Hurricane Katrina.

Date: 28th August 2005.

Location: New Orleans, on the Gul of Mexico Coast, USA.

Category: 5.

Death toll: 1,886.

Economic damage: $89 million.

1 million people evacuated. 100,000 stayed behind. Many evacuees went to the Superdome (NFL's stadium)

In Mississppi, 90% of the houses were destroyed as a result of the storm surge.

Physical impacts.: winds of 100-125 miles per hour. Destructie storm surge impacted of 8 metres high 80% of New Orleans flooded under 6ft of water. (New Orleans is below sea level, making it worse). 

• Climate.
• Warm water from the gulf of mexico has lots of energy.
• New Orleans is below sea level. prone to flooding.
• High, dense population due to urbanisation.
• Levees were not big or strong enough to hold the strom surge.
• Oil drilling caused the land to sink. 
• Human interference with the land, caused the land to sink further. For example, engineers drained wet lands to allow for more housing for the increasing pouplation. These wet lands would have been able to lower the impact of the storm surge, if they were not drained. 

• Energy from the tropical storm evoked a storm surge of 8 meters high. 
• This flooded 80% of the city. causing roads and railways to submerged and people drowned.
• In Mississippi, 200,000 homes were without electricity of water.
• Widespread looting occurred in Louisiana. Prisoners had to abandon prisons due to flooding. 
• Water borne disease risks.
• Three quarters of buildings in Gulfport had their roofs ripped away.
• Forestry industry was devastated. 1.3 million acres if trees were lost meaning a cost of $5 billion dollars.
• Productive farmland was ruined by salt water. 
• Flooding damaged plants and vegetation.
• Poultry industry was destroyed in Alabama where over 140,000 chicks were lost.
• Habitats destroyed.
• Large fires broke out. One at a chemical plant near the French quarter as a result of a series of explosions. 
• Coastal erosion in Mississippi.

• Levees installed to protect the city from category 3 hurricanes. Not strong enough for Katrina.

• Slow response. President Bush was accused to responding too slowly.
• Aid was refused at first, leaving people without food and water, dying on the streets. 
• When aid was accepted, if was difficult to get through due to poor infrastructure and collapsed bridges. 
• Aid was offered from around the world
• The UK offered 350,000 army meals, but were rejected because of laws on mad cow disease. 
• Evacuation to the Superdome. So tightly compacted there was higher risks of diseases spreading. 
• Rescue teams abandoned duties to stop looting and violence. Troops were sent to Louisiana and Mississippi to maintain law and order.

• Helicopters dropped huge sandbags.on the street canal to allow trucks to get across and bring in stone to strengthen repairs. 
• Temporary barrier has been built on the canal to seal it off from Lake Pontchatrain. 
• Pumping out flood water to drain the land. Could take 80 days.