Hurricane Katrina Research Paper

First Reaction Paper: Hurricane Katrina It was the storm that everyone saw coming but no one did a thing to stop it, Katrina. Hurricane Katrina was one of the most devastating hurricanes to strike the United States. The category 5 storm struck a wide swath of destruction in Florida, Mississippi and Louisiana. Katrina is estimated to have caused close to $81 billion in damages (NHC, 2005). A category 5 storm has wind-speeds greater than 155 mph and typical storm water surges are greater than 18 feet (ASCE, 2007). This paper will look at the events during and immediately after the storm hit New Orleans, LA. By the time the storm hit Louisiana on August 29, 2005, the storm had lost some intensity and been downgraded to a category 3 storm, a storm with winds of 127 mph. The storm hit during high tide which intensifies the water surge swell. Though images of sections of the roof of the Superdome blowing off may seem to counter the argument, it was not the strong winds that caused a majority of the damage. Many scientists have determined the majority of the damage
The first area is exposure to risk which includes the location and the set of specific environmental risks. The second area is resistance to risk which includes health and livelihood strength. The third area is resilience, which includes coping and adaption strategies and also preparedness. In the case of New Orleans, the exposure aspect is apparent. The City is surrounded by water and below the sea level in numerous locations. The environmental risks of subsidence and wetland degradation serve to compound the exposure risks. Resistance to risk is low due to the high level of unemployment in New Orleans. Resilience is very low as evidenced by the evacuation plans that rely on residents to have private vehicles, inadequate HPS and bad governance response to the