Effects of Hurricane

Effects of Hurricane

  • Submitted By: mjmiller83
  • Date Submitted: 12/05/2010 11:32 PM
  • Category: English
  • Words: 649
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Effects of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans

The effects of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans were long-lasting. As the center of Katrina passed east of New Orleans on August 29, 2005, winds downtown were in the Category 3 range with frequent intense gusts and tidal surge. Hurricane force winds were experienced throughout the city, although the most severe portion of Katrina missed the city, hitting nearby St. Bernard and Plaquemines parishes. Hurricane Katrina made its final landfall in eastern St. Tammany Parish. The western eye wall passed directly over St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana as a Category 3 hurricane at about 9:45 AM CST, August 29, 2005. The communities of Slidell, Louisiana, Avery Estates, Lakeshore Estates, Oak Harbor, Eden Isles and Northshore Beach were inundated by the storm surge that extended over six miles inland. The storm surge impacted all 57 miles of St. Tammany Parish’s coastline. The storm surge in the area of the Rigolets Pass is estimated 16 feet, not including wave action, declining to 7 feet at Madisonville. In the City of New Orleans, the storm surge caused more than 50 breaches in drainage canal levees and also in navigational canal levees and precipitated the worst engineering disaster in the history of the United States.
The city of New Orleans was built on land that lies below sea level, making it naturally prone to flooding. Katrina's massive storm surge inundated the federal flood protection infrastructure and led to the breach of 53 different levees, proving human engineering is no match for the forces of nature. As the levees gave way, the cataclysm moved in and flooded 80 percent of New Orleans, leaving the remarkably historic city immersed in water. Naturally, the storm caused toxic materials, chemicals, sewage and other garbage to contaminate the flood waters, which remained stagnant for weeks. Navigable commercial waterways extended from the lake into the interior of the city to promote waterborne commerce. After the...

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