When the storm made landfall, it had a Category 3 rating on
the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale–it brought sustained winds of 100–140 miles
per hour–and stretched some 400 miles across. The storm itself did a great deal
of damage, but its aftermath was catastrophic. Levee breaches led to massive
flooding, and many people charged that the federal government was slow to meet
the needs of the people affected by the storm. Hundreds of thousands of people
in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama were displaced from their homes, and
experts estimate that Katrina caused more than $100 billion in damage.
What has been done to prevent future hurricane damage?
Corps engineers have increased levee height and replaced many
of the old levee system's concrete I-shaped walls with T- and L-shaped walls,
which consist of steel support beams that extend as far as 65 feet (19.8
meters) below sea level and will provide better support, should the levees fill
to near capacity during a future storm. Pump stations are also being
storm-proofed.
It was certainly a devastating time. So many lives have changed because of that storm. I hope several lessons were learned to help prevent future catastrophes but in our ever changing environment, the weather seems to be getting harder to predict.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to believe it's been 10 years already, and like Amy said, hopefully lessons were learned and preparations are being made. Unfortunately with climate change and a warming trend around the world, it looks like devastating storms will become more frequent with Hurricane Sandy standing as a recent example.
DeleteI had the opportunity to visit Gulf Port MS 10 months after Katrina hit. I had been there in 1986 and was amazed to see the destruction. Building knocked down or sides of building missing. The thing that me the saddest or most upset was the "contractors" who came there and basically ripped of the people doing little to no work or just bad work in general.
ReplyDeleteI visited New Orleans the summer before last and it was unbelievable to me that there were parts of the city that still hadn't recovered all of these years later. It was sad to see the markings on the houses that they had searched for bodies in the days after the storm.
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