REMEMBERING THE HURRICANE KATRINA DISASTER: AUGUST 29-30, 2005

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REMEMBERING THE HURRICANE KATRINA DISASTER
AUGUST 29-30, 2005

• Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Disaster
  Reduction, Vienna, Virginia, USA

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THE 29-30 AUGUST 2005 HURICANE CAUSED A DISASTER
IN NEW ORLEANS AND PARTS OF THE GULF COAST OF THE
USA
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THE GULF COAST EXPERIENCES HURRICANES EACH YEAR
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HURRICANE TRACKS 1851-2004
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NEW-ORLEANS
2005
ETUDE
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HURRICANE KATRINA EXPOSED THE DEADLY CONSEQUENCES
IN A HURRICANE PRONE AREAOF NOT BEING HURRICANE
DISASTER RESILIENT

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FACTORS THAT ONCE MADE LOUISIANAS COAST
RESILIENT

• By 1900, the Louisiana coast was a 15,500 square
  km (6,000 square mile) swath of swamp, marsh, and
  barrier islands that made it more resilient to
  the winds, rain, and storm surge of a hurricane.

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THE WORKS OF MAN REDUCED LOUIISIANAS RESILIENCE

• Levees built in the 1930s by the US Army Corps
  of Engineers did end spring floods,---
• But, by the 1960s, a significant reduction in
  hurricane resilience had occurred, because
• The US Army Corps of Engineers had also dredged
  14 major ship channels to inland ports, and over
  many years, oil companies had cut countless
  channels for pipelines and access to oil wells.

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BY 2005 NEW ORLEANS WAS CONSIDERED TO BE VERY
VULNERABLE TO HURRICANES
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HURRICANE KATRINA EXPOSED SOCIAL, ORGANIZATIONAL,
PHYSICAL, AND HEALTH CARE VULNERABILITIES IN
NEW ORLEANS AND ALONG THE GULF COAST
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WHAT DID WE LEARN FROM HURRICANE KATRINA?

• Hurricane Katrina exposed the startling fact that
  the nation was unprepared to manage a disaster
  caused by the environmental extremes of a
  moderate category hurricane AND a major flood
  caused by breaches in 200 mile levee system that
  was not known to be so flawed, until after
  post-disaster studies.

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IMPACT OF HURRICANE KATRINA ON GULF COAST

• 90 of the Gulf Coasts oil production was
  stopped by the storm.
• Insured losses reached 47 billion for Gulf Coast
  and 27 for New Orleans, with actual direct and
  indirect losses much higher and perhaps beyond
  definition for many years.
• It caused the worst financial crisis in New
  Orleans and Louisianas history.

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IMPACT OF HURRICANE KATRINA ON GULF COAST

• Major cities (New Orleans, Biloxi, Bay St. Louis,
  etc) were closed for business.
• Millions of displaced people were unable to
  return for several months some never returned.
• Neighborhoods were destroyed.
• Over 2,500,000 homes and businesses were without
  communications, power, potable water, and sewage
  disposal.

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IMPACT OF HURRICANE KATRINA ON GULF COAST

• No commercial airline flights for a short period.
• Rail systems destroyed.
• 500,000 homes destroyed.
• 300 years of community infrastructure destroyed.
• 500,000 jobs lost.

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IMPACT OF HURRICANE KATRINA ON GULF COAST

• Thousands of people and many animals were still
  awaiting rescue after 2 weeks.
• Thousands needed food, water, and shelter every
  day, which the American Red Cross and many other
  cooperating organizations provided as quickly as
  possible for over 90 days.

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IMPACT OF HURRICANE KATRINA IN NEW ORLEANS

• FLOODING, NOT HIGH WINDS AND NOT STORM SURGE,
  INFLICTED MOST OF THE DEVASTATION IN NEW ORLEANS
  .
• 80 PERCENT OF NEW ORLEANS WAS FLOODED FROM FOUR
  MAJOR AND DOZENS OF SMALLER BREACHES IN THE 200
  MILE LEVEE SYSTEM.
• OVER 100,000 HOMES WERE INUNDATED.

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IMPACT OF HURRICANE KATRINA ON NEW ORLEANS

• 80 of New Orleans was under water after levees
  broke, releasing waters from Lake Ponchartrain
  and canals into downtown New Orleans.
• More than 1,000 people were rescued from roof
  tops of inundated houses by helicopters
• Many others were rescued by boats.

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IMPACT OF HURRICANE KATRINA ON NEW ORLEANS

• In New Orleans, the school district laid off
  more than 7,000 teachers and staff, and large
  numbers of police.
• Six of the eight hospitals were destroyed.

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KATRINA CAUSED AN INSURANCE NIGHTMARE

• The insurance industry grappled with its
  largest-ever loss and a record number of
  individual claims
• 1.6 million from Katrina,
• Another 1 million from hurricanes Rita and Wilma,
  which followed Katrina.

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RECOVERY REQUIRED LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

• TO MARSHAL AND INTEGRATE THE COMMUNITYS STAPLE
  FORCES,..
• WITH THE GOAL OF BECOMING MORE RESILIIENT TO
  FUTURE HURRICANES.