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Hurricanes have many ways of doing us harm: high winds, storm surge, flooding. But it isn’t always the strongest hurricanes that do the worst damage. Katrina was only a Category 3 storm when it struck New Orleans; Category 4 and 5 storms are possible.
The ingredients for disaster were in place before Katrina even hit. New Orleans is almost entirely below sea level and surrounded by water. City officials had known for years that a major hurricane could cause the levees (walls that hold the water back) to fail. But the problem was never addressed, even as the planet warmed and sea levels rose.
The Human Element
Circumstances conspired to make Katrina one of the worst disasters in our nation’s history, and people contributed to the problem. The canals and floodwalls built to make the Louisiana coast habitable for humans have displaced the sediments that support its wetlands—although coastal wetlands are natural barriers to hurricanes. Every acre of lost wetland puts Gulf Coast residents at greater risk.
 Despite our experiences, people continue to build on vulnerable coastlines and below sea level. Our industry erodes the land that protects us. There will always be natural disasters. Are we turning them into unnatural disasters?
Emergency Responses
The government was heavily criticized for the time it took—as long as four days—to get aid into New Orleans.
Though circumstances in New Orleans made Katrina a unique disaster, the impact of the storm spanned five states. Katrina claimed more than 1,800 lives and left tens of thousands more homeless. Its total cost in damages exceeded 80 billion dollars.
How well, or how poorly, we manage a disaster can have much to do with how it affects us.
Continue to Katrina Survivor Stories. >>
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