Hurricane Katrina: Causes, Consequences and Prevention

This article discusses the causes, consequences and prevention of Hurricane Katrina. It explains the power source of hurricanes and the expected intensity of a disaster in the Gulf Coast region. It also explores the role of FEMA, Army Corps of Engineers, and money in the disaster.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART 2.......................................................................................................................................2
Where do hurricanes get their power?....................................................................................2
Over Florida, Hurricane Katrina was only a category 1 hurricane. Why was damage in
Florida so great?.....................................................................................................................3
Before the Hurricane Katrina disaster, the Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA) was taken out of the White House and placed in the Department of Homeland
Security. What was the main problem with this in regard to Hurricane Katrina?..................3
What role did money and the Army Corps of Engineers play in the disaster, and
specifically the New Orleans canals?.....................................................................................4
Name four problems with the levees that led to flooding. In other words, why did the
levees break?..........................................................................................................................4
Was a hurricane of this intensity expected? If yes, who predicted it?...................................4
What were the causes of the flooding in New Orleans? Include the role of Lake
Pontchartrain...........................................................................................................................4
Long before the storm was generated, was this magnitude of a disaster expected in the Gulf
Coast region? Please elaborate beyond ‘yes’ or ‘no.’............................................................5
Could the damage and loss of life been prevented? If yes, how?...........................................5
Opinion question here… Should we rebuild New Orleans? Why or why not?......................5
Assuming we rebuild all of New Orleans, what steps should we take to prevent this from
happening again?....................................................................................................................5

Another opinion question… Is increased (or decreased) hurricane activity related to climate
change? Why or why not?......................................................................................................6
PART 3.......................................................................................................................................6
Air temperature over land?.....................................................................................................6
Air temperature over the oceans?...........................................................................................6
What natural disasters does this drive?..................................................................................6
Arctic sea ice?.........................................................................................................................6
Mountain Glaciers?................................................................................................................6
Global sea level?.....................................................................................................................6
Humidity over both land and water?......................................................................................6
Ocean heat content? (This is in top half mile of ocean, not just sea surface, and it is a huge
problem, as we will see in Chapter 12)..................................................................................7
Surface sea temperatures?......................................................................................................7
What natural disasters does this drive?..................................................................................7
Snow coverage on land (snow different system than glaciers, which are more permanent)? 7
Temperature of the lower atmosphere? (This is through miles of atmosphere, not just earth
surface, and it is also a huge problem, as we will see in Assignment 2 and in Chapter 12
when the greenhouse effect is covered)..................................................................................7
This question is related to # 25 above. Here is a link to absolutely amazing video (“Chasing
Ice”) showing the melting of ice in Greenland:
https://www.youtube.com/embed/hC3VTgIPoGU?rel=0......................................................7
REFERENCES...........................................................................................................................8

PART 2
Where do hurricanes get their power?
The main source of energy for hurricanes is the high latent heat value of water. The process
starts as the water changes its phase from liquid to vapour. Energy needed for the process is
provided by sun. This energy remains latent and is available when vapour is condensed in
liquid form. This usually occurs during air rising in cloud or during thunderstorm. This is
however not sufficient to arise a hurricane. The hurricane originates when the surface air is
drawn towards the low pressure center. High value of pressure gradient signifies stronger
winds while the air approaches. As the winds blow faster, the rate of evaporation increases.
More the evaporation, more powerful is the hurricane (Weather Guys Editor, 2012).
Over Florida, Hurricane Katrina was only a category 1 hurricane. Why was damage in
Florida so great?
Over Florida, Hurricane Katrina was category 1 only. Still the damage was quite high. Also,
it was seen that even though, Hurricane Katrina started as a category 1 hurricane, it
strengthened to category 5 (maximum as reported) as it progressed. In Florida there were 14
fatalities. The main reason for devastation was the enumeration of tornadoes with the
hurricane. It was seen that there was one tornado that spawned with the hurricane in Florida.
This resulted in more devastation. Moreover, the heavy rainfall with winds also caused
damage to livestock and crops too. (Kaye, 2015).

Before the Hurricane Katrina disaster, the Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA) was taken out of the White House and placed in the Department of
Homeland Security. What was the main problem with this in regard to Hurricane
Katrina?
Before the Hurricane Katrina disaster, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
was taken out of the White House and placed in the Department of Homeland Security. After
this process, the FEMA now became a part of the Department of Homeland Security.
Because of this, the funds were raided and the staff was transferred into some other DHS jobs
without replacement. Moreover there was a slowdown in the process. This was primarily due
to higher bureaucracy layers for almost each functions. Apart from this there was a high
threat for reprogramming of the funds which again caused issue (Moynihan, 2012).
What role did money and the Army Corps of Engineers play in the disaster, and
specifically the New Orleans canals?
In the infamous Hurricane Katrina, Army Corps of Engineers was found to be a great culprit
in the devastation caused and losses incurred. There were a lot of engineering mistakes in the
levees and the floodwalls. It was seen that money was just taken personally and the job done
was not up to the mark. Because of this there was a loss of life. The canals in New Orleans
flooded and resulted in large displacement (Rogers, Kemp, Bosworth Jr, & Seed, 2015).
Name four problems with the levees that led to flooding. In other words, why did the
levees break?
The four problems found with the levees that resulted in flooding were, poor building,
inappropriate design (which was only to tolerate a category 3 hurricane), reduced wetlands
and privation of resources (Rogers, Kemp, Bosworth Jr, & Seed, 2015).

Was a hurricane of this intensity expected? If yes, who predicted it?
Yes, it was expected that a Hurricane of this intensity could occur. A hurricane similar to
intensity of Katrina was expected from 2001. This was done by person named Ivor Van
Heerden. He used computerised models to do the same with other colleagues (Schleifstein,
2009).
What were the causes of the flooding in New Orleans? Include the role of Lake
Pontchartrain.
There were a lot of flaws in the process which resulted in a lot of chaos in New Orleans. It
was reported that there was failure of around 50 levees and floodwalls that were protecting
the New Orleans. Due to this, there was flooding in about 80% of the city and specifically
complete (100%) in St. Bernard Parish. The heave water from the lake rushed into the
London Avenue Canal. This made the canal rise. The canal walls swelled due to the outward
pressure (Rogers, Kemp, Bosworth Jr, & Seed, 2015).
Long before the storm was generated, was this magnitude of a disaster expected in the
Gulf Coast region? Please elaborate beyond ‘yes’ or ‘no.’
No, it cannot be said that before the generation of storm, a disaster for the magnitude of
Hurricane Katrina was expected in Gulf Coast region. However, it can be said that there
would an underrating of the disaster. This was due to the fact that people did not knew about
the incompetent design of levee’s and the floodwalls.
Could the damage and loss of life been prevented? If yes, how?
Yes, such a loss was preventable. This was due to the high accuracy of prediction done by the
National Weather Service and the National Hurricane Center regarding the Hurricane
Katrina’s path. However, the FEMA was not prepared for the same and was criticised

considerably. Moreover, the government failed in responding correctly for Hurricane Katrina
(Lopez, 2015).
Opinion question here… Should we rebuild New Orleans? Why or why not?
In my opinion we should not rebuild New Orleans. This is because the city sinks to deeper
level each year and is expected to be a victim of tropical storms every now and then. The city
is on a very prone spot and again rebuilding the levees for flood prevention is not a good
thought.
Assuming we rebuild all of New Orleans, what steps should we take to prevent this
from happening again?
Even though New Orleans is on the most prone place, still if it is built, there should be some
factors that should be considered so as to prevent such a disaster again. The first and foremost
thing important is to have a good leader in place. Secondly, the city must have best in class
and updated equipment. More importance should be given on reduction of response time.
Lastly, all the departments must operate hand in hand and try to work as a singular unit.
Another opinion question… Is increased (or decreased) hurricane activity related to
climate change? Why or why not?
No, increased hurricane activity is not related to climate change. However, this results in
intensified storms (Maria, et al., 2017).
PART 3
Air temperature over land?
It was seen that the air temperature is increasing (that is going upwards). This is the reason
the cities are now experiencing drought conditions and heat waves.

Air temperature over the oceans?
It was seen in the graph that the temperature of oceans is warmer.
What natural disasters does this drive?
Due to warmer temperatures in oceans, there is a huge driving factor for Floods and
Hurricanes.
Arctic sea ice?
The trend signifies that the animal habitat would be endangered.
Mountain Glaciers?
It is seen that the glaciers are melting away. This has led to shortage.
Global sea level?
The trend shows that global sea level is reaching higher values.
Humidity over both land and water?
The humidity trend shows that the humidity for both cases is getting worse.
Ocean heat content? (This is in top half mile of ocean, not just sea surface, and it is a
huge problem, as we will see in Chapter 12).
The trend shows an increase in the ocean heat.
Surface sea temperatures?
The surface sea temperatures are seen rising to higher values.
What natural disasters does this drive?
The higher temperatures of the surface sea leads to Hurricanes and Tropical Cyclones.

Snow coverage on land (snow different system than glaciers, which are more
permanent)?
The snow coverage on land is also decreasing. This is due to the melting caused by the
entrapped heat.
Temperature of the lower atmosphere? (This is through miles of atmosphere, not just
earth surface, and it is also a huge problem, as we will see in Assignment 2 and in
Chapter 12 when the greenhouse effect is covered).
Since the lower part of atmosphere is getting warmer, the heat is entrapped.
This question is related to # 25 above. Here is a link to absolutely amazing video
(“Chasing Ice”) showing the melting of ice in Greenland:
https://www.youtube.com/embed/hC3VTgIPoGU?rel=0
We have deduced the following from the graphical patterns seen. The chunks of ice shooting
out of water are 600 feet. The size of calving event when compared to Manhattan can be seen
as a massive quake which would take control of anything and everything. This shall
potentially lead to many natural hazards. The glacier retreat from 1902 to 2001 was seen to
be 8 miles. The glacier retreat from 2001 to 2010 was seen to be 9 miles.
REFERENCES
Kaye, K. (2015, August 25). Hurricane Katrina hit South Florida 10 years ago today.
Retrieved from Sun Sentinel: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/weather/sfl-blog-
208-katrina-anniversary-20150814-story.html
Lopez, G. (2015, August 28). Hurricane Katrina, in 7 essential facts. Retrieved from Vox:
https://www.vox.com/2015/8/23/9191907/hurricane-katrina

Maria, Irma, Harvey, Sandy, Katrina, & Andrew. (2017, December 01). Hurricanes and
Climate Change. Retrieved from Union of Concerned Scientists:
https://www.ucsusa.org/global-warming/science-and-impacts/impacts/hurricanes-and-
climate-change.html#!
Moynihan, D. P. (2012). The Response to Hurricane Katrina. Retrieved from IRGC:
https://irgc.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Hurricane_Katrina_full_case_study_web.
pdf
Rogers, J. D., Kemp, G. P., Bosworth Jr, H. J., & Seed, R. B. (2015). Interaction between the
US Army Corps of Engineers and the Orleans Levee Board preceding the drainage
canal wall failures and catastrophic flooding of New Orleans in 2005. Water Policy,
17, 707-723.
Schleifstein, M. (2009, September 29). Ivor van Heerden, who pointed fingers in Hurricane
Katrina levee failures, fired by LSU. Retrieved from NOLA:
https://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2009/04/ivor_van_heerden_who_pointed_f.htm
l
Weather Guys Editor. (2012, September 03). What is the source of energy for hurricanes?
Retrieved from The Weather Guys: http://wxguys.ssec.wisc.edu/2012/09/03/what-is-
the-source-of-energy-for-hurricanes/