Hurricane Katrina

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

Hurricane Katrina was the eleventh hurricane of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. It made landfall near New Orleans, Louisiana, on August 29, 2005, its storm surge breaching the levees that protected New Orleans from Lake Pontchartrain. Most of the city was subsequently flooded by the lake's waters. This and other major damage to the coastal regions of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama made Katrina the most destructive and costliest tropical cyclone ever to hit the United States.

Recent estimates have placed the person death toll over 1,000 and the damage higher than $200 billion, topping Hurricane Andrew as the most expensive natural disaster in U.S. history. Over a million people were displaced — a humanitarian crisis on a scale unseen in the U.S. since the Great Depression.

The storm made landfall at 6:10am CDT. After 11:00am CDT, several sections of the levee system in New Orleans collapsed. Mandatory evacuation of New Orleans had been ordered by mayor Ray Nagin before the hurricane struck, on August 28. The order was repeated on August 31. By early September, people were being forcibly evacuated, mostly by bus to neighboring states.

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 take up to two months for all power to be restored. On September 3, 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.

For a timeline of events leading up to Hurricane Katrina through the aftermath of the hurricane, see Timeline of Hurricane Katrina.

==Hurricane path==Katrina

File:HurricaneEye.jpg

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

The U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported on August 23 that Tropical Depression Twelve had formed over the Bahama 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 Tropical Depression Ten should be credited with this storm. (This is different from Hurricane Ivan in the 2004 Atlantic hurricane season 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 cyclone tropical storm strength) The system was upgraded to Tropical Storm Katrina on the morning of August 24. Katrina became the fourth hurricane of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season 2005 season on August 25 and made landfall later that day around 6:30 p.m. between Hallandale Beach, Florida Hallandale Beach and Aventura, Florida Aventura, Florida.

Katrina weakened over land on August 26, becoming a tropical storm before growing to a Category 2 hurricane with winds of 100 mph. It became clear the storm was headed for Mississippi and Louisiana.

On August 27, the storm was upgraded to Category 3 intensity (major hurricane) and 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 strengthening to 184 mph (281 km/h) (well above the Category 5 threshold of 156 mph (250 km/h)), gusts of 215 mph (344 km/h) and central pressure of 26.75 inches, or 906 mbar (pascal hPa), by 1:00 p.m. CDT. It later reached a minimum pressure of 26.64 inches (902 mbar), making it the fifth most intense Atlantic Basin hurricane on record.

Katrina made landfall on August 29 as a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 140 mph at 6:10 a.m. CDT near Buras-Triumph, Louisiana. A few hours later, it made landfall for a third time near the Louisiana/Mississippi border with 125 mph (200 km/h) Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale Category 3 winds. However, because the storm was so large, high and damaging winds and storm surges smashed the Mississippi coast, including Biloxi and Gulfport, and even caused damage in Alabama.

Katrina weakened thereafter, losing hurricane-strength more than 100 miles (160 km) inland, near Laurel, Mississippi. It was downgraded to a tropical depression near Clarksville, Tennessee and continued to race northward.

Katrina, which affected a very wide swath of land covering a large portion of eastern North America, was last seen in the eastern Great Lakes region on August 31. Before being absorbed by a frontal boundary, Katrina's last known position was over southeast Quebec and northern New Brunswick. On August 31, Katrina became a powerful extratropical low on province of Quebec that gave 50 to 170 mm (1.97 to 6.69 in) of rain in 12 hours; also numerous wind gust from 50 to 98 km/h (31 to 61 mph) were reported in southern and eastern Quebec. In the region of Saguenay and Cote-Nord rain caused breakdown and failure in roads. The Cote-Nord region was isolated from rest of Quebec for at least 1 week.

Its lowest minimum pressure at landfall was 27.108 inches (918 mbar) (hPa), 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.

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 on August 31 and the Canadian Hurricane Centre's last public advisory on Katrina was at 9 a.m. EDT on August 31.

Tornadoes

There were at least 36 confirmed tornadoes associated with Hurricane Katrina, with 11 tornadoes in Mississippi, 4 tornadoes in Alabama, 15 tornadoes in Georgia, 1 tornado in Virginia, and 5 tornadoes in Pennsylvania. Most of the tornadoes were rated F0 or F1, but three tornadoes were rated F2 in Georgia, and 2 were rated F2 in Mississippi. Tornadoes were reported in places including Adams and Cumberland Counties in Pennsylvania, in Fauquier, Virginia, in Carroll County, Georgia, in Carrollton, Georgia, in White County, Georgia, in Helen, Georgia, in Fort Valley, Georgia. Several other weak tornadoes were reported by tv stations in and around Mobile, Alabama and Harrison County, Mississippi.

One death was reported from an F2 tornado near Roopville, Georgia in Carroll County, and 500,000 chickens were killed or set free after dozens of poultry houses were damaged. Several injuries were reported with other tornadoes across Georgia. There was major damage in Helen, Georgia by an F2 tornado, which destroyed homes and a hotel.

Preparations and expectations before landfall

Previous short term preparations and expectations

Advance weather forecasts

Template:Wikinewshas

Many living in the area felt that south Florida had minimal 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. Even so, NHC forecasts showed Katrina strengthening into a hurricane well in advance of landfall, and hurricane watches and warnings were indeed issued nearly 36 and 24 hours, respectively, before hurricane conditions were felt in the area (watches and warnings are supposed to be issued at those time periods)[1],[2].

By August 26 the possibility of "unprecedented cataclysm" was already being considered [3]. Some computer models were putting New Orleans right in the center of their track probabilities, and the chances of a direct hit were forecast at nearly 90%. The Governor of Louisiana, Kathleen Babineaux Blanco declared a state of emergency for state agencies.[4] On August 27, after Katrina crossed southern Florida and strengthened to Category 3, President George W. Bush declared a state of emergency in Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi two days before the hurricane made landfall[5]. On August 28 the National Weather Service issued a bulletin predicting "devastating" damage rivaling the intensity of Hurricane Camille. At a news conference New Orleans Mayor Nagin ordered an unprecedented mandatory evacuation of the city with Gov. Blanco standing beside him.

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 [6]. 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 [7].

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

The State Departments of Transportation in the affected area, in conjunction with the Federal Highway Administration, have a huge job to rebuild the critical highways for access to the region. Interstate 10 seems, at first glance, to be the most critical to repair, especially the twin bridges over Lake Pontchartrain, which were destroyed. These are "lifelines" to the east, but assessing the damage, there will be no quick fix. These costs could run into many billions of dollars.

Previous long term preparations and expectations

The risk of devastation from a direct hit was well documented.

The New Orleans Times-Picayune newspaper ran a series on the risk in 2002; the series predicted many of the events that happened in 2005, including the breakdown of the levee system. "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 [8]

National Geographic ran a feature in October 2004 [9]. Scientific American covered the topic thoroughly in an October 2001 piece titled "Drowning New Orleans" [10]. 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 [11]. CSO magazine ran an interview with the National Weather Service's Gary Woodall in which he listed six steps that citizens and company executives can take to be prepared for hurricanes such as this. [12]

Evacuation and Emergency Shelters

"Not since the Dust Bowl of the 1930s or the end of the Civil War in the 1860s have so many Americans been on the move from a single event." [13]

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. Contraflow lane reversal on Interstate 10 leading west and Interstates 55 and 59 leading north from New Orleans was ended that afternoon.[14]

Two weeks after the storm, over half the States were involved in providing shelter for evacuees.

The Louisiana State Evacuation Plan[[15] declares "The primary means of hurricane evacuation will be personal vehicles. School and municipal buses, government-owned vehicles and vehicles provided by volunteer agencies may be used to provide transportation for individuals who lack transportation and require assistance in evacuating" in Part 1 Section D. The state evacuation plan also assigns the responsibility of evacuation to each Parish with the language {the parish will} "Conduct and control local evacuation in parishes located in the risk area and manage reception and shelter operations in parishes located in the host area" in Part 1 Section D. The state evacuation plan also assigns the responsibility of evacuation of the sick and those needing assistance to the owners of the facilities with the language: "Hospitals, nursing homes, group homes, etc. will have pre-determined evacuation and/or refuge plans if evacuation becomes necessary. All facilities will have approved Multi-Hazard Emergency Operations Plans as mandated by the State of Louisiana, Dept. of Health and Hospitals (DHH). Before operating permits are given to homes/hospitals, emergency precautions are to be taken, such as the placement of emergency supplies and equipment (i.e., generators and potable water) on upper floors.." in Part 1 Section D. As many of these facilities relied on the same bus companies and ambulance services for evacuation, several were unable to evacuate before the storm hit, resulting in the deaths of their occupants.

Myers reports New Orleans Mayor Nagin refused comment on the matter. [16] Roughly 150,000 people were not able to evacuate, partially because hundreds of available New Orleans school buses were not used in the evacuation [17]. According to NBC's veteran reporter Lisa Myers, "A draft emergency plan, prepared by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and obtained by NBC News, calls for '400 buses to ... evacuate victims.' Yet those 200 buses were left in Katrina's path."

While some have claimed school bus drivers were not available, the very first bus to arrive at the Reliant Astrodome with New Orleans evacuees was a New Orleans school bus driven by an evacuee, 20 year old Jabbar Gibson, who commandeered it.[18] Any licensed driver is suitable in an emergency.

The bus situation was not lost on at least one New Orleans evacuee, Connie London, interviewed by ABC Reporter Dean Reynolds at the Reliant Astrodome. The evacuee cites the bus flooding as her major criticism of the performance of city and state officials in handling Hurricane Katrina.[19] Video (wmv file, 00:54 seconds)

[20] The Governor used her authority to utilize public school buses from other parishes long after the levee broke. [21]

In addition to residents, many tourists were stranded. Fuel and rental cars were in short supply; also, Greyhound bus and Amtrak train service were halted well before the hurricane made landfall [22]. Future analysis of motor vehicle registration, census and Social Security Information, and death certificates may help to provide more clarity. During the Hurricane Ivan evacuation, 600,000 people remained in the city [23].

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.

New Orleans shelters

Louisiana Superdome

New Orleans after Katrina passed. Note the flooding and the damage to the roof of the Superdome.

On August 28, as Hurricane Katrina grew into a Category 5 storm that had yet to make landfall, Nagin established several "refuges of last resort" for citizens who could not leave the city, including the massive Louisiana Superdome. The New Orleans Times - Picayune reported that the Louisiana National Guard delivered three truckloads of water and seven truckloads of MRE's, enough to supply 15,000 people for three days according to Col. Jay Mayeaux, deputy director of the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Emergency Preparedness [24]. The Superdome housed over 9,000 people along with 550 National Guard troops when Katrina came ashore [25]. On August 29, Katrina passed over New Orleans with such force that it ripped two holes in the Superdome roof. 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 [26], [27], [28]. Air conditioning, electricity, and running water all failed, making for very unsanitary and uncomfortable conditions. There have been widespread reports of murders, rapes, beatings, robberies, and general mayhem in the Superdome[29], though most reports appear in the foreign press, as mainstream U.S. media have omitted the more serious reports.[30] On August 31, it was announced that evacuees would be moved to the Astrodome in Houston, Texas. By September 6, the Superdome was completely evacuated. Officials say that the flood damage, debris, human waste and bodily fluids in the Superdome is a "potential biohazard," and that it is too early to tell what the final fate of the structure will be, although demolition has been cited as a possible outcome.

According to an article in Newsweek [31], President Bush and Governor Blanco met on Air Force One on Friday, September 2, 2005 while it sat on the tarmac at the New Orleans airport. During the meeting, Mayor Nagin suggested federalizing the National Guard to improve the command structure. According to Sen. David Vitter, a Republican ally of Bush's, Bush turned to Governor Blanco and said, "Well, what do you think of that, Governor?" Blanco told Bush, "I'd rather talk to you about that privately." To which Nagin responded, "Well, why don't you do that now?". Immediately following that private meeting, according to a September 7, 2005 Washington Times article [32], Mayor Nagin said that "He (Bush) called [Nagin] in that office, and he said, 'Mr. Mayor, I offered two options to the governor.' I was ready to move. The governor said she needed 24 hours to make a decision.". For more than a week later, there was still no agreement. Blanco didn't want to give up her authority, and Bush didn't press.

Fox News report has alleged that the Louisiana's Homeland Security Department (which operates under the authority of Governor Blanco) refused to allow the American Red Cross to provide aid within the city of New Orleans. [33] A FAQ posted on the American Red Cross Web site confirms that the organization has been requested not to enter the city but also states that it is providing relief at the evacuation centers: "As the remaining people are evacuated from New Orleans, the most appropriate role for the Red Cross is to provide a safe place for people to stay and to see that their emergency needs are met. We are fully staffed and equipped to handle these individuals once they are evacuated." The deputy director of Louisiana's Homeland Security Department, Colonel Jay Mayeaux, has stated that he asked the Red Cross to delay relief operations for 24 hours for logistical reasons, and by the time that was up the evacuations had already begun.[34]

New Orleans Convention Center

The New Orleans Convention Center was broken into by August 30th, and by September 1, the facility, like the Superdome, was overwhelmed and declared unsafe and unsanitary. Reports of violence, beatings, and rape among those gathered in the convention center were widespread. Several people died while sheltered within. Reports indicated that up to 20,000 people had gathered at the Convention Center, many dropped off after rescue from flooded areas of the city. Others were directed to the center by the police, headed by Eddie Compass, as a possible refuge. However, even though there were thousands of evacuees at the center, along with network newscasters, pleading desperately for help on CNN, FOX, and other broadcast outlets, FEMA head Michael Brown and Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff both claimed to have no knowledge of the use of the Convention Center as a shelter until the afternoon of September 1 (CNN Video), although later Brown said he misspoke and had learned of them 24 hours earlier.[35] For two days, still, the evacuees' pleas were ignored. Those able to walk the distance could have left the Convention Center, and the city, via the Crescent City Connection Bridge, but were prevented from doing so at gunpoint by Gretna, LA sheriffs [36]. The Convention Center was completely evacuated by September 3. By September 8 there were reports that the claims of rape and murder at the Convention Center and the Superdome could be false [37].

Shelters in Texas

Evacuees taking shelter at the Reliant Astrodome.

On August 31, the Harris County, Texas Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management and the State of Louisiana came to an agreement to allow at least 25,000 evacuees from New Orleans, especially those who were sheltered in the Louisiana Superdome, to move to the Astrodome until they could return home. The evacuation began on September 1.

However, as of September 2, officials declared the Reliant Astrodome full and unable to accept additional hurricane refugees from the disaster. The Reliant Astrodome was reopened a few hours later, and it was announced that the Reliant Center would have all events cancelled through December so as to open the building to ~11,000 additional evacuees. The George R. Brown Convention Center was announced as an additional shelter site at the same time, but was not opened for use until September 3.

When the Houston shelters began to reach capacity on September 2, Texas Governor Rick Perry activated an emergency plan that made space for an additional 25,000 in each of San Antonio and the Dallas/ Fort Worth/ Arlington,TX Metroplex and smaller shelters in communities across Texas. Beginning with a convoy of 50 buses (2,700 people) that arrived at the Dallas Reunion Arena at 3:00 a.m. CST September 3, a wave of over 120,000 additional evacuees began pouring into Texas at a rate, such that as of September 5, it was estimated there are roughly 139,000 evacuees in official shelters in the state, adding to the estimated 90,000 already in hotels and homes.

By the afternoon of September 5, with a total estimated number of over 230,000 evacuees in Texas, Governor Perry ordered that buses begin being diverted to other shelters outside the state resulting in 20,000 being sent to Oklahoma and 30,000 being sent to Arkansas. By Labor Day, September 6, Texas had an estimated 250,000 evacuees and Governor Perry was forced to declare a state of emergency in Texas and issued an impassioned plea to other states to begin taking the 40,000-50,000 evacuees that were still in need of shelter.

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 (hit by tornadoes), the Tennessee Valley and Ohio Valley regions, the eastern Great Lakes region and the length of the western Appalachians. Over 600 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. Three levees in New Orleans gave way, and 80% of the city was under water at peak flooding, which in some places was 20 to 25 feet (7 or 8 meters) deep[38]. As of September 6, the flood pool had abated to covering 60% of the city.[39]

By September 2, NOAA had published satellite photography[40] of many of the affected regions. The storm surge in Katrina as it was making landfall on August 29 was very high to the east of where the storm center crossed the coast. Storm surge of near 30 feet high was observed, where during the height of the storm at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum scenes like a car floating outside the first floor lobby, and a boat is being swept across the parking lot as the surge comes in with the eyewall winds were not uncommon. The lobby and parking lot are over 20 feet above sea level of the Gulf of Mexico, and 1/4 mile away from the Gulf coastal road Highway 90 in Harrison County between Biloxi and Gulfport.

Looting and Violence

Shortly after the hurricane ended on August 30, some residents of New Orleans who remained in the city began looting stores. Drug, convenience, clothing, and jewelry stores in the French Quarter and on Canal Street were hardest hit. "The looting is out of control. The French Quarter has been attacked," Councilwoman Jackie Clarkson said. "We're using exhausted, scarce police to control looting when they should be used for search and rescue while we still have people on rooftops." By September 1, conditions worsened. A national guardsman was wounded by a shooting outside the Superdome. Reports of carjacking, thefts, and rapes flooded the news. Nearly 5,000 National Guard troops were mobilized in Louisiana. "They have M-16s and are locked and loaded. These troops know how to shoot and kill and I expect they will," Kathleen Blanco said. Congressman Jefferson (D-LA) told ABC News. "There was shooting going on. There was sniping going on. Over the first week of September, law and order was gradually restored to the city." A number of arrests were made near the New Orleans Convention Center.

Death toll (summary)

Template:Hurricane Katrina death toll

The confirmed death toll as of September 21 stands at 1037, led by Louisiana with 799 and Mississippi with 219.[41]

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.

Government officials had estimated fatalities as high as tens of thousands. On September 9, recovery operations were reporting far fewer bodies than feared. The official death count from New Orleans, which only counts bodies already lodged with coroners, stood at 118 as of September 9.

On September 13, officials announced that negligent homicide charges had been filed against the owners of a New Orleans nursing home, where the bodies of 34 residents, apparently drowned, were found.[42]

On September 6 FEMA stopped allowing journalists to accompany rescuers searching for victims, saying they would take up too much space. At the same time, FEMA requested that journalists stop taking pictures of dead bodies. News organizations have filed suit in Federal Court, claiming a violation of the First Amendment's freedom of the press.

On September 9 FEMA ordered 50,000 body bags in addition to the 25,000 previously ordered. [43]

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 the hurricane-affected areas. In addition to dehydration and food poisoning, there is also a potential for communicable disease outbreaks of diarrhea and respiratory illness, all related to the growing contamination of food and drinking water supplies in the area. In all likelihood, the death toll will rise as current conditions in the area persist.

President Bush declared a emergency for the entire Gulf Coast and announced that they will be setting up a network of 40 to speed the relief efforts. Before the hurricane, government health officials prepared to respond, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) began sending medical emergency supplies to locations near the worst-hit area within 48 hours after landfall.

Supplies shipped by CDC's Strategic National Stockpile provided pharmaceuticals, technical assistance teams, and treatment capacity for citizens otherwise stranded by the hurricane's catastrophic effect on hospital infrastructure in Louisiana and Mississippi. CDC's supplies served an estimated 30 acute care hospitals south of Interstate Highway 10, and volunteers organized around its "contingency stations" to become temporary stand-ins for hospitals, warehouses, and distribution facilities damaged by the storm. Alongside strong responses from state and local medical teams, CDC support remained crucial until normal infrastructure support began to return a week and a half later.

Within days after landfall, medical authorities established contingency treatment facilities for over 10,000 people, and plans to treat thousands more were developing. Partnerships with commercial medical suppliers, shipping companies, and support services companies insured that evolving medical needs could be met within days or even hours.

There is concern the chemical plants and refineries in the area could have released their contents into the floodwaters. 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. On September 6, 2005 it was reported that Escherichia coli (E. coli) had been detected at unsafe levels in the waters that flooded New Orleans. The CDC reported on September 7 that five people had died of bacterial infection from drinking water contaminated with Vibrio vulnificus, a bacterium from the Gulf of Mexico Wide outbreaks of severe infectious diseases such as cholera and dysentery are not considered likely because such illnesses are not endemic in the United States [44].

Animal concerns

As with any major disaster, animals are affected in the same way as human beings. In the case of Katrina, some people and organizations believed it was imperative that all animals should be evacuated too, but this was not specified by anyone in authority.

Helicopter pilots and rescue boat captains had refused to load pets in order to hold more humans. Many families in the affected area refused to evacuate without their pets. Some field hospitals allowed pets to enter with their patients. However those who were evacuated from the Superdome were not allowed to take their pets with them.[45]

Rescue teams were set up in the worst hit regions in response 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 of time. Rescue agencies did set up shelters and tried to find homes to adopt pets lost by their owners.[46] Rescue centers were becoming overwhelmed in the days immediately following the hurricane. Online resources, such as the animals911.com clearinghouse for Hurricane Katrina animal rescue and relief[47], give rescue groups, individuals, and businesses from around the country a centralized venue to publish their offers and requests for helping the animals displaced by Hurricane Katrina.

There was some good news, however. The Audubon Zoo lost only three animals out of a total of 1,400 due to disaster planning and location on high ground. Zoo curator Dan Maloney was quoted as saying, "The zoo had planned for years for the catastrophic storm that has long been predicted for New Orleans". [48] [49]

The response of the American public was unprecedented. The Humane Society of the United States (The HSUS) had received $15 million in donations within a couple of weeks after the hurricane occurred. The HSUS currently has hundreds of staff and volunteers working in LA and MS. As of September 19th, 2005 over 5400 animals were rescued by The HSUS in conjunction with the Louisiana SPCA and other rescue groups. [50]

Rescued pets are being listed at http://www.petfinder.org//

Research losses

Many universities and research centers located in the area lost data and/or had experiments seriously disrupted. The University of Louisianna lost its entire population of lab animals, including many genetically engineered strains, and the extensive power outages ruined blood and tissue samples in storage and in labs.

Reports of price gouging

Hundreds of reports have dipped in to Louisiana and other authorities regarding sharp increases in prices on products like gasoline and bottled water, or of hotels failing to honor reservations in favor of accepting larger offers for rooms by desperate travelers. The three major U.S. TV networks' nightly news programs have shown images of a BP gas station selling gasoline for over $6 per US gallon ($1.59/L). Another BP station in Stockbridge, Georgia, south of Atlanta, was selling gas at $5.87 per US 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 US gallon ($0.66/L). During this time the average price of gas per US gallon has reached a new all time high. The rapid price increase exacerbated the oil price increases of 2004 and 2005.

Wage Issues

On September 9, 2005 President George W. Bush issued proclamation 7924--To Suspend Subchapter IV of Chapter 31 of Title 40, United States Code, Within a Limited Geographic Area in Response to the National Emergency Caused by Hurricane Katrina, which indefinitely suspended the Davis-Bacon Act.[51] This law mandates that workers on federal construction projects be paid at least the prevailing local wage. There is talk to also suspend the McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act [52] Some critics feel that allowing the government to pay less than the prevailing rate will add to the poverty in the area through lower wages.[53] [54] How many hundreds of thousands victims of Katrina who have lost all their possessions that were in their homes [55] is unknown. The economic loss will force many survivors into bankruptcy those with jobs will have to pay if their income is $100 over the states medium income. Louisiana and Mississippi have some of the lowest [56] income in the Nation requiring Katrina victims to pay creditors were as in most US states with a similar income person will pay nothing.

No-Bid Contracts

Some of the first large-scale Hurricane Katrina relief and recovery contracts awarded by the Bush administration were awarded on a no-bid basis to corporations with strong ties to the administration and the Republican Party, according to news stories in The Wall Street Journal and other media. [57] Contracts for temporary housing have been awarded to politically connected companies. $100 Million contracts were awarded to Fluor (a major donor to the GOP), The Shaw Group (which is client of Joe M. Allbaugh, a consultant who is the former head of FEMA), Denver-based CH2M Hill (the top "construction services" contributor to political campaigns), and Bechtel National Incorporated (both Reagan's Secretary of State George Schulz, and his Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger were Bechtel executives). In addition, Halliburton (formerly run by Vice President Dick Cheney) received a $29.8 million clean-up contract. [58] [59] [60] The Shaw Group, Inc., which won two federal rebuilding contracts, each worth $100 million, has a history of obtaining no-bid contracts through contacts to Democrat politicians in Louisiana. "Shaw's chief executive officer, Jim Bernhard "is the Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Shaw Group Inc., a Fortune 500 company," and Chairman of the Louisiana Democratic Party. [61]. Another Shaw executive, Jeff Jenkins, was the governor's (Kathleen Blanco) campaign manager." [62]

Disaster response

Some 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. A network of volunteers have been rendering assistance to local residents and residents emerging from New Orleans and surrounding Parishes.

In accordance with federal law, President George W. Bush directed Secretary Michael Chertoff of the Department of Homeland Security to coordinate the Federal response. Chertoff designated Michael D. 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. However, the President and Secretary Chertoff have come under harsh criticism from many Americans, particularly in the media, for their lack of planning and coordination. Eight days later, Michael D. Brown was recalled to Washington and Coast Guard Vice Admiral Thad W. Allen replaced him as chief of hurricane relief operations. Three days after the recall, Michael D. Brown resigned as director of FEMA.

USNORTHCOM established Joint Task Force (JTF) Katrina based out of Camp Shelby, Mississippi to act as the military's on-scene command on Sunday, August 28 [63]. Lieutenant General Russel Honoré of the U.S. First Army in Fort Gillem, Georgia, is the commander.

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. On September 7, another $51.8 billion in addition to the original $10.5 billion was proposed by President Bush to fund disaster relief.

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, Gov. Blanco hired James Lee Witt, the former FEMA director during the Clinton Administration, to oversee recovery efforts in Louisiana. [64].

See also Political effects of Hurricane Katrina for more information on criticisms of the disaster relief response

Federal response

Michael Chertoff, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, takes over the federal, state, and local operations officially on September 30, 2005 going forward by citing the National Response Plan. However, the National Response Plan states that, when responding to a catastrophic incident, the federal government should start emergency operations even in the absence of clear assessment of the situation. "A detailed and credible common operating picture may not be achievable for 24 to 48 hours (or longer) after the incident," the NRP's "Catastrophic Annex" states. "As a result, response activities must begin without the benefit of a detailed or complete situation and critical needs assessment."

U.S. states response

Many U.S. states have offered to shelter evacuees displaced by the storm, including places as far away as Oregon, whose offer to take one thousand refugees, according to Portland-area news organizations, was later declined, and California. The majority of the evacuees from this crisis were taken to Texas, with over 230,000 persons being sheltered in Texas by Labor Day, September 5 2005. As Texas became filled to capacity, it became a waypoint for the other evacuees still leaving the area of crisis. From Texas, thousands of evacuees are being dispersed to other states.

An estimate of over 100,000 New Orleans college and university students have been displaced as a result of Hurricane Katrina. Higher institutions from across the U.S. have opened their doors to enroll students displaced as a result of Hurricane Katrina. See list compiled by Wikinews.

Army and Air National Guard troops have been activated from nearly every state in the union.

On 8 September, 2005, President George W. Bush issued a proclamation to suspend Subchapter IV of Chapter 31 of Title 40 in the stricken area, effectively suspending the Davis-Bacon Act there.

International response

File:Relief Aid from China to the United States 2.jpg

Relief aid from China.

Over 70 countries have pledged money or other assistance, including Cuba and Venezuela, despite their differences with Washington; Sri Lanka, which is still recovering from the Indian Ocean Tsunami; Russia, whose initial offer to send at least two jets was declined by the U.S. State Department; France, whose initial offer of concrete help was also declined; Canada, which has contributed supplies as well as 3 Royal Canadian Navy Destroyers (HMCS Athabaskan, HMCS Ville de Quebec, and HMCS Toronto) as well as a Canadian Coast Guard Frigate. In addition, Canada has sent 1,000 relief personnel including as many as 50 Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers; Mexico, which has contributed two military ships, helicopters, military equipment, hundreds of tons of food, bottled water, medical personnel and hundreds of troops (it is the first time Mexican soldiers have operated on U.S. soil since the Mexican-American War); and Dominica, one of the smallest countries in the world by any measure. German Chancellor Schroeder offered any help required, among other items 15 power pumps including their crews have been send to New Orleans. Singapore responded by sending four CH-47 Chinook helicopters to participate in the evacuation and relief effort. [65] Among the world's poorest nations, Bangladesh has promised a million dollars. Other Asian countries to offer support include: India; which says it will provide $5 million and the People's Republic of China; which also pledged five million dollars in aid for victims. [66][67]

Non-governmental charitable response

The American Red Cross, Salvation Army, and many other charitable organizations are trying to provide housing, food, and water to the victims of the storm. However, in the Algiers neighborhood of New Orleans the US military, FEMA, and the Red Cross are sending people needing help over to a tent set up by anarchists, dubbed the "Mayday Mutual Aid Medical Station," located in front of the Masjib Bilal Mosque. These organizations provided an infrastructure for shelters throughout Louisiana and other states that held thousands of evacuees. On September 8, 2005, FOX News reported that the Red Cross was prepositioned to provide water, food and essential supplies to the Superdome and convention center as soon as the storm finished, but was prohibited from entering the city prior to Hurricane Katrina making landfall by the Louisiana State Department of Homeland Security, under the direction of Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco. The safety of Red Cross personnel was among the primary reasons given. Within days of the hurricane Community Wireless Network organizations from across North America self-mobilized to deploy telecommunications infrastructure in evacuee camps throughout the region.

Effects outside the immediate 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.

International oil prices rose. In the UK pump prices for unleaded petrol (gas) hit £1 per litre ($7 per US gallon) for the first time in a significant number of places (averaging about 95p), a rise of about 3% from pre-Katrina prices. Wholesale prices were up 5% as of 6 September. [68]

See also Peak Oil for more information on the geological reality that Katrina has likely exacerbated.

Space Shuttle program

The hurricane 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 [69]. 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" [70].

The Michoud Assembly Facility will remain closed until at least September 26. [71] 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 [72]. This facility is also used as a temporary staging area and headquarters for the U.S. Marine Corps effort in New Orleans, helping with the evacuation.

The John C. Stennis Space Center in Hancock County, Mississippi was also damaged by Katrina, with structural damage to the main facility causing some water leakage into the interior portions of the research facility and halting any major tests while repairs are being made. In addition, the space center was used as a temporary evacuation center for areas near the Mississippi gulf coast region and for residents of New Orleans.

Internet

Technology for All [73] is setting up technology centers for Internet access in the Astrodome. There are also reports that SBC and T-Mobile are installing and providing free wifi access in the Astrodome. [74] Cisco, Vonage, and SBC are providing similar services at the Dallas Convention Center and Reunion Arena where another 8,000 evacuees are sheltered.

The DirectNIC (Intercosmos Media Group, [75]) data center in downtown New Orleans has so far been able to continue operations uninterrupted, due in part to the efforts of a few determined individuals. They've also worked to help procure fuel for telco providers, and provided a router for New Orleans' city hall, apparently so city officials could establish VoIP telephone service during the disaster. According to Netcraft, DirectNIC is the 11th largest domain registrar on the Internet, at 1.1 million domains. 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 [76] 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 [77] 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 [78] is reporting code green for Internet attacks. Keynote Internet Health Report [79] is reporting code green for select Internet networks. The Internet Traffic Report [80] was reporting code yellow for North America. Earthlink network status [81] 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.[82] The NO Visitor's Bureau [83] 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. [84].

Science research

Important work on heart disease, cancer, AIDS and a host of other ailments may be lost forever to scientists at Tulane and Louisiana State universities' medical schools in New Orleans. Military research was also affected as state police broke into a high-security government lab in New Orleans and destroyed the dangerous germs before they could escape or fall into the wrong hands. (Yahoo! News)

Political effects

Most intense Atlantic hurricanes
Rank	Hurricane	Season	Pressure
Rank	Hurricane	Season	hPa	inHg
1	Wilma	2005	882	26.05
2	Gilbert	1988	888	26.23
3	"Labor Day"	1935	892	26.34
4	Rita	2005	895	26.43
5	Allen	1980	899	26.55
6	Camille	1969	900	26.58
7	Katrina	2005	902	26.64
8	Mitch	1998	905	26.73
8	Dean	2007	905	26.73
10	Maria	2017	908	26.81
Source: HURDAT^[1]

As high profile news coverage has reported, the American public in general blames all levels of government in different proportions for failures to perform their responsibilities in hurricane preparedness, Hurricane Katrina planning, and Hurricane Katrina aftermath. That is, despite attempts by "highly placed White House sources" to blame local officials, far more Americans blame the Federal Government, national agencies, and President Bush.

Prevention and Evacuation Issues

According to the National Response Plan, the Department of Homeland Security "will assume primary responsibility on March 1st [2005] for ensuring that emergency response professionals are prepared for any situation. This will entail providing a coordinated, comprehensive federal response to any large-scale crisis and mounting a swift and effective recovery effort" [[85]]. The state evacuation plan (Part 1 Section D7) states [86], evacuation is the responsibility of the local parish. In Orleans Parish that responsibility fell to Mayor Ray Nagin. Many critics have noted that while Mayor Nagin gave a mandatory evacuation order on August 28, before the storm hit, they did not make sufficient prevention and provisions to evacuate the homeless, the poor, the elderly, the infirm, or the car-less households. Hospitals, nursing homes, group homes, were supposed to have pre-determined evacuation and/or refuge plans in place. page II-3 Foreign nationals without transport claimed that the police refused to evacuate them, giving bus places only to American citizens.[87] Prior to this, on August 27 the White House issued a statement [88], effective August 26, authorizing federal emergency assistance for Louisiana. The statement authorized the DHS and FEMA to coordinate disaster relief and "...required emergency measures, authorized under Title V of the Stafford Act, to save lives, protect property and public health and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe in the parishes of Allen, Avoyelles, Beauregard, Bienville, Bossier, Caddo, Caldwell, Claiborne, Catahoula, Concordia, De Soto, East Baton Rouge, East Carroll, East Feliciana, Evangeline, Franklin, Grant, Jackson, LaSalle, Lincoln, Livingston, Madison, Morehouse, Natchitoches, Pointe Coupee, Ouachita, Rapides, Red River, Richland, Sabine, St. Helena, St. Landry, Tensas, Union, Vernon, Webster, West Carroll, West Feliciana, and Winn." This includes all the parishes in the state of Louisiana except the coastal parishes which are inherently exposed to the most destructive forces of a hurricane. The President had not yet authorized FEMA to enter the coastal areas despite the governors request including those parishes. [89] The governor activated the National Guard with her August 26, State of Emergency Declaration page II-4 Red Cross relief in New Orleans remains forbidden by the Governor. [90]

According to the Louisiana Evacuation plan, 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. It is also believed that many citizens, having survived previous hurricanes, did not anticipate the impending catastrophe and chose to ride out the storm. Even so, a 2000 census revealed that 27% of New Orleans households, amounting to approximately 120,000 people, were without privately-owned transportation. Additionally, at 38%, New Orleans has one of the highest poverty rates in the United States. 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.[91][92]

Numerous school buses were left parked on low ground where they would be easily flooded with storm water and then later by the levee flooding making their use impossible in the emergency evacuation after the rupture of the levee, sparking claims that Mayor Nagin did not follow some plan, but such a plan would necessarily require interstate coordination [93]. It is not clear whether these buses were owned by the city or by a private contractor to which the city had outsourced school bus services. Mayor Nagin sent city buses from New Orleans' Regional Transit Authority 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 stocked with few relief supplies. Many supporters also note that school buses, while powerful, can be difficult to control in normally high windspeed of 50-80 mph (80-120 km/h). Winds west of New Orleans were recorded at 50mph during the storm and approximately 10 mph after the storm but before the levee break. During non-emergency times, drivers of school buses must own and maintain a class D commercial license or better depending on the exact size and weight of the bus. During an emergency any driver is suitable as long as OK'd by the Governor Kathleen Blanco. State and city evacuation plans ([94] (Part 1 Section C and part II-2) mention use of school buses for evacuation. With the following language: "The primary means of hurricane evacuation will be personal vehicles. School and municipal buses, government-owned vehicles and vehicles provided by volunteer agencies may be used to provide transportation for individuals who lack transportation and require assistance in evacuating"

In spite of 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's Reliant Astrodome, arriving on Wednesday evening. [95][96] A day later a commercially licensed driver's bus filled with evacuees flipped, resulting in one death and many injuries after a passenger fought with the driver. [97]

In a phone call to WWL radio made after the idle school and RTA buses were flooded[98], Mayor Nagin called for 500 Greyhound buses to be sent from outside the city to help evacuate. Coordination of transportation from outside the Parish is the responsibility of the Governor according to the State Evacuation Plan (Part 1 Section D).[99] Governor Blanco had yet to exercise this responsibility.

Some evacuees report that the drive from New Orleans to Baton Rouge took anywhere from five hours to nine 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.

This massive migration is the largest since the Dust Bowl of the 1930's sent about 300,000 people from the Great Plains States to other regions of the US, most notably California.

Race and class issues

The question of demographics has been raised in the media as news video and photographs showed primarily black citizens stranded in New Orleans. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates the 2004 New Orleans population to be 20.0% white and 67.9% black.[100] The city is also within the Black Belt region. 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.

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.[101] [102] 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 "looters;" another concern was the media's choice of terminology for the displaced.

In one analysis, [103] it was found that "refugees" appeared 5 times more frequently in the global media than "evacuees", which some people see as more neutral. Most of the major U.S. news outlets in eliminated the usage of "refugees". [104]

The Immigration and Nationality Act defines "refugee" in Sec. 101(a)(42) as: Any person who is outside any country of such person's nationality or, in the case of a person having no nationality, is outside any country in which such person last habitually resided, and who is unable or unwilling to return to, and is unable or unwilling to avail himself or herself of the protection of, that country because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. [105]

According to the conventions of international humanitarian assistance, the correct term for the former residents of the hurricane affected areas would be "internally displaced persons". The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights defines internally displaced persons as: "Persons or groups of persons who have been forced or obliged to flee or to leave their homes or places of habitual residence, in particular as a result of or in order to avoid the effects of armed conflict, situations of generalized violence, violations of human rights or natural or human-made disasters, and who have not crossed an internationally recognized State border." [106]

However, when considering language, journalists and others usually rely more on dictionaries and style guides than government documents.

On September 2, while presenting on the NBC Concert for Hurricane Relief, music producer and 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-American families as "looters" while white families were depicted as "looking for food". During these comments NBC cut filming on West 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 an apology for the comments.) [107]

Some people perceived racism in a pair of photo captions that were posted at Yahoo.com. A caption said a white couple as had found items and a different caption said black man as had looted. But the photos and captions were from two news organizations and two photographers. The photographers said they had written what they saw, finding items floating in the water in one case, and taking items from a store in the other case. [108]

Environmental issues

Katrina has caused a renewed interest in global warming and whether it is responsible for stronger hurricanes observed in recent years. See discussion on Long term trends in cyclone activity for more information.

An environmental factor in the extent of damage caused by Katrina has been the destruction of wetlands in the affected regions, which traditionally have a mitigating effect on hurricane damage acting as a sponge to slow floodwaters.[109][110]

Untreated sewage, decomposing bodies and livestock as well as a complicated mixture of toxic chemicals and oils originating from both domestic, agricultural and industrial sources are still mixing into the floodwaters creating a serious health risk across the whole of the flooded area. The immediate threats include disease contagions being spread from decomposing bodies, both by water and by animal vectors such as mosquitoes. Longer term threats will reveal themselves as the floodwaters recede, including biochemical residue which could severely impact surface and ground water, soil, and urban environments. An immediate challenge exists in safely disposing of vast quantities of polluted water inside New Orleans. Many news reports currently state that the water inside New Orleans will be pumped straight back into Lake Pontchartrain and the Gulf of Mexico. The effects of this action remain extremely unclear and could result in serious contamination of both bodies of water.

Congressional Investigation

The Washington Post reported on September 7 2005, that in an apparent attempt to control the political fallout over the destruction of much of New Orleans, the U.S. Congress would form a rare joint House-Senate investigative commission, but that unlike the bipartisan 9/11 Commission, a majority of the committee would be Republicans, and that Democrats would have no subpoena authority [111].

Media involvement

Many representatives of the news media reporting on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina became directly involved in the unfolding events, instead of simply reporting. Due to the loss of most means of communication, such as land-based and cellular telephone systems, field reporters in many cases became conduits for information between victims and authorities.

Several reporters for various news agencies located groups of stranded victims, and reported their location via satellite uplink. Authorities, who monitored the network news broadcasts, would then attempt to coordinate rescue efforts based on the news reports. This was best illustrated when Shepard Smith and Geraldo Rivera of Fox News, among others, reported thousands of evacuees stranded at the New Orleans Convention Center. Rivera tearfully pleaded for authorities to either send help or let the evacuees leave. [112] Geraldo Rivera went so far as to compare the convention center to Willowbrook State School. [113]

The news media, both traditional and Internet, also played a role in helping families locate missing loved ones. Many family members, unable to contact local authorities in the affected areas, discovered the fate of a loved one via an online photo or television video clip. In one instance, a family in Clearwater, Florida discovered their mother was still alive in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi after seeing a photo of her on TampaBayStart.com, a regional news site.

Restrictions on the media

As the US military and rescue services regained control over the city, there were restrictions on the activity of the media.

File:KATUTVCar.jpg

Gaffer's tape identifies journalists to police and military personnel

On September 7 a FEMA spokeswoman requested in an email to journalists that they voluntarily refrain from taking photographs of the many corpses still present in the city at that time. ([114],[115],[116]). On September 8, FEMA spokesman Mark Pfeifle confirmed this request. On September 9, Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré, the military leader of the relief effort, announced that reporters would have "zero access" to efforts to recover bodies in New Orleans. Critics of the federal government considered this effort to be similar to the controversial post-9/11 policy that corpses under federal custody should be kept shielded from media photographers.

Immediately following the government decision, CNN filed a lawsuit and obtained a temporary restraining order against the federal ban ([117]). The next day (September 10), spokesperson Col. Christian E. deGraff announced that the government would no longer attempt to bar media access to the victim recovery efforts ([118]).

Journalists Brian Williams and Pete Williams ([119]) reported that government personnel on the scene blocked attempts to report on rescue efforts in New Orleans. Brian Williams also reported that in the process of blocking journalists, police even went so far as to threaten reporters with a weapon ([120], [121]). However, at evacuee centers such as the Austin Convention Center and the Houston Astrodome press activity was extensive.

On September 7, a journalist for the Denver Post was denied access to a survivor camp at the Community College of Aurora and reported that the camp was fenced-in and heavily guarded.

On September 7, KATU journalist Brian Barker reported ([122]) that his team was threatened with automatic weapons by US Marshals until they were identified by Brig. Gen. Doug Pritt, commander of the 41st Brigade Combat Team of Oregon that they were embedded with. Subsequently, his team taped the letters "TV" on the side of their vehicles in accordance with standard practice in war zones.

External links and sources

Disaster recovery

American Red Cross: Official donation site

www.disastersearch.org: Find missing persons or report yourself found in Hurricane Katrina
KatrinaHousing.org: Offer housing to survivors, find housing if you are a survivor
Coast Guard: Submit a report of Missing/Stranded Person
Craigslist: Missing Persons, Aid, Volunteers, Temp Housing
HurricaneHousing.org: Request or Offer Temporary Housing
Gulf Coast News: Survivor Connector Database
Hurricane Refugee Connect Site: Organized by Last Name
Katrinahelp.info – Disaster recovery wiki.
KatrinaHousing.net – Temporary Housing Meta-Search Engine from the University of Michigan, School of Information]
Katrina horrifying photos
The Landscape of Terms - Hurricane Katrina Brainstorm ideas to help the hurricane affected regions and people.
Better Business Bureau service – Help identify charities that are scams vs. legitimate
Web crawler – On right-hand side; searches lists and databases of survivors and people looking for them.
Local blogs with pictures and descriptions of the rebuilding
Environmental impact
New Orleans survivor stories: oral histories

Violence & Crime in Katrina's aftermath

Archive of Articles

Stranded pets

Businesses affected

Computer Infrastructure Co-dependency implications
Disaster planning for home owners and renters and small business like nursing homes

Government

Government Accountability Office investigates US government agencies for Congress ... here is a directory of reports they have done on federal government preparedness for future disaster recovery
Federal Emergency Management Agency
Louisiana Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness
Louisiana Emergency Operations Plan
Mississippi Emergency Management Agency
GovExec.com article on Office of Management and Budget report criticising FEMA for not being ready to deal with major disasters like Hurricanes
Dallas Hurricane Katrina Evacuee Resources & Volunteer/Donation Registry Pages
NASA Hurricane Resource Page
National Hurricane Center advisory archive on Katrina

Maps of affected area

collaborative wiki

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. MMS link to video: http://tinyurl.com/caqbb

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	3 September 2005 13:34 (EDT)
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	3 September 2005 13:45 (EDT)
mms://beloint.wm.llnwd.net/beloint_wwltv -- Backup WMV
broadcasting from transmitter; newsgathering at KLPB
WKRG-5	CBS	Mobile AL	Own Studio	(none)	working	3 September 2005 13:45 (EDT)
mms://wmbcast.mgeneral.speedera.net/wmbcast.mgeneral/wmbcast_mgeneral_aug262005_1435_95518
on-air from own studio, apparently
WLOX-13	ABC	Biloxi MS	Own Studio	(none)	working	2 September 2005 16:36 (EDT)
mms://a432.l1243132943.c12431.n.lm.akamaistream.net/D/432/12431/v0001/reflector:32943
major damage to station; back on air after losing power

(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.)

^ "Atlantic hurricane best track (HURDAT version 2)" (Database). United States National Hurricane Center. April 5, 2023. Retrieved September 27, 2024. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

[HURDAT-1] "Atlantic hurricane best track (HURDAT version 2)" (Database). United States National Hurricane Center. April 5, 2023. Retrieved September 27, 2024. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

[1]