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Hurricane Katrina was a significant tropical cyclone of the 2005
Atlantic hurricane season. It developed from a tropical wave about 175
miles east of Nassau. The hurricane strengthened to a Category 1
hurricane before making landfall on the Miami-Dade/Broward county line
in Florida. After moving southwest across Florida the hurricane exited
west into the Gulf of Mexico where it underwent rapid intensification,
reaching Category 5 on August 28, 2005 and remaining there for the
entire day. It made its second landfall near Buras, Louisiana with 145
mph winds, or Category 4, on August 29, 2005. Hurricane Katrina's
eye-wall then passed over the eastern edge of New Orleans before the
hurricane was again over water. A few hours later it made landfall for a
third time near the Louisiana/Mississippi border with 125 mph winds, or
Category 3. It weakened from this point forward, losing hurricane status
crossing over 100 miles inland, near Laurel, Mississippi. It was
downgraded to a tropical depression near Clarksville, Tennessee as it
continued to race northward.
As the hurricane approached landfall near
New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin placed the city under a mandatory
evacuation order. Many residents remained in the city. The vast majority
of those who stayed were reported to have been unable to leave because
they did not have vehicles, money for gas and other transportation. Also,
many residents were unable to travel because they were elderly or
infirm. Federal disaster declarations blanketed 90,000 square miles
(233,000 kmē) of the United States, an area almost as large as the
United Kingdom. The hurricane left an estimated five million people
without power, and it may be up to two months before all power is
restored. Disaster relief plans are in operation in the affected areas.
Early in the morning of August 30, 2005 and as a direct result of
Hurricane Katrina, breaches in three places of the levee system on the
Lake Pontchartrain side of New Orleans caused a second and even greater
disaster. Heavy flooding covered almost the entire city over a sustained
period, forcing the total evacuation of over a million people. The city
was now uninhabitable, due to 80% of its area being below sea level
meaning that the water had nowhere to go.
On September 3, 2005 US Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff
described the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina as "probably the worst
catastrophe, or set of catastrophes" in the country's history, referring
to the Hurricane itself plus the flooding of New Orleans.
Hurricane Katrina may be the deadliest hurricane in the United States
since the Galveston Hurricane of 1900, which killed around 8,000
(possibly up to 12,000) people. As of 7 PM CDT September 1, 2005, more
than 20,000 are still reported missing. New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin
stated on August 31 that the death toll of Katrina may be "in the
thousands", an estimate also provided through a statement by Louisiana
Governor Kathleen Blanco on September 1. Accurate numbers are not known.
Damage was reported in at least 12 states. Hurricane Katrina will be
remembered for its vast devastation of the Gulf Coast regions of
Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. The hurricane will also be
remembered for the ineffective pre-planning for hurricane prepardness in
New Orleans, as well as the slow response on the part of federal, state
and local governments to provide effective search and rescue and safe
refuge for the storm's victims.
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