Essay On Effects Of Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina was a devastating hurricane that hit Mississippi and Louisiana in August of 2005. It was over 450 miles wide and had a storm surge of 28-feet. The hurricane first struck Mississippi in the morning on August 29, 2005. The storm took a singular night for the storm to destroy many towns that were near the coast in both Mississippi and Louisiana. Coastal Mississippi was hit with winds for over 17 hours. These winds also were the cause of many tornadoes and flooding. Because of this, coastal Mississippi was impacted the most by the storm. Towns here were almost completely flooded, and the people who were unable to escape had to climb on top of roofs, buildings, and even trees. Two hundred and thirty-eight people died in Mississippi and over one million were impacted. Statistically, one in six Mississippians applied for FEMA’s help. 

In addition to the loss of houses and towns, debris was also a very large problem. There was debris on the streets, which caused roads and railways to be shut down. There was an estimated two hundred million dollars to remove the debris on the Gulf Coast. Hurricane Katrina very heavily affected the Gulf Coast. Fifty-five-foot waves and twenty-eight-foot storm surge pushed boats, debris, and casino barges were forced into populated areas. Many were killed and almost seventy people were missing. A lot of people also had PTSD from the traumatic experience as well. 

Hurricane Katrina’s path, though it mainly went through Mississippi, initially touched the edge of Florida as a Category 1 hurricane on August 25. The storm did not reach a Category 5 hurricane until after it went through the Gulf. From there, the storm blew through Louisiana's eastern coast on August 29. Hurricane Katrina exceeded forty miles to the east of New Orleans, Louisiana as it entered Buras. From here, the storm slated for Mississippi. Here, the storm tore through central Mississippi and then finally exhausted as it reached Meridian. At that time, Katrina entered the state of Tennessee with the classification of a tropical storm. New Orleans was flooding at a gradual rate as winds and storm surge from Bay St. Louis reached it. The weather from Bay St. Louis devastated Alabama and Pascagoula.  

Mississippi shelters were already as packed as they could be by August 29. Government officers had already examined the idea of evacuation on the twenty-fifth. Evacuation orders were given on the twenty-seventh. The MEMA urged for the counties near the coast to leave their shelters closed, but the Red Cross opened some shelters by the coast. By morning, forty-one more counties and sixty-one cities had broadcasted the instruction of evacuation. 

Many people who did not get the chance to evacuate survived the storm by climbing buildings, roofs, and trees. Rescue teams saved over a hundred people from the tops of roofs and trees in Mississippi alone. Less than two hundred and fifty people in Mississippi died, overall. 

The long-term effects of Hurricane Katrina were very costly. Billions of dollars were lost in the storm and had to be repaired. Funds were needed things like Navy Shipbuilding and Conversion, wildlife habitat restoration, housing programs, and Corps of Engineers. Federal buildings that needed to be repaired costed 1.1 billion dollars overall. Some of these facilities included the VA Hospital, the Armed Forces Retirement Home, the US Navy, the Stennis Space Center, rebuilding the Keesler Air Force and the Keesler Medical Center, new Navy housing, housing at the Keesler Air Force Base, and Navy housing at the Naval Air Station Meridian and the Seebee Base. 

While Hurricane Katrina was disastrous, it brought out the best in a lot of Americans. Mississippi and Louisiana were vigorously supported by the rest of our nation. It showed that America can come together in times of tragedy to aid and assist those affected by it.