Hurricane Katrinas Effects - Essay Example

Introduction: Hurricane Katrina is considered to be one of the most catastrophic events to have ever occurred in the United s of America. The most devastating storm in the 100 years of the country’s history not only left the residents of the places where it hit completely stranded, but also had innumerable implications on all spheres of the nation’s standing. In addition to that it gave rise to numerous complications and prompted endless flood of questions. These questions were related to the issues such as why the management failed to fully evacuate the city? Why was there such a deficiency in the aid provided? Was there any effect on the extent of Hurricane Katrina of the human activities? Was the catastrophe prompted by the land use practices along the Gulf Coast? Can Global Warming be considered as one of the factors that impelled the storm to such appalling proportions? What effect would it have on the over all nation’s economy? These are just some of the questions that started arising in the utter confusion after the disaster. Since the time that Katrina hit, the tropical storms and hurricane activity in the Atlantic have been well above normal. The arrival of Katrina actually signified a continuation of the trend in 1995 (Hurricane Katrina: A Scientist’s Response). The development of hurricanes had an average of 7.7 hurricanes and 3.6 major hurricanes yearly between 1995 and 2005, while in the previous 25 years the average had been 5 hurricanes and 1.5 major hurricanes. (Hurricane Katrina: A Scientist’s Response 2005) New Orleans, which was directly in the eye of the hurricane, sits in the middle of the flood plain of the Mississippi river. This mighty river like most rivers of such a scale overflowed its banks inundating the surrounding area which threatened the wellbeing of the communities surrounding that area. Katrina arrived in the busiest hurricane seasons of the Atlantic Ocean by the end of which 24 tropical storms had formed. Out of these thirteen became hurricanes including seven classified as being category-3 and higher. (Hurricane Katrina: Possible Causes 2005) Date of Event: Hurricane Katrina was one of the most calamitous hurricanes to have ever hit the American soil. It completely devastated New Orleans, Louisiana and other communities settled on the Gulf Coast when it came ashore on August 29, 2005 (Hurricane Katrina: Possible Causes 2005). It made landfall on Louisiana after crossing South Florida and gaining strength over the Gulf of Mexico at 6:10 A.M local time. At 9:45 A.M, the Katrina centre moved ashore near Louisiana and Mississippi border and continued to move north through Mississippi with a constant hurricane intensity of almost 100 miles inland. Katrina moved north over the next two days, moving through the lower Mississippi Valley into the Ohio River Valley region while spreading destructing winds and dozens of tornados (Johnson 2006). Cause of Event: Hurricane Katrina began on very low pressure scale which strengthened to become a tropical storm eventually turning into a hurricane of quite a high intensity. Hurricane Katrina was formed as a result of a tropical wave and the remains of a tropical depression 10 over the Bahamas on August 23, 2010 (Parul 2009). On average periods of frequent tropical storms and hurricanes have occurred every 25 years and lasted about as long followed by equal periods of less than normal activity. Scientists consider this phenomenon to be caused as a result of meteorological activity (Hurricane Katrina: A Scientist’s Response) Hurricane Katrina was basically caused by the factors that cause any other hurricane. The most influential factors triggering the mechanism of a hurricane are as follows: i. A source of warm moist air derived from tropical oceans’ surfaces. ii. Temperature greater than 26 degree centigrade iii. Sufficient spin from the rotating earth (in relation to its latitude) A current of warm moist air rises up quickly as the warm sea heats the air above it, creating a low pressure centre at the surface. This low pressure are is then rushed in by the trade winds and the inward spiralling winds whirl upwards in turn releasing heat and moisture before descending. The spin of the earth then causes the rising column to twist gradually taking on the form of a cylinder. This cylinder then whirls around a relatively still air free from clouds. The rising air then cools producing towering clouds. The cloud tops are carried outwards to give a thick layer due to the outward spiralling winds leaving the hurricane core. The hurricane basically gains energy from the war water evaporated from tropical seas. This energy is then stored in the water vapour content of the moist air. The release of the energy warms the air locally causing a further decrease in the pressure and giving further rise to the towering cumulus clouds further pushing the momentum of the hurricane (Jinman, Antony 2008) Now, some of the recent study has shown a correlation between warmer ocean surface temperatures and the intensity of tropical storms and hurricanes which actually indicates the slight involvement of the factor of global warming in the scenario. Though it’s still too early to determine the extent of its impact, experts do believe that global warming can prove to be fatal in this respect as well. According to the research if the global warming continues to be on the rise at this current rate it will cause an increase not only in the pattern of such storms and hurricanes but also result in an increase of their intensity. That’s why we can say that warming of the oceans might have been a cause of the greater push of Hurricane Katrina. (Hurricane Katrina: A Scientists’ Response 2005) The wetlands along the Gulf Coastal areas are the ones that provide the first line defence that limit the access of hurricanes to the warm open ocean water that derives them by creating a physical barrier to the flood waters that they generate. Now, these coastal wetlands have been shrinking over the past few decades as the periodic river flooding no longer provides the nutrients and sediments that it once did that’s why the we can say that the defence system before the catastrophe of Hurricane Katrina hit had already been weakened otherwise the extent of it might not have been so severe. (Hurricane Katrina: Wetland Destruction 2005) In addition to that the extent of the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina was also intensified specifically in New Orleans due to the failure of the levee system because of the presence of flaws in its design and lack of maintenance. Nearly all the levees in the city got breached, flooding 80% of its area and nearby parishes causing a major loss to the lives of people as well as the infrastructure. (Solanki 2009) Size of Event: Hurricane Katrina was formed on August 23, 2005 and it dissipated on August 30, 2005. The highest level of its winds was of 175 mph with the lowest value for the pressure being 902 mbar. The total areas affected by it include Bahamas, South Florida, Cuba, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida Panhandle and most of the eastern United States causing the death toll to rise above 1800 and the resulting in a loss of $ 80,000,000,000 (2005 USD). Extent of Event and Damaged Caused: The impact of Hurricane Katrina has been given below with respect to three dimensions: Social Impact: the people living in the areas hit by Hurricane were the ones that had were most adversely affected by this catastrophe. Around 1836 people lost their lives with more than 700 unaccounted for the cause of which was not only the deaths by the direct hit of hurricane but also caused loss of lives of those who survived due to the lack of food and diseases for which medication was not available due to a lack of provision of aid (Dillow 2009). In addition to that the survivors were greatly distressed and suffered severely from emotional and psychological stress. In addition to that the loss to the personal property and belongs of the people was of disastrous proportions. People not only lost a roof for shelter and food for survival but they also lost all means of income and employment. There was no social security of the people and the lack of the aid provided left them stranded on their roof tops fighting for their survival. (Hurricane Katrina’s Effects 2006) Aside from that, the crime rates were also heightened in the areas hit by the Katrina as the people were forced to break into stores to retrieve food and other supplies for their survival and the survival of their families. Other than that there were also looters who taking advantage of the situation broke into places stealing goods. These criminals when hunted by the authorities, opened fire in turn killing many of the officials. (The Effects of Hurricane Katrina 2005) Economic impact: The impact of Hurricane Katrina was not just restricted to the local environment but it also had a calamitous impact on the national and global settings. In terms of its industry impacts there was a temporary loss of crude oil out up to 90% and in natural gas production the loss was up to 70%. 12% of the refineries were shut down. It also had an impact on shipping and logistics due to the closure of the port in New Orleans. Loss of fishing and agriculture (rise industry as well sugar cane crops 40%) including the complete shutdown of many businesses were caused by this hurricane (Ruffa 2008) There was a $5 billion revenue loss for Louisiana due to a 15% loss of its sales, income and valorem tax. Texas became the primary destination for the evacuees which estimated a $1 billion budget for their education and health care. Finally Mississippi also lost 25% of its tax base (Ruffa 2008) On macroeconomic scale the U.S government had to suffer from the from higher energy prices. There was a rise in the gasoline prises and natural gas prices. There was an immense increase in the overall inflation level pushing the producer/consumer price rates to almost double. There was also an increase in transportation costs, building material prices as well as a loss to the national output or GDP. The after effects of the Hurricane Katrina also caused an increase in the oil price level globally and also caused an $80 billion loss to global insurance and reinsurance companies. The total loss that the U.S government had to suffer was around $81 billion (2005 USD) nearly triple the damage caused by Hurricane Andrew in 1992 (Morato 2008). Environmental Impact: The environmental damages and the threats to the public health have been the longest lasting implications of the Hurricane Katrina. It has turned out to be the most fatal disaster to the public health and the environment. After the hurricane the industrial wastes, household sewage, oil, toxic chemicals and other hazardous pollutants have swept across all the areas hit by it including the neighbouring regions. (Sandhyarani 2009) According to research, the samples of flood water contained high amounts of E- coli bacteria as well as other toxic chemicals which posed a great threat to health of humans, animals etc. The groundwater reserves which were the major source of drinking water had also been contaminated. In addition to that the area that was flooded had the remains of a putrid smell that hung in the air. Six large oil spills had also been reported releasing 6 million gallons of sludge and over 300 smaller spills. The high level of contamination had not only rendered the area to be dangerous for humans but also posed a threat to the wild life and the water bodies. The environmentalists are of the opinion the ecology and biodiversity would continue to suffer from the impacts of this hurricane for many years to come (Levine 2005). Likelihood of Reoccurrence: According to research scientists believe that the natural disasters such as this Hurricane Katrina have become more frequent over the past few decades and one of the culprits of that could be global warming (Hurricane Katrina: A Scientist’s Response 2005). Though some scientists might appose the idea of global warming in relation to this hurricane, but some scientists all around the world do have a general consensus on one thing being the impact of human activities on the increasing whether shifts. According to American Meteorological Society now there will be an intense precipitation and regional shifts n the patterns of rainfall which may lead to persistent droughts and floods. Plus Union of Concerned Scientists do point out that with the increase in the rainfall pattern as well as the melting glaciers will cause the sea level to rise raising the possibility of the reoccurrence of natural calamities such as Hurricane Katrina. It is said that if you live in a river plain, expect the unexpected from now on. Same goes for cities of California and Ohio where California is at the greatest risk of getting flooded with the levees being over 100 years old without being upgraded. Experts have said that there is almost a 60% chance of levee breaches in some areas around the city (Bass 2008). In case of Ohio another Katrina like disaster might be on the horizon as parts of it have already seen unusual flooding. This scenario is not a concern of the few with the beach view but is an issue that needs to be addressed globally as we all need to do our part in preventing the activities that is deteriorating our planet. On the other hand the coastal wetlands have been shrinking and deteriorating over the past few decades. In turn the instability of coastal wetlands is also increasing the likelihood of devastation if another hurricane hit the Gulf Region. (Hurricane Katrina: Wetland Destruction 2005) There is another aspect to this whole scenario and that is even if the frequency and the intensity of the hurricanes remain unchanged catastrophes such as Hurricane Katrina are bound to become more common the reason being the fact that more people than ever before live in hurricane prone areas of United States. The hurricanes that hit Florida in the 1940’s and 50’s caused relatively less damage due to its scarce population at that time while Katrina caused more than 1800 people to die. (Hurricane Katrina: A Scientist’s Response 2005) How Adjustments can be made to manage the Disaster: Every year thousands of people lose their lives in natural catastrophes such as Hurricane Katrina and cause billions of loss to the economy of the nation. Most of the times the damage caused by such disasters is inevitable and cannot be avoided. The first step that can be taken in order to manage the areas that are prone to such disasters is to have a proper disaster management strategy. It constitutes the development of a systematic approach towards preparing for disasters before they hit which includes factors such as disaster response, emergency evacuation, and mass decontamination etc (Business Wire 2008). In addition to that, it also inculcates supporting and rebuilding of the society after the disaster has occurred. All of this can only be managed successful through the full cooperation of government as well as non-government involvement. The level of disaster preparedness, emergency and post disaster management are highly dependent on the economic and the social conditions of the area that is hit. Though, in all the scenarios the basic steps for better management in case of a disaster are almost the same. The first step to counter a disaster is the factor of preparedness. It constitutes the development of a proper strategy that inculcates the development of a proper communication channel that can be used in case of a disaster, chain of command development, training and development of emergency services and emergency warning systems along with emergency evacuation plans with pre-determined shelter sites. The next step then would be enhancing the response level of emergency service providers such as mobilization of fire fighters, ambulances and police on the primary level and then the specialist rescue teams on the secondary level. The areas should also have a development plan for the restoration of destroyed property, employment and redevelopment by taking appropriate steps such as adopting insurance policies. Mitigation efforts aimed at preventing the hazards turn into a disaster or reduce the impact of them should also be adopted. The above points actually provide the primary steps that should be adopted by all the communities lining in areas that are threatened to get hit by natural calamities as well as provides an essential guideline emergency operations teams for the disaster management and the recovery plan. (Reduce National Disaster Impact 2008) Summary Date of Event: 29th August, 2005. Date of formation of Hurricane Katrina: 23rd August, 2005. Date of dissipation: 31st August, 2005 Highest level of winds: 175 mph and lowest pressure: 902 mbar. Areas affected: Bahamas, South Florida, Cuba, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida Panhandle and most of eastern United States. Death toll: 1836 Total loss to U.S government: $81 billion (2005 usd) Cause of event: Formed as a result of Tropical Depression 10. Global Warming. Deterioration and shrinkage of wetlands. Failure of the levee system. Damage Caused: Loss of lives. Loss of personal property and belongings. Increase in crime rate. Loss of industries Rise in energy prices. Rehabilitation issues. Inflation. Contamination of environment. Endangerment of human health as well as other species. References Bass, Trystan 2008, Could it happen again? Yahoo Green, viewed 28 April, 2010, http://green.yahoo.com/blog/greenpicks/116/could-it-happen-again.html Dillow, Clay 2009, Fast History: Hurricane Katrina Makes Landfall in New Orleans, 2005, imdb, viewed 29 April, 2010, http://www.imdb.com/news/ni0955886/ Hurricane Katrina: Possible Causes 2005, Teachers’ Domain, viewed 25 April 2010, http://www.teachersdomain.org/resource/ess05.sci.ess.watcyc.katrinadoc/ Hurricane Katrina: A Scientist’s Response 2005, Teachers’ Domain, viewed 25 April 2010, http://www.teachersdomain.org/resource/ess05.sci.ess.watcyc.katrinavid/ Hurricane Katrina: Wetland Destruction 2005, Teachers’ Domain, viewed 26 April 2010, http://www.teachersdomain.org/resource/ess05.sci.ess.watcyc.katrinawet/ Hurricane Katrina’s Effects 2006, Oppapers, viewed 27 April 2010, http://www.oppapers.com/essays/Hurricane-Katrinas-Effects/80376?topic Jinman, Antony 2008, What is a hurricane? 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