Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina is one of the largest storms that have occurred in the US. The Hurricane struck the Gulf Coast with its winds exceeding 185 km per hour. The key areas that were affected by the storm included New Orleans, Louisiana, Gulf Port, and Mississippi. The storm that originated as a tropical depression on August 23, 2005, rapidly intensified when it reached the Gulf of Mexico. Apart from causing the death of 1,200 people, the Hurricane resulted in the destruction of communication and transportation facilities such as ports and airports, roads, bridges, and public transit, making the people who had not been evacuated to have minimal access to basic necessities including shelter and food. In addition, the storm affected the disaster resilience process, the economic vitality of the US, quality of life, and the potential for positive change between human systems and the environment.

Critical Components Related to Hurricane Katrina’s Short-Term Recovery Operation

One of the strategies that the US government adopted after the occurrence of Hurricane Katrina was the establishment of Emergency Relief programs that were focused on repairing highways and bridges that were damaged. According to the aerial and survey pictures of 1-10 Bridge, the impact of Katrina was devastating and left many people shocked. The state of Louisiana issue a contract of $31 million to replace the bridge using recent design standards. The reimbursement that was done by the Emergency Relief initiative mainly focused on restoring and repairing highway facilities and not to expand them with an objective of increasing their capacity.

The ports of New Orleans and South Louisiana play a significant role in the US imports and export trade. Katrina, which was seen as a category three hurricane, had adverse impacts on the two ports even though the effects were varied (Gibbens, 2019). For example, the limited power made the Port of New Orleans operate at 30% of its capability in addition to navigational challenges on the lower section of the Mississippi River. One of the critical components that ensured the reopening of grain terminals in the US was the restoration of power. This was also due to strong teamwork between the Coast Guard, NOAA and the Army Corps of Engineers. The reopening of terminals was important for the US economy and is a good indication of the way federal agencies can coordinate their efforts and collaborate with the private sectors to improve commercial entities and restore the lives of US citizens.

Critical Components Related to Hurricane Katrina’s Long-Term Recovery Operation

The long-term recovery strategies to address the effects of Hurricane Katrina were spearheaded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The recovery office established by FEMA was staffed by federal and state personnel who provided assistance to state agencies during the rebuilding of the 2005 hurricane. In addition, FEMA ensured that the communities are well-prepared to deal with future disasters. Under the Public Assistance Program, the agency funded more than 20,000 projects to rebuild major infrastructures in Florida, including roads and airports, as well as the removal of debris.

The reconstruction of public transits was another long-term strategy that was initiated after the hurricane. After its occurrence, Hurricane Katrina left many people demanding for transportation services. Most of the facilities and fleets that were owned by the transit agencies were significantly damaged. Before the arrival of Katrina, the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority (NORTA) had the main role of providing quite a number of transit trips on an annual basis. The urban transit agencies within the Gulf region have also been supported by NORTA. The federal funds were used by the Department to purchase supplies and repair equipment. The US Department of Transportation also played a major role in the recovery process after Hurricane Katrina. For example, the Department provided 22 transit operators in Mississippi a grant of $6.1 million in 2005 to pay salaries, buy new vehicles, and offer other requirements to restore their services.

Impacts of the four components on:

Disaster Resilience

Community resilience is one of the key factors that Hurricane Katrina covered, especially in regard to the preparedness of emergencies. Traditionally, government agencies and communities were focused on improving infrastructure, for example, by reinforcing roads and buildings. Nonetheless, the occurrence of Katrina made the communities be prepared to deal with the long-term effects of adversity and be engaged as a team to deal with disasters. For example, the teamwork that was portrayed by the Army Corps of Engineers and Coast Guards was essential in making the US community be ready and deal with the implications of disasters. Disaster resilience also entails the need for establishing strong social networks as well as sustainable programs that will be involved in recovery and response efforts. The idea that creating disaster resilience can have positive impacts on was one of the major factors that made the county of Los Angeles to develop a resilience framework that aimed at improving the well-being of the community.

Economic Vitality

The impacts of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans and the entire coastal area was devastating. After the disaster, more than 80% of the city was flooded with the damages estimated to be more than $200 billion. This made the hurricane be one of the most expensive hurricanes to strike the US. As a result of the widespread destruction caused by Katrina, two major supplementary bills are enacted by Congress and allocated $62.3 billion towards emergency recovery and response needs.

According to a study done by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the labor market in New Orleans was adversely affected by Katrina. For example, the over-the-year job losses stood at 95,000 during the first ten months after the hurricane occurred. In addition, the loss in wages in the same period was estimated to be $2.9 billion, with more than $2 billion linked to the private sector. The interventions that were made by the US Department of Transportation, including providing funds to the transit operators made the sector to experience significant growth and improved performance of the local economy. The reopening of New Orleans and South Louisiana ports also positively impacted the exports and imports trade of the US, thus raising the level of employment after Hurricane Katrina.

 Quality of Life

Two years after the occurrence of Hurricane Katrina, the economic and social health of New Orleans can be well-understood using various indicators provided by residents, businesses, and observers. One of the key factors that can be used to establish the quality of life that existed in the region after the hurricane is the recovery of the population. New Orleans’s population is a major indicator of how the region is recovering. Even though there is no official updated data regarding the population, the number of people in the region can be established by checking the school population and the postal deliveries.

Given the increasing number of postal deliveries on a monthly basis, it is an indication that the population of the region is expanding. The number of individuals who joined public schools in New Orleans also increased in 2007, an indication that they will have an improved quality of life in the future. The housing market has also indicated a certain degree of stability. Just one year after Katrina hit the region, homes are on high demand, thus raising their prices. Even though most of the outlying parishes experienced a more stable housing market, the market remains uneven in St Bernard and Orleans parishes.

The Potential for Positive Change between Human Systems and the Environment

Besides the negative effects of Hurricane Katrina on the US economy, it also impacted on the environment. For example, the storm produced a large volume of debris that had a depth of 15 meters. In Louisiana, more than 50 breaks in floodwalls and levees resulted in massive flooding.  The occurrence of mold toxins the flooded homes was a health hazard for people who returned to their homes. The reorganization and collapse of social-ecological systems can be triggered by the activities of human beings that ultimately causes the occurrence of forest fires and hurricanes (Chuang, Eason and Garmestani, 2019). The disaster created a potential for positive change between the environment and human systems since the greenhouse gases were major causes of the hurricane. Unchecked development of ecologically sensitive regions may put pressure on the environment (West, 2019). There a needs for human systems to have a positive relationship with the environment, for example, by reducing carbon emissions and avoid such disasters in the future.

Challenges Encountered During the Damage Assessment and Debris Removal

One of the challenges that were faced during the removal of debris when Katrina occurred was difficulty in the separation of waste. Even though the government agencies requested the residents to separate wastes, most of the debris was mixed, making it impossible to separate them. The closeness of landfills to neighborhoods in New Orleans is also a major challenge that faces the removal of debris. The demolition of private properties is another challenge that faced the removal of debris. While FEMA is removing debris, it can decide to destroy homes or remove the debris. This implies that homeowners must be consulted before their homes are destroyed, making the process be complex.

Structural Mitigations Efforts Utilized During the Hurricane Katrina

The insufficient preparation led to the occurrence of the Katrina disaster. As a result of the dangers that were related to the collapse of levees in New Orleans, there was an anticipation of a major hurricane, but the stakeholders did not adopt the required level of preparation. On its part, FEMA took five years to create a simulation that would be used if New Orleans was hit by a hurricane. Despite the warnings that were issued by the National Weather Service, Ray Nagin, the Mayor of New Orleans, was late in issuing a mandatory evacuation.

Structural Mitigations Efforts That Should Be Incorporated Into the Future Recovery

In the future recovery process, the protection of hospitals and schools should be part of the mitigation process. While designing and constructing new hospitals and schools, high-hazards locations should be avoided besides making special provisions to reduce likely damage due to natural hazards. Nonstructural mitigation strategies should also be adopted. For example, equipment and furniture should be secured to avoid damage and injuries caused by earthquakes.  During the creation of mitigation strategies, local jurisdictions should access the information of risk assessors and zoning regulators to avoid the development of hazard-prone areas.

References

Chuang, T., Eason, T, and Garmestani, A. (2019). Impact of Hurricane Katrina: Disaster resilience in New Orleans, Louisiana. American Association of Geographers Annual Meeting, Washington, DC.

Gibbens, S. (2019). Hurricane Katrina explained. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/natural-disasters/reference/hurricane-katrina/

West, L. (2019). The Environmental Impacts of Hurricane Katrina. Available from https://www.thoughtco.com/environmental-impacts-of-hurricane-katrina-4686766