Hurricane Katrina was one of the most intense natural disasters ever recorded in the Atlantic. We invite you to learn all about the events that occurred, its intensity, material damage, deaths, and much more in this interesting article.
History of Hurricane Katrina
This tropical storm was number twelve in the order of formation of the so-called hurricane season in the Atlantic Ocean in 2005. It was formed as a result of the encounter between a tropical expansion and the tropical concavity. This was generated on August 23 of that same year in the Bahamas, specifically to the southeast of the archipelagos.
A day later (August 24) that confluence was considered a tropical storm due to the increase in its intensity, when it was considered a storm, it was given the name Katrina. As it made its way towards the coast of Florida, its strength continued to increase in such a way that just one day later (August 25), shortly before making landfall, it reached the categorization of a hurricane.
The hurricane decreased its intensity as it continued to advance, thereby lowering its status to a storm again. However, Katrina would return to hurricane status just 60 minutes after entering the Gulf of Mexico. On the well-known Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale, Hurricane Katrina managed to reach category three just two days after making landfall.
The scope of that category would also earn it recognition as the third largest storm of that season. After having undergone a replacement cycle of one of its walls that made up the eye of the storm, it would lower its strength level, however this would double its size.
Hurricane Katrina , 24 hours after reaching Category 3, intensified to Category 5 on the hurricane scale. With winds exceeding 275 kilometers per hour and a pressure of over 900 millibars, Katrina became one of the four most powerful hurricanes ever recorded in the Atlantic.
However, that same season of 2005 would be surpassed by Hurricane Wilma and Rita. Katrina would also be the strongest ever recorded in the Gulf of Mexico, only being dethroned by Hurricane Rita.
This storm would rapidly increase in power and would be considered one of the most destructive in modern history, causing the greatest number of tragedies of the season in 2005. Hurricane Katrina 's passage left the greatest economic damage and a large number of deaths in the United States.
It was undoubtedly one of the deadliest and most destructive hurricanes seen in the Atlantic Ocean, causing approximately more than two thousand deaths and more than 108.000 billion dollars in material losses (figure registered with the US dollar of the year 2005) only in the United States. .
Comparing in deaths to Hurricane San Felipe II in the 1928 season and far surpassing Hurricane Andrew in material damage in the 1992 season. From its formation on August 23 to the 27 of that same month, Hurricane Katrina passed 5 to category one, touring the state of Florida in the United States, left multiple floods and several deaths.
This before increasing its strength and moving up from category 3 to 5 in the Gulf of Mexico. Subsequently, Katrina would lose strength a few hours before having category three again when it hit the ground for the 2nd time in Louisiana, 6 days after its formation in the Bahamas.
The largest number of people killed by Hurricane Katrina was recorded in New Orleans, also due to the floods caused by the collapse of its levees, more than 75% of the city was flooded for weeks. Katrina also destroyed the coasts from Florida to the state of Texas as a result of its force.
The most relevant economic damage was carried out in coastal areas, such as flooding in cities near the coast located in Mississippi, the destruction of an incredible number of boats, casinos and docks. The ships that were dragged by the huge and extensive waves that managed to take a distance of up to almost 20 km, collided with the buildings, houses and other structures of the cities.
The hurricane had a notable change in terms of its strength, going from category 3 to 5. The peculiarity of the change is presented in the short time it took to reach this last category, this was due to the waters of the floods in the currents of Lazo, this generated an increase in speed in the winds of the storm.
Impact of Hurricane Katrina
Six days after its formation, Hurricane Katrina caused the total collapse of the levees in the city of New Orleans, causing more than 50 breaches in them. As a consequence, approximately 80% of this city was flooded. Two years after the disaster, a study carried out would show that these floods would also be generated by the different inefficiencies in the retaining walls.
The beginning of the damage generated by the hurricane was estimated at more than 80 billion dollars (a figure given in 2005 US dollars), but later it would easily exceed one hundred billion dollars, being the most destructive of all hurricanes recorded in the Atlantic to date.
The number of deceased people was to rise to more than 1800 approximately. The vast majority of victims were going to be registered in Louisiana with more than 1500, Mississippi was going to be second with more than 230 and in Louisiana, 136 individuals were going to be declared missing.
Actions executed by the government
After Hurricane Katrina passed through the United States, the current government, being for that year the president of the nation George Bush, begins with a strategic plan taking as the main source of action the basis of planning in conjunction with the members of the force operational that make life in the white house, in order to deliberate about the natural phenomenon that made its way on American soil.
This with the primary purpose of developing proposals for the immediate recovery of the spaces that were strongly impacted by Hurricane Katrina during its tour of various cities in the nation, all of this carried out from the White House.
Katrina, for its part, takes a new direction that takes it towards the spaces of the state of Florida, for which the authorities in charge of studying and monitoring hurricanes, at that time, remained behind the trail and route that Hurricane Katrina was making. Coming to detect that before his suspicions this would touch the New Orleans area.
In full expectation, the US government deploys all the equipment of the personnel belonging to the coast guard that was put on alert and warned of the critical situation that existed in some states that were touched by the strong winds of Hurricane Katrina.
The efforts to safeguard the lives of the inhabitants of some of the most affected areas, such as Florida, were overcome thanks to the fact that the airlines were working with great perseverance to rescue a large part of the residents or inhabitants of the affected area.
The natural disaster continued on August 29, and although the aircraft that were collaborating with the rescue of people, they suffered great collateral damage, and yet the cooperation continued.
For his part, George Bush made the decision to forcefully decree a state of emergency in some areas that had been greatly affected by the trail of Hurricane Katrina in those places specifically.
In general, the situation seemed to worsen, with great disturbance the results obtained by the arrival of Katrina in certain regions such as Mississippi, which also greatly affected the physical structure of the place, in fact it was in this area that numerous rescues were carried out of individuals and families living on the site.
Progressively the hurricane was studied as the days passed, this of course with the purpose of being attentive and prevented to know what environmental phenomenon the United States was facing, thus, the studies around Katrina reflected the size and scope that it really possessed. The hurricane then expands, a maximum alarm in the area of Florida and Louisiana, considering the violent passage of Katrina through these places.
A fact that led the authorities to take quite significant drastic measures, even disabling the area for weeks due to the devastation and material damage caused by the visit of this natural phenomenon that greatly impacted the regions mentioned above.
After these events, the current president consecutively decides that the city of New Orleans be totally evacuated due to the state of alarm generated by the passage of Hurricane Katrina through this and other places.
To avoid human losses, the authorities continue to study the situation in each of the most affected areas such as Florida, New Orleans, Mississippi, and the Louisiana region, for which some had already been vacated. It is then ordered that the Mississippi coast be vacated, for which at least 1,3 million occupants had been transferred to a safe zone, as well as the residents of New Orleans.
In Mississippi, security forces were prepared, organized and activated, including the National Guard, to carry out strategic plans that went hand in hand with prevention and protection to face the passage of the hurricane through the state.
In this way, the government cabinet orders the intervention of the Emergency Operations Center to cooperate in the current threat situation. Among the structured organization, it is recorded that as of August 28 there were some 58 refugee camps located in the coastal communities, taking into account the alarm situation and progressive evacuations, there was the option of activating some 35 more shelters in case of be required.
The strategic plan that was carried out in the state of Mississippi required the evacuation of the inhabitants present in the area, for which the vacancy was planned by sections or phases, this taking into account and forecasting that the hurricane was approaching reaching the took place in about 50 hours, impacting the first line of the coast, while in the second section of the coast it was determined that the hurricane would impact in approximately 40 hours.
Faced with the state of emergency, there were several misfortunes with the evacuations, since some of the special care centers did not have the necessary resources to comply with the requirement to leave the place as the authorities had indicated, since they did not have with a transport service that will carry out the transfer of patients to a safe area.
To resolve this dilemma, the state decides to delegate school transportation for the immediate transfer of people belonging to these institutions, but despite this, this initiative was not enough, since at the time there were no drivers present who would take carry out the transfer of said persons. This fact was a direct consequence of the non-channeling by the white governor.
The governor did not prevent providing a permit that would implement and allow any driver to carry out the work of transferring people confined in care institutions. Therefore, despite this, there were no other possible options and the transfer was carried out in this way.
About 1,4 people had been evacuated from New Orleans. By August 29, it is recorded that the entire infrastructure, including shops and other elements belonging to the market, had been closed.
Louisiana
The passage of Hurricane Katrina and its devastating results in several American cities, since specifically studied for a year, as expected, before science, and the implementation of new technologies, a diagnosis of the level of atmospheric temperature can be made, as well how to appreciate the possible approach of some natural phenomenon such as katrina.
Bearing in mind that Hurricane Katrina ranked categorically at number 5, in a certain sense the catastrophe was expected. And as a preventive measure, the city and its surroundings are evacuated.
Another of the events that occurred in this state has to do with the immense rainfall that was evidenced in Slidell, registering floods of great magnitude that raised the water level. In concrete terms, Pontchartrain was registered as one of the lakes that overflowed its waters in great levels.
As a result of these events marked by the precipitations of Katrina, near the adjacencies of Pontchartrain there are some parishes that were also strongly affected, since they were affected by the overflowing waters.
Florida St
While the other locations already mentioned, in Florida the reality was totally different, the residents of this area were somewhat unconcerned about the situation experienced in the nation, at that time, they still did not have the knowledge and scope that Hurricane Katrina has caused.
However, the forecasts made by the National Hurricane Center were unfolding taking into account that the intensity of the hurricane was highly destructive, and the population should be alerted to such a phenomenon, since the studies carried out show that the hurricane was approaching with strong winds. violent that would devastate everything that is in its path.
The governor of the state of Florida made good forecasts as well as the state of New Orleans, these forecasts being the immediate evacuation of the citizens who live in the place, and as a priority the eviction of the centers or care homes, the shelters were executed and put in place for immediate occupation.
Impact of Hurricane Katrina
As expected, the arrival of the hurricane on US soil unfolds a series of tragedies that, although it is true that the United States is a powerful country, the impact that Hurricane Katrina brought with it is considered a forceful episode that is recorded in history, due to the material damage, and the physical losses that occurred as a result of this natural tragedy that undoubtedly left great damage in its wake.
Damage caused by Hurricane Katrina
Following Hurricane Katrina , a report was published two years later, in 2007, detailing the extensive damage and destruction caused by the floods, which devastated everything in their path. One of the areas most affected was the Mississippi coast. The total amount of material losses was estimated at around one hundred billion dollars.
The number of deceased people who unfortunately were victims of the hurricane is estimated to be between 240 people who died in Mississippi, and around 1835 people in Louisiana, although a figure of 140 people was not yet defined as dead, but by then they are missing, until proven otherwise.
This natural phenomenon that devastated an alarming number of people, and caused great material losses to the nation, is classified as one of the most forceful tragedies that have developed to date, it is known that the hurricane caused imbalances of all kinds including failures electrical. Progressively by the year 2009, the accumulated debris that Katrina left through her visit was still being collected in the streets.
Results of Hurricane Katrina's path through Florida
With winds below Category 1, around 193 km/h, Katrina began its journey to Florida, accompanied by progressively increasing winds and heavy rainfall. As the days and hours passed, the hurricane increased its speed and destructive capacity, impacting the weather . This was compounded by the power outages caused by the intensifying storm.
In addition to the material damage, the environmental damage was also evident, as trees were uprooted by the strong winds. The Florida Keys were particularly hard hit, as the epicenter of a thunderstorm was located in this area.
Hurricane Katrina 's winds were far-reaching, and the islands were not spared. Their waters rose as the hurricane combined powerful winds with torrential rains, undoubtedly contributing significantly to the devastation, which is estimated at $6 million.
South Florida and Cuba
The Cuban territory was a registered area in which Katrina made landfall, according to the information provided by the Cuban authorities, the country also went through the same conditions as the United States, including the fall of telephone lines, as well as as multiple power failures caused by hurricane winds. Its register shows evacuations of large numbers of inhabitants.
Among all the events that occurred in the regions we have mentioned previously, when Hurricane Katrina passed through it was much more aggressive in the Mississippi area, taking into account of course that the presence of the winds in the different areas did not manifest itself in the same way in one locality as in another, the winds carried out in the Louisiana region also had great reach, with hurricanes within category 4.
The Florida Keys were also affected thanks to the winds that Katrina developed, taking into account that the hurricane unfolded towards the north of Florida, which later ended in very marked rainfall that in turn managed to penetrate the islands, where they also saw their expanded waters carried to great levels that are reflected in the high tides.
The tide in this town in Louisiana was quite alarming, an exact figure on the water levels reached is unknown, but it is taken into account that the storms reflected in this area were storms called cyclones. After its passage, Katrina caused floods of great magnitude, a fact that evidently caused the fall and destruction of infrastructures such as bridges and small elevated ones. In addition to the lack of electricity.
From bridges to increases in lakes in their water levels, one of the most affected infrastructures was the parish of St. Tammany, as well as the parish of St. Bernard, which were occupied by floods that caused enormous losses for which records 80% internal and external damage.
In turn, according to the data provided by the Department of Human Development, the loss of forests and large hectares of wetlands was one of the most regrettable, due to the hurricane winds in constant combination with cyclones that rose in the path of Hurricane Katrina. before the journey that he developed during his visit.
New Orleans
The scourge of the winds at great speed and magnitude, was truly impactful for the inhabitants of New Orleans, it was undoubtedly an episode that lasted for a few hours in that region, due to the absence of electricity supply, which due to the storm stopped working, a detailed study could not be carried out regarding the winds produced, since the measurements of these were not allowed to be carried out.
However, the conclusions offered by the National Hurricane Center was to determine that the winds produced were classified between category 2 and category 3. Some of the levees that are located in New Orleans deteriorated due to the impact of Katrina, with cracks, fall of pieces of some structures, affected this aspect of the dikes.
As we have mentioned before, the damages suffered were many, and in addition to these, the collapse of the entry and exit routes of the city of New Orleans is added, given the case of an emergency, the police authorities are one of the security forces that are authorized to transit through some route in relatively optimal conditions only for the transfer of some developing emergency.
Another infrastructure at a commercial level also suffered tremendous damage, better known as Hyatt Regency New Orleans, it is positioned as one of the hotels that was greatly affected by the whipping of the wind, impacting and generating a forceful crash against the windows, which ends for destroying the windows of the aforementioned hotel.
Airports represented a very vulnerable point at that time; of course, the facilities remained closed during Hurricane Katrina . The aforementioned hotel was used as the main resource for protection and shelter for many residents who had been evacuated from their homes.
Another overwhelming fact is the failure that occurred in the dam, which caused the death of a certain number of people. Testimonies of those who witnessed this tragedy claim to have seen the victims in some areas of the pavement, as well as people submerged in the waters. Later, after the rescue method, many of these bodies were found in great decomposition.
New Orleans was a state strongly affected by the passage of Katrina, leaving a large number of disasters that were truly valued at large monetary losses, since many structures were rebuilt.
Mississippi
Katrina in its passage through Mississippi left traces of great damage valued at billions of dollars, not counting the number of missing people, plus the number of deaths recorded in this area. The levels of destruction were exorbitant, from floods, destruction of bridges, houses totally destroyed, debris stagnant or in the streets, overturned cars, among other events, these are the most outstanding that were evidenced in Mississippi.
Hurricane Katrina, a Category 3 storm, moved rapidly across Mississippi, leaving behind cyclone-like winds with gusts of wind ranging from 8,3 meters to a depth of 11 kilometers. These storms whipped up the Mississippi River , causing widespread devastation. Katrina caused significant damage across the region, with the strongest winds felt in Mississippi.
With the hurricane, some tornadoes were unleashed that completely devastated the green areas counted as natural parks, and some areas with great vegetation. As in New Orleans, Mississippi counts as one of the states that were affected by the power outage caused by the passage of Katrina.
From 200 to 300 mm, rainfall increased, the tide was accompanied by cyclones, among some detrimental damages the destruction of the coasts became manifest, Hurricane Katrina to date is considered one of the most catastrophic natural disasters and strongly destructive in American history.
Other states and Canada
Some of the winds produced by the storm were detected in some areas of the United States, and although the hurricane was losing strength as it was in its final phase, despite this Katrina reached a reach of 50 mm that deployed several tornadoes and that in turn the damage was less than those recorded previously in Mississippi and New Orleans.
Some floods were recorded in areas such as Kentucky thanks to the passage of a storm and prolonged rains, which ended up causing the eviction of a certain number of people specifically in West Virginia. Finally what little remained of Hurricane Katrina was absorbed by a river flow.
Although there were three specific states that truly suffered detrimental damage at the infrastructure level, it does not mean that there were other states that also suffered from the passage of said storm, in total there were around eight states that were affected by the hurricane. Therefore, it is taken into account that given the developed situation, some states decided to provide support.
Impacts of Hurricane Katrina
Katrina, according to its arrival on American soil, leaves after its catastrophic journey great negative results that came to have a strong impact on the economy, and in the face of such a tragedy, the president allocates some 105.000 million dollars to carry out repairs to the infrastructure that was damaged during the stay. of the hurricane.
The damage caused goes hand in hand with the destruction of some coasts, floods, gasoline shortages, loss of some roads or highways to travel. Taking into account that the GDP for that year fell greatly.
For the year 2005 the United States was strongly affected economically, and as we have mentioned the numbers that reflect the gross domestic product fell greatly, however for the year 2006 the country resumes the boom of its economy again, managing to increase the results satisfactorily. of GDP.
Following Hurricane Katrina , oil exploration and extraction activities were completely paralyzed due to the environmental conditions at the time of Katrina's arrival. Taking this into account, the hurricane managed to destroy a considerable number of oil plants, and it is estimated that it also destroyed a total of 9 refineries.
The consequences of the stoppage were very forceful, since subsequently the price of crude oil, gasoline and gas rose by approximately 18%, a fact that ends up directly harming the airlines. While in states like Mississippi, some industries and businesses that process wood were also affected, because the storm destroyed a total of 5300 square kilometers of forested areas.
Taking into account the above, regarding the losses of the industries, some 5 billion dollars are estimated lost thanks to the damage caused by Katrina. In the face of all this situation, it is added to this list of damages that lead to affecting jobs, in the city of New Orleans, registering a considerable number that approaches 355 unemployment.
In Louisiana, a total of 13% unemployment was registered, a fact that leads to other dilemmas of a commercial nature, since in turn there were also considerable losses of houses, damage to built structures. Therefore, they were developed thanks to the high level of unemployment, and delays in fees in the case of people with leases.
Given all the disaster caused by the hurricane, a number of people made the decision to disperse to other areas of the country. For its part, the city that received the largest number of people was Chicago, taking into account that in affected cities such as New Orleans, only a total of 200 people lived after the storm. As in the state of Louisiana, which in 000 lost a large number of inhabitants in its locality.
Environmental impact
As expected, Hurricane Katrina had a considerable impact, with the environmental damage becoming readily apparent after the hurricane's end. This included the devastation of the coastlines and the resulting storm surges.
Given that Hurricane Katrina caused several disruptions due to the displacement of some coastal sands, which led to natural imbalances, the fauna, which includes numerous species and inhabited these waters, was greatly affected.
The development of Hurricane Katrina caused further disruptions that led to the closure of 16 wildlife refuges. One of the most striking events was the devastation of the Breton Refuge, which lost 50% of its area. This refuge suffered a considerable loss, and in terms of ecosystem characteristics, it was not in entirely favorable condition.
Among the main habitats affected are the following:
- The one with the white-footed mice
- The Marine turtles
- Different birds like the woodpecker and sandhill crane
In another order of ideas, it should be noted that there were also oil spills that, as a consequence, moved towards some of the ecosystems, causing harmful damage. Taking this into account, in contrast to other hurricanes that have happened in other times, such as Hurricane Ivan, this one did not develop such disasters as the scope that Katrina obtained when it devastated the United States.
Violence
Given the situation that arose in the country, not everything could be controlled, situations of disorder developed such as numerous lootings, which were carried out by criminal gangs, as well as by people who barely had enough to survive and the chosen option was looting to obtain food. .
Among other registered facts, there was information that was entirely rumors that were later denied, one of the news that spread among the population was the rapes, and the deaths that were spreading specifically in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, facts that most ahead with real figures of deaths and number of rapes were denied since only 2 rapes and 6 deaths (natural) were recorded.
Therefore, a considerable number of officers were deployed in the streets, in order to maintain social order, each state and its governors took actions to cope with the situation. In the state of New Orleans, the arrest of people increased progressively, and after this some temporary prisons were set up.
It is necessary to comment that in the places ready to receive the refugees who had been evacuated from some state in order to safeguard their lives, they became an unavoidable problem for the authorities, since they managed to disturb public order through inappropriate behavior. A relevant fact that stands out in 2005 in contrast to 2006 is the evidence of the increase in homicides that was unleashed in 2005, accounting for approximately 170 homicides.
Government impact
The capacity for response, organization and planning in the face of a phenomenon that involves numerous disasters in a nation, is the responsibility of the current government or of the authorities in charge of state decisions, in extreme cases in which the capacity of responses for the improvement In a specific situation, the state has the option of requesting help from other nations that are willing to cooperate.
In the case of Hurricane Katrina, the planning was not entirely correct, although the efforts to overcome the crisis were not in vain, as many of the decisions made achieved the main objective of safeguarding people's lives and immobilizing them in places of refuge.
The Federal Agency for Emergency Management played a fundamental role in the actions carried out, one of the tasks that they carried out was the rescue of the inhabitants of New Orleans, who, due to the passage of Katrina, were stuck in the area without any possibility of leave. 33 people were rescued, starting from a total of approximately 500 people trapped.
The US armed forces were called by the presidential unit, the operational force of the northern unit activated its main base located in Camp Shelby specifically in the state of Mississippi.
A week after the hurricane made landfall, Michael Chernoff took charge of all operations in the region. Congress subsequently approved special aid for those affected by Katrina. It is worth noting that several former US presidents played a crucial role in collecting donations. In September 2005 (between the 4th and 20th of that month), the government ordered that national flags be flown at half-staff in remembrance of those who perished as a result of Hurricane Katrina.
Some 700.000 families were affected by Hurricane Katrina, resulting in the loss of their homes mainly, in response to this FEMA provided a well-considered aid, which took the task of providing trailer rentals for these affected families. In addition to this, it also granted monetary aid that complied with the payment of hotels in which some 11500 families were staying since they had nowhere to take refuge.
As time has passed, even by the year 2012, many of the families who were given the help of trailer-type houses, even by the date mentioned, many families continued to live in this type of housing.
States such as California and New York provided unconditional assistance to the most affected states that strongly experienced the presence of the hurricane in their territory, from the transfer of intelligence and emergency bodies that generally provided help to rescue families, coupled with the progressive evacuations carried out , these emergency bodies managed to solve the situation manifested.
Criticisms made of the US government
There are many criticisms present in the discourse of the decisions that could be carried out by the US government to cope with the disaster situation caused by the arrival of Hurricane Katrina, taking into account that the decisions taken were not the most optimal to execute. in order to counteract the disastrous events developed for the date of this natural disaster.
It was even rumored that President Bush was in the city of Texas for the arrival of Katrina and that he had previously been warned of the flooding produced in the dikes of New Orleans that caused great damage to infrastructure.
International reaction
The international community played a fundamental role with regard to the help offered, which stands out mainly in the donation of foreign exchange for the collection of necessary supplies. Among the first countries that took the trouble to make monetary donations are Venezuela and Cuba, who contributed 1 million dollars, for their part, among the supplies sent we find:
- Nonperishable food
- Water
- Pharmaceutical products
- Medical staff
- mobile hospitals
While the Hurricane Katrina disaster was unfolding, several countries in the world wanted to provide aid in monetary terms, among them we find the following:
- New Zealand with a contribution of two million
- India 5 million
- Australia 7,6 million
- South Korea 30 million
- Taiwan 3 million, the country that offered the most was Kuwait with a total of 500 million dollars.
- Large donations were received from Mexico, such as:
- army members
- Pharmaceutical products
- first aid kits
- water trucks
- Dining rooms
- Medical care units
Including the Mexican armed forces were sent to collaborate with the intensive rescue work. Later other countries also came to demonstrate among them, Indonesia. As an important point, the United States considered receiving support from some international organizations such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) among others such as the United Nations Organization.
The international reaction was clearly not long in coming. The support of the countries mentioned above was of great help. The demonstration of some leaders and presidents was very considerate.
In most cases, the aid that the United States received was food, medicine and food. Since, as we have mentioned before, some of the monetary aid was not received.
As an important fact, the money raised for funds destined for humanitarian aid was not fully collected, only a small percentage was spent. This as a consequence of the rejection by the United States of more than 40 nations that offered help.
Influence of media
Obviously the media could not lose prominence with regard to the analysis of the information processed by the dam of the moment, although this represents a completely essential task, especially in cases of emergencies, the media presented various failures in regarding the issuance of totally false statements.
The broadcast news took a new modality since the first news began to be spread through the Internet, which considerably represents a good advance for the time. A means of communication that gained great prominence and a new platform for informative growth was the newspaper entitled Times Picayune.
This newspaper did an extraordinary job, it is about the publications made in which photos of missing persons were issued, since people sent messages that contained their data so that their relatives knew the destination of their location, which caused great reunions, that works thanks to this systematic and innovative way of doing journalism in a time of crisis.
According to the above, this newspaper was finally recognized. Journalism in positive terms rose to one more step, becoming a very beneficial new trend for society, the fact of recording and displaying the news through the Internet resource, taking into account the scope obtained, represented for the time a unbelievably great progress.
Despite the impediments that developed in the midst of the storm, it was not only an obstacle, but other aspects contributed to the sabotaging of timely information. Among these is the army that insisted on restricting access to the dissemination of some news.
The journalistic work tried to be reduced at all costs, the presence of reporters was even prohibited in some transcendental places to offer truthful information.
Some members of the government were opposed to this situation, in fact official communiqués were issued prohibiting the presence of journalists in places where bodies were being removed.
This situation was taken to the extreme, the continuous threat towards journalism professionals became evident, however, the news flowed continuously.
The city of New Orleans was one of the most affected both financially and materially, many families were affected, and many of them lived in conditions of limited economic resources, which after the shake of the hurricane evidently the poverty rate increased even more for these inhabitants.
According to the damage caused, one of the priorities that was taken to planning was the recovery of the dikes, which is generally considered a reconstructive work that took its considerable time, with a duration of exactly 6 years, managing to obtain a cost total of 14,5 billion dollars.
Given this reconstruction, one of the engineers stated that the reconstruction of said architecture could take an estimated time of approximately 10 years, but before all the labor that participated in the reconstructive work, it was carried out with great precision and acceleration of the project. With new preparations and much more protection power, the new dikes were built, with the capacity to withstand storms.
After several years of progress, 80% of the jobs were progressively recovered, this by 2010. With this, other tourist-type commercial advances were also achieved, above all the recovery of some spaces that had been destroyed. reconstructed and re-modeled in a good way, which produced an increase in the level of tourism in some areas.
Consequences
The consequences of Hurricane Katrina on some areas of the United States were considered completely devastating, since despite the material disasters it caused, the most regrettable losses were the human losses.
The United States constantly receives annually a variety of natural phenomena that unfold in the territory, in some cases they leave sequels that cannot be considered as extreme disasters, but on the contrary, some of these natural events only develop and disappear with few effects.
For the year in which Katrina entered the United States, some studies were carried out that showed the scope that this could have, however, some inhabitants of the population were greatly affected by the passage of the natural phenomenon.
The forecasts that the population could have taken were scarce. Beyond sheltering in their homes, staying calm and staying on full alert, the population only had to collaborate in staying in complete order, trying to follow the instructions that the government indicated at the indicated times.
Thanks to the cyclone-like winds that Hurricane Katrina raised in some states, the state of emergency grew greatly, taking into account that the inhabitants of the states of Mississippi, New Orleans and Louisiana had to be transferred to areas where people were sheltered and protected.
The measures that were implemented were quite improvised in some cases, shelters that were completely overflowing with affected people were evicted until they had the necessary number of people, this to avoid the accumulation of people and the possible disasters caused.
In some cases, there were some revolts among the affected inhabitants. The American police did not cope with so many disasters that occurred at a social level.
What this unique natural disaster meant
It was undoubtedly a natural disaster without comparison, even so many years later, it is still remembered as one of the worst hurricanes in history. It managed to destroy numerous structures, thus taking a large number of victims and leaving almost the entire city of New Orleans completely flooded, affecting a huge number of people.
In the first instance, due to the great disaster that was said to be present in August 2005, the rescue and security groups were very disorganized, unable to control the great commotion that was caused by this great hurricane. However, the police groups were able to control the situation and return to calm the days after the storm.
Thanks to the enormous efforts to recover the city, it was able to receive new residents, new industries, companies and has even improved the educational system with the construction of new schools, bringing new job opportunities to continue progressing.
However, it should be noted that even months after the hurricane, the challenges remained great. The great economic blow, the houses, structures and the floods continued to haunt the city of New Orleans.
The great floods in this city were partly due to the fact that it was built below sea level. Despite the fact that this was the most affected city, it was undoubtedly a great example to follow, thanks to the financial support, the good management by the local government and the residents of this city, it was able to recover its shine some time later.
This disaster was terrifying, lifeless bodies littered the streets covered in water everywhere, people trapped and many structures destroyed. This was without a doubt the costliest hurricane compared to the other cyclones in the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico.
The thousands of people who were left homeless, the countless deaths and the considerable damage to public health were some of the negative results left by Katrina. Data that gave it the number six position among the most powerful hurricanes in current history.
Consequences economic
Hurricane Katrina had a strong impact on the economy, as it was considered the costliest natural disaster in the entire history of the United States. It had a total loss figure of 150 million US dollars (2005 numbers). Data provided by the Bureau of Economic Crisis.
The main and most notable economic consequences had to do with oil production, exports of food and other products, tourism, and affected multiple businesses throughout the region. The coasts in the Gulf of Mexico were greatly affected in terms of oil production, thus contributing to a considerable increase in gasoline, diesel and oil.
However, there was no major damage to the structures responsible for extracting oil in the Gulf, therefore, the situation would not lead to major consequences and everything would return to normal almost a year later. In addition to the damage to the US economy, it would also reach some international markets thanks to the destruction of public and private companies located in the region.
Environmental consequences
The consequences that lasted the most were the threats to the environment, public health and damage to some ecosystems. The hurricane caused the spill of toxic waste in many industries, oil cans were also produced in the Gulf, thus affecting life and the marine ecosystem, it also caused damage to the coasts.
Chemical products harmful to health, wastewater that came from the destroyed homes, had been spread directly throughout the affected area and the neighboring regions. This caused a lot of damage to human, animal and plant health, they had negative effects. which were long-term, since drinking water and groundwater reserves were also contaminated.
Analysis carried out on the water samples from the floods revealed that they contained a large number of bacteria, medical and industrial waste, oil, highly toxic lead, sewage, chrome, among other amounts of contaminants.
One of the methods used to prevent damage to public health was the replacement of the entire region's pipe system with new pipes. However, the experts assured that the passage of the hurricane would continue to have repercussions on the ecosystems.
social consequences
Studies carried out revealed that hundreds of people lost their homes, jobs, stability and social security. The vast majority had also lost almost their entire families, it also produced a very notable food shortage and psychological problems in several people.
Conclusions
Finally, it is clear that Hurricane Katrina has been a natural phenomenon of great magnitude, which manifested itself in the United States in a violent way, leaving as consequences great grievances at the level of physical structures and detrimental damage of another nature, taking into account the economic record. that decays from the events that occurred.
As the United States is a world power, we have seen that even having this qualification, there were some flaws that were present when planning to channel some types of aid that the population required and demanded given the existing conditions at the time of crisis.
It should be noted that many were the efforts to keep under control the situation exposed in the course of the process that the inhabitants of the nation faced, being an event that escapes from the hands of man, not being able to control what happens, means that this type of natural phenomena are totally unpredictable before the capacities of the human being.
Not only does it represent an event of alarming magnitude for a nation, but in its entirety everything that it does in its path is uncontrollable. Nature is and always will be relentless, and at the time of the manifestations carried out by it through tornadoes, storms, earthquakes, tidal waves, tsunamis, among other phenomena, they will always have a great impact not only for the environment, but for society as a whole. general.
On the other hand, the United States first and foremost handled the situation in the best possible way, and over time managed to satisfactorily recover the architectural structures that suffered severe and generally serious damage. Although thanks to this fact, it was possible to carry out different types of remodeling and necessary changes that some spaces required promptly.
The most unfortunate thing about Katrina passing through the United States is the loss of the marine fauna that lives in lagoons, beaches, rivers, and coasts. In addition, of course, to the human physical losses that were unfortunately recorded in the process of Katrina's journey.
In the face of these humanitarian emergency situations, what is really important is the unconditional support of the international community, which supported in a very cordial and courteous manner the North American country that received help from countless nations that were willing to contribute a grain of sand so that the United States could achieve overcome the situation that occurred in the past few days.
The international union, and the connection that may exist between some countries with others, allows optimizing the relations between the states that in the future, become bilateral relations of common agreements and good negotiations in the condition of alliances.
In the history of the United States, Hurricane Katrina has been one of the most forceful that has set foot on American soil, without a doubt after the events and consequences left by this natural phenomenon, the measures that can later be implemented, were well studied.
New resources, as well as immediate emergency plans, had to be implemented in the face of another possible threat or the presence of a new natural event. Although humanly the planning that was carried out was planned to the extent that the situation was controlled, a country like the United States, being a world power, must give much more, clearly if another event like this happens again today, the nation I would be much more prepared without a doubt.
Today, thanks to the constant passage of natural phenomena such as rainfall that travels from some continental areas to the United States, the inhabitants are more prepared for these natural disasters.