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Event
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KATRINA (by HanKFranK)
Hurricane Katrina is simply put the largest natural disaster in U.S. history. The storm crossed southern Florida on August 25th, 2005 as a weak hurricane, but intensified steadily over the Gulf, bottoming out on the 28th as a Category 5 with 175MPH winds and a minimum pressure at 902mb. Katrina came ashore over the Mississippi Delta early on the 29th, as a somewhat weaker Category 3, and moved inland near the LA/MS line later in the morning. Wind damage was widespread in the area, but storm tides were incredible--estimated 25-30ft along the coast of Hancock County, MS. Most coastal structures from Bayou La Batre, AL west were severely damaged or destroyed, with parts of Biloxi leveled and towns like Waveland, Bay St Louis, and Pass Christian flooded or washed away by wave action. In Louisiana the Delta towns, Grand Isle, and Slidell took severe damage, but the great disaster in that state was the failure of the New Orleans levees which left much of the city under water for weeks. This created the largest humanitarian crisis in modern U.S. history, and impacted the national economy. A political firestorm also revolved around the clumsy evacuation and aid/recovery efforts.
Katrina is far and away the most destructive natural disaster in U.S. history, as of 2006. Damage is estimated at 81 billion dollars. Direct fatalities number around 1500, around 1300 of which occurred when the levees broke in New Orleans; most of other 200-odd fatalities were in coastal Mississippi. The total number of known deaths via direct and indirect causes is 1833. Many residents of New Orleans have not returned home. The population of the city is little more than half what it was in the summer of 2005, a year later. The government has committed billions beyond the storm losses to recovery. Economic impact of the storm is on par with or exceeds that of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Offshore petroleum drilling operations previously damaged by Hurricane Ivan were decimated by Katrina, and production has yet to recover--the storm delivered a tangible shock to the nation's economy.
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