from Mobile Bay led to the inundation of downtown
Mobile, Alabama resulting in a dusk-to-dawn curfew for
the City. A storm surge is an abnormal rise of water
resulting in a change in sea level generated by a storm.
A storm surge can lead to extensive flooding and are
dangerous for people living in many coastal areas.
Hurricane
Katrina
Facts - 22: Large parts of
Biloxi and Gulfport in, Mississippi were underwater as a
result of a massive storm surge which flooded the
cities.
Hurricane
Katrina
Facts - 23: Other states
across America were affected until the great storm eventually ended on August 31, 2005.
The final remnants of the storm
remnants were last distinguishable in the eastern Great
Lakes region.
Hurricane
Katrina
Facts - 24:
There were
significant Social, Environmental and
Economic effects as a result of Hurricane
Katrina. The impact of Hurricane
Katrina. These included loss of life,
flooding, health risks, property damage, homelessness, power outages,
civil disturbances, travel disruption, disruption to the
oil industry
and the colossal cost of the storm.
Hurricane
Katrina Facts - 25:
Power Outages: It was estimated that over
one million homes and businesses in the Gulf states were without
power having to cope in the darkness and without normal
communication systems.
Hurricane
Katrina
Facts -
26:
Disruption to the oil industry: 30 oil
platforms were damaged or destroyed and caused the
closure of nine refineries. Oil production in the Gulf
of Mexico was reduced by 1.4 million barrels per day
resulting in record increases in the price of gasoline
following the storm.
Hurricane
Katrina
Facts -
27: Environmental
Impact: The storm caused oil spills from 44 facilities
throughout southeastern Louisiana.
Hurricane
Katrina
Facts -
28: Environmental
Impact: 1.3 million acres of forest lands were destroyed
in Katrina costing about $5 billion.
Hurricane
Katrina
Facts -
29: Environmental
Impact: The Katrina storm surge caused substantial beach
erosion and the devastation of coastal areas
Hurricane
Katrina
Facts -
30: Environmental
Impact: Environmental Impact: Lands were transformed to
water and breeding grounds for marine mammals, brown
pelicans, turtles, and fish were destroyed
Hurricane
Katrina
Facts -
31: Environmental Impact: The damage from
Hurricane Katrina forced the closure of 16 National
Wildlife Refuges.
Hurricane
Katrina
Facts -
32: Social Impact:
Many people in the affected regions were completely
traumatized by the catastrophe. Racial tensions were
intensified, as many of the worst hit victims were black
African Americans.
Hurricane
Katrina
Facts -
33: Social Impact:
There was a decline in population in the affected
regions as hundreds of thousands of people from the
central Gulf coast relocated to other areas across the
United States.
Hurricane
Katrina
Facts -
34: Cost: It is estimated that Hurricane
Katrina caused about
$300 billion worth of damage. The tourist
industry in New Orleans has never fully recovered.
Hurricane
Katrina
Facts -
35: Recovery funding:
Federal recovery funding for Hurricane Katrina totaled
$120.5 billion in federal spending, of which
approximately $75 billion went to emergency relief - not
rebuilding. Donations from charity totaled $6.5 billion.
Private insurance claims covered less than $30 billion
of the losses .
Hurricane
Katrina
Facts -
36: Hurricane Katrina was a terrible
tragedy. The levees have been fixed, houses have been
replaced but the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina
will never be forgotten.
Hurricane
Katrina
Facts for kids
Facts
about
Hurricane Katrina
For visitors interested in the history of
Hurricane Katrina you might also refer to the following articles:
Hurricane Katrina - President George W Bush Video
The article on
Hurricane Katrina provides detailed facts and a summary of one of the important events during his presidential term in office. The following
George W Bush video will
give you additional important facts and dates his presidency.
Hurricane Katrina for kids
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Hurricane Katrina of important, key
events
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George W Bush from January 20, 2001 to January 20, 2009
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Domestic
policies of President George W Bush
● Hurricane Katrina for schools,
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