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N0KFQ > TODAY 29.08.15 16:54l 81 Lines 4018 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 65259_N0KFQ
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Subj: Today in History - Aug 29
Path: IW8PGT<IZ3LSV<I0OJJ<VE3UIL<VA7DGP<W5MCC<N0KFQ
Sent: 150829/1447Z 65259@N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA BPQ1.4.63
2005
Hurricane Katrina slams into Gulf Coast
Hurricane Katrina makes landfall near New Orleans, Louisiana, as
a Category 4 hurricane on this day in 2005. Despite being only
the third most powerful storm of the 2005 hurricane season,
Katrina was the worst natural disaster in the history of the
United States. After briefly coming ashore in southern Florida on
August 25 as a Category 1 hurricane, Katrina gained strength
before slamming into the Gulf Coast on August 29. In addition to
bringing devastation to the New Orleans area, the hurricane
caused damage along the coasts of Mississippi and Alabama, as
well as other parts of Louisiana.
New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin ordered a mandatory evacuation of the
city on August 28, when Katrina briefly achieved Category 5
status and the National Weather Service predicted "devastating"
damage to the area. But an estimated 150,000 people, who either
did not want to or did not have the resources to leave, ignored
the order and stayed behind. The storm brought sustained winds of
145 miles per hour, which cut power lines and destroyed homes,
even turning cars into projectile missiles. Katrina caused record
storm surges all along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The surges
overwhelmed the levees that protected New Orleans, located at six
feet below sea level, from Lake Pontchartrain and the Mississippi
River. Soon, 80 percent of the city was flooded up to the
rooftops of many homes and small buildings.
Tens of thousands of people sought shelter in the New Orleans
Convention Center and the Louisiana Superdome. The situation in
both places quickly deteriorated, as food and water ran low and
conditions became unsanitary. Frustration mounted as it took up
to two days for a full-scale relief effort to begin. In the
meantime, the stranded residents suffered from heat, hunger, and
a lack of medical care. Reports of looting, rape, and even murder
began to surface. As news networks broadcast scenes from the
devastated city to the world, it became obvious that a vast
majority of the victims were African-American and poor, leading
to difficult questions among the public about the state of racial
equality in the United States. The federal government and
President George W. Bush were roundly criticized for what was
perceived as their slow response to the disaster. The head of the
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Michael Brown,
resigned amid the ensuing controversy.
Finally, on September 1, the tens of thousands of people staying
in the damaged Superdome and Convention Center begin to be moved
to the Astrodome in Houston, Texas, and another mandatory
evacuation order was issued for the city. The next day, military
convoys arrived with supplies and the National Guard was brought
in to bring a halt to lawlessness. Efforts began to collect and
identify corpses. On September 6, eight days after the hurricane,
the Army Corps of Engineers finally completed temporary repairs
to the three major holes in New Orleans' levee system and were
able to begin pumping water out of the city.
In all, it is believed that the hurricane caused more than 1,300
deaths and up to $150 billion in damages to both private property
and public infrastructure. It is estimated that only about $40
billion of that number will be covered by insurance. One million
people were displaced by the disaster, a phenomenon unseen in the
United States since the Great Depression. Four hundred thousand
people lost their jobs as a result of the disaster. Offers of
international aid poured in from around the world, even from poor
countries like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Private donations from
U.S. citizens alone approached $600 million.
The storm also set off 36 tornadoes in Mississippi, Alabama,
Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, resulting in one death.
President Bush declared September 16 a national day of
remembrance for the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
73, K.O. n0kfq
N0KFQ @ N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA
E-mail: kohiggs@gmail.com
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