3.Hurricane+Katrina+Destroys+Gulf+Coast

On Friday, August 26, 2005, Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco declared a state of emergency, but what for? A category 5 hurricane named Katrina was due to make direct landfall over Louisiana, the hurricane packed winds that were estimated to be nearly 170 mph when the storm was to hit New Orleans. Katina initially developed as a tropical depression, but within a week it developed into a powerful hurricane. When it made landfall over Eastern Florida, the storm system dropped nearly five inches onto an area that had already been tarnished and flooded by storm systems earlier in the season. By the time Katrina reached the Gulf Coast it packed enough precipitation to litter the area with nearly an inch of rain per hour, and when it made landfall it rained at the rate of an inch per hour for nearly 3 consecutive hours. It made landfall yet again over the Louisiana/Mississippi border and brought winds that reached nearly 125 mph. The excessive winds and rainfall made Katrina one of the most powerful storms to hit the United States in years, but the devastation it brought made history as well. The strong storm surge brought in by the storm caused the levees that protected the city of New Orleans to break leaving 80% of the city under water. Katrina also contributed to the economy, as the oil industry crashed following the deadly storm. The cost of gasoline soared and many Americans began feeling Katrina’s wrath. Nearly 1.7 million found themselves without power, but that seemed to be of little concern as many wondered how they were going to get away from the devastation. The United States government began providing buses to take people away from New Orleans, but that led to several conflicts, as citizens were forced to live in the Super Dome for days with little food, water, and medical supplies. Many were also forced to leave behind loved-ones who had perished, as well as leave behind the hope of finding those who had been lost in the floodwaters and confusion of evacuations. The greatest contributed Katrina made however to those she affected, was that the breakdown in communication between government agencies caused a great backlash and forced the national government to investigate how they handle natural disasters. It also forced many states and cities to study how they would handle a disaster of Katrina’s scale. Through the devastation and loss of life, good did come, as this great disaster was able to educate many as to how things need to be handled in the future. Through this education many more lives will be saved.