The Effects of Hurricane Katrina - Essay Example

The Effects of Hurricane Katrina Introduction Hurricane Katrina was among the most powerful and firm storms (besides Hurricane Camille, Hurricane Andrew, Hurricane Charley, and the Labor Day Hurricane) that hit the projecting mass of land in Florida, United States in 29, August 2005. This hurricane began as a slight hitch in the weather system but then gained momentum bringing forth an equatorial stifling storm and in the course of time, it became a tempest. Cities like New Orleans, Gulfport, and LA endured the wrath of this force and the damage it brought with it was absolute and severe. Almost 80% of New Orleans city was covered with floods. About 1800 people lost their lives to the hurricane; property of $80 billion worth belonging to the Orleanais was damaged, and in August 2005, after the floods swept in, millions of civilians were left with no homes. Hurricane Katrina was graded the sixth among the strongest storms that had ever been experienced and was the costliest. The strength of this storm waved to over 30 deep sea miles and when it was at its extreme, the winds from the hurricane covered more that 75 deep sea miles from the central point moving on to the east side. Over 400,000 employees lost their jobs following hurricane Katrina and this led to the financial crisis suffered by the Gulf Coast. This paper will discuss the effects and impacts on the reservation price on the housing market in New Orleans before and after the catastrophe (Bergal, 2007). Katrina engendered storm outpours and deluges, which in turn led to a 75% area flooding in the metropolitan of New Orleans. More than half of the embankment and failures in the floodwalls were brought into being by overlapping in that, as the storm outpours aggravated farther up the acmes of either or both the embankments and their floodwalls, the subsequent erosions fructified than expected and gave rise to breaches/failures. The most articulate and coherent missteps included the failures that took place on the banks adjacent to the 17th street and London avenue estuaries. These three failures could have resulted from the implosion and inadequacy in part of the basal foundation soil concealing the levees, conjointly with sand boils and sinkholes. According to analysts, Hurricane Katrina caused the death of more than 1,100 Louisiana residents. One third of the incidences of death took place in hospitals and shelters in flooded areas. The drowned victims made up to two thirds and the most of the casualties were elderly people because 60% of the reported cases were those of people aged 65 and over. The number of deaths was higher in areas with large water depths. Hurricane Katrina and the Social Contract Game theory Arguably, if the destruction that New Orleans went through resulted from terrorist attacks, it would have been ranked highest historically (Miller, 2006). This is not as a result of the many innocent lives that were lost or the valuable property that went into destruction, but because of the evident social order destruction in the region. A terrorist envision would bring nothing better than planting seed of hatred and watering them with the blood of innocent citizens, and increasing the mistrust among the government and the citizens in fulfilling their respective duties in the “social contract”. Socrates arguments gives a clear trace of the social contract concept though scholars like Thomas Hobbes, John Locke and the likes of Rousseau later modernized the concept (Binmore, 1998). To analyses the concept, late 20th century scholars used game-theoretic reasoning. In this, they concentrated on thee 2*2 matrix games. The most accurate 2*2 game is the “Stag Hunt”. Taking after Rousseau, it gives a description of developing cooperative effort ideas among human generations. Player 2 Hunt Stag (Cooperate) Hunt Hare (Defect) Player 1 Hunt Stag (Cooperate) 4,4 1,3 Hunt Hare (Defect) 3,1 2,2 What the above Table on Stag Hunt elaborates is the fact that with cooperation, it is easier to realize excellent results that when work is individualized. In other words, all parties feel the objective of collective work. This illustration presents hunters who may cooperate to realize better results or refuse to cooperate but realize worse results. In the real case, the illustration best fits the Katrina issue. When the individuals were cut off from getting good food and enough water, not forgetting the medicine, the affected found looting the only solution better than that linked to respecting private property. The immune to restricted law enforcement was found in involvement in violent crimes. Further still, the increased floods, power outages, and the ineffective communication and the destroyed transport sector faced by those with the obligation to ensure law is enforced, the officers opted payoff from personal and family protection ware far better than the payoff they would realize in doing their official duty (Binmore, 1998). In essence, therefore, and in respect to the above game theory, the most affected populaces in New Orleans municipal included the ninth ward and St. Bernard parish, a neighboring region. These two societies had a combined population of approximately 87,000 people and occupied a 72 square mile area. Architecture and design of buildings in this area were made up of woodwork. Attributable to the hurricane Katrina and the floods, all the residents occupying structures in the lower ninth ward and St. Bernard parish were displaced because none of the residences in these areas remained habitable. Plaquemines parish was also gravely impacted on by hurricane Katrina in such a way that, the parish seat (point a la Hache) was immersed and deluged to almost over 15 feet depth. The intensified floods picked up the wooden homes and let them float from the foundations that held them then stashed them across river Mississippi’s embankment. Prior to hurricane Katrina, the biggest number of homes blighted and annihilated by the previous storms was 28,000 destroyed by hurricane Andrew. However, Hurricane Katrina blotted out a rough estimate of over 200,000 homes. The impacts and effects that lay upon the construction industry in relation to expenses and claims will be experienced even in times to come. The losses that faced the New Orleans municipality were tragic and cataclysmal. The city of New Orleans began its rebuilding strategies and working on ways to enhance and stabilize the flood protection system in preparation of the next hurricane season that began in June 2006. Literature review Before The Hurricane Earlier on, Salter & King (2009) argue that the global demand and booming business in the United States housing market, which made available new residences, increased the prices of mucilage, cement, and steel. The construction industry saw an immense elevation in the prices for steel materials in 2004. The industry further faced stiff hikes in cement and timber prices. The hiked prices were aimed at increasing the commercial projects thus an increase in bids, a benefit to the investors. After The Hurricane A while later after the hurricane, the construction industry was hoping that they would get a remedy and be relieved from inflation and intensification in building costs. Even though the industry was imperceptibly recuperating from the wave of aggrandizement in 2005, brimming extents ambiguity, and doubt is ineligible. The opinionated industry watchers presume that in order to counterbalance the risk of doubt, the most uncertain projects should be given the highest bid. As of now, construction aggregate materials to a third (1/3) of the integral building cost. The intensity in elevation of the prices for construction materials pressurizes the builders to make a choice, whether to make low profits or to sell the new homes and outlines at a higher cost (Miller, 2006). The factors that led to hiking of prices were numerous. For instance, oil shortages resulting from hurricane Katrina affected the fundamental framework developers who solely depended on cement mixers powered by diesel and other accouterments, more than homebuilders did. Correspondingly, the hike in prices of natural gas heightened the cost of roofing materials, paints, and aureole used by heavy equipment (Salter & King, 2009). An estimate of about 8.5% increase in prices of the nonferrous wire and cable and other construction materials was noted in August 2005 as compared to the previous month the same year. Some experts fathom that hurricane Katrina led to increased construction costs up to 2 years later. Above all, trained and partially skilled workforce has been deposited in the affected areas (Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama), to make the rebuilding strategy a success. Residential The residential housing industry up to date suffers the effects of hurricane Katrina. For example, Orleans parish, a region that once contained the most population suffers the problem of under population. Before the catastrophe, the census conducted revealed that this particular parish had over 490,000 occupants. After the hurricane, less than 100,000 people had come back to their homes because they had nowhere else to go. St Bernard parish alike was a bit scarcely populated as compared to the Orleans parish. Before hurricane Katrina, the residents of St. Bernard Parish were 80,000 people. Later on after the hurricane, none of these residents came back to the parish because there were no homes left (McNulty, 2008). Commercial Construction All projects on construction that were in progress during hurricane Katrina are currently implementing methods of curbing the weather related delays and the shortage of materials keeping in mind the possible curtailment and deficit of labor. In the long run, the primary goal and focus is rebuilding the infrastructure. Some of the projects included large scale bulldozing and clearing of the incompletely erect section 8 housing within and without New Orleans, the mending and restoration of the twin pans (1-10 East) departing from Louisiana, over Pontchatrain Lake, and cushioning and fixing the embankments invulnerability system. The large-scale projects were mostly run by the government and employed skilled and qualified contractors to carry out the job. However, Biloxi/Gulfport in Mississippi coastal area was an exception. The casinos in this area were to be rebuilt and fixed on land unlike before the hurricane whereby the casinos were anchored at dockside. Claims The number of claims arising after the catastrophe was dramatic. Some time later after the storm, the affected areas filed for insurance for their damaged properties. The rate at which the insurance claims were being recorded was higher that the insurance industry had ever anticipated. The insurance claims seem to have no direct impact on the construction industry. This is a misconception because once the insured has been paid off and recovered from the losses sustained, depending on the amounts derived; the person or entities’ financial position in question is at risk and so is their ability rebuild or even begin new projects. Nevertheless, lest the insurance companies ignore and exclude the blight kind of claims, the number of cases of this sort will keep rising. The compounded amount of the cost of damages caused by hurricane Katrina was approximated to be $96 to $125 billion with more or less than $66 billion in insured losses. The floods in New Orleans caused half of the estimated losses. The claims relayed by the commercial construction sector were numerous. The combined forces of landfalls, coerced evacuations, and floods caused the delay of building projects. The occurrence of these events led to material shortage that greatly affected the commercial sector. Conclusion As evident in this paper, the calamity and the consequential chaos that destroyed the Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama regions were beyond anything ever experienced. Five years down the line, the scars that the gulf coast sustained from the hurricane are still fresh. The violent and fierce winds and waves erodes the islands, destroyed thousands of plants and trees and turned swamp lands into enormous inland bodies of water. Experts dread that if storms like hurricane Katrina keep recurring and killing trees, the forestry department will be lost forever. Sadly, more than 700 people are still on the missing list due to hurricane Katrina. This storm demolished more than the reported 275,000 homes leaving thousands of people without places to reside in. A rough estimate of over 600,000 pets were lost or left homeless, others died due to the drastic weather. Disaster analysts state that the protection system and preparedness for such and other natural disasters had flaws. Most importantly, New Orleans strategy to rebuild the levees and create new ones that can bear another storm like Katrina in preparation to other forth-coming hurricanes seems promising (Eidman, 2013). Though the healing process is under way, some scientists state that things will never get back to the way they were. References Bergal, J., & Center for Public Integrity. (2007). City adrift: New Orleans before and after Katrina. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press. Miller, B. S. 2006. No such thing as a free lunch: Hurricane Katrina and the Davis-bacon act. Review of law and social justice, Vol 16. Iss. 1. Binmore, K. (1998). Game theory and the social contract: 2. Cambridge, Mass: The MIT Press. Eidman, K. F. (2013). Coming home to New Orleans: Neighborhood rebuilding after Katrina. Oxford: Oxford University Press. MacKenzie, R. & Levendis, J. (2010). Flood hazards and urban housing markets: The effects of Katrina on New Orleans. Journal of Real Estate Finance & Economics, 40, 62-76 Mark S. S., Cooper & Scully, P.C. (2006). HURRICANE KATRINA AND ITS POTENTIAL IMPACT ON THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY. Retrieved on April 4, 2013, from http://www.cooperscully.com/Files/Seminars/Senter-HurricaneKatrinaPaperOnly.pdf McCarthy, K. F., Hanson, M., & Rand Corporation. (2008). Post-Katrina recovery of the housing market along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Gulf States Policy Institute. McNulty, I. (2008). A season of night: New Orleans life after Katrina. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi. Salter, P. S. & King, W. E. (2009). Price Adjustment and Liquidity in a Residential Real Estate Market with an Accelerated Information Cascade. JRER, Vol. 31, Iss. 4, pp. 421- 454. Vigdor, J. (2008). The economic aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 22(4), 135-154. Read More