Environmental Effects Of Hurricane Katrina

Melissa Polansky Environmental Paper Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast on August 29, 2005. Katrina was a Category 3 rating on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale–bringing sustained winds of 100–140 miles per hour–and stretched as far as 400 miles. Many people in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama were left without homes. Meteorologists were able to give warning the day before Katrina hit, and the evacuation process for the high risk locations were put in place. (www.history.com) New Orleans was one of the most at risk. Its average elevation is about six feet below

www.history.com) University of North Texas Professor Bernard Weinstein estimated that Katrina cost $250 billion. Including both the damage and its impact on the economy. He estimated uninsured losses at $215 billion, and insured losses at $35 billion. Because the worst flooding occurred in New Orleans ' 9th Ward. It was a low-income area that was mostly uninsured. (Source: "UNT Experts Discuss Hurricane Katrina 's Third Anniversary," UNT News, August 28, 2008.) During the aftermath of Katrina, the main concern on health was the amount of water left behind. Outbreaks of West Nile, mold, and endotoxin levels rising were of great concern. New types of bacteria from the open water, leaving New Orleans with little to defense. The medical centers were either destroyed or in utter disarray and power was lost for quite a while. Not only was the amount of people displaced from their homes great but, the concern that people were going to get sick because of contaminated food or water also weighed heavily on people 's minds. All of the health concerns for New Orleans came from the amount of flood water because there was so much of it that it was an optimal breeding ground for mosquitoes and the water covered everything making nothing truly safe.

According to the Washington Post, emergency plans at all levels of government -- including the 600-page National Response Plan that set forth the Federal government 's plan to coordinate all its departments and agencies and integrate them with State, local, and private sector partners -- were put to the test and came up short.