New Orleans and Hurricane Katrina

What is New Orleans famous for?

• Jazz and Dixieland music.• It is also a transportation hub:

gateway to the Mississippi shipping lanes and major ocean port.

• Gasoline, natural gas, heating oil and jet fuel are refined and produced in this region

What is unusual about New Orleans?

• So much of it is below sea level that they must “bury” their dead above ground.

• Massive water pumps work night and day to keep sea water out.

• A levy system is used as a barrier against the invasion of water

Who names hurricanes? Why use people’s names?

• The World Meteorological Organization names them; it uses different sets of names depending on the part of the world the storm is in. In the U.S., only women’s names were used until 1979.

• It is easier to talk about a storm if you name it.

Where do hurricanes start?When?Why?

• They start in the Caribbean

• They form during the warmest months of the year

• This is complicated, but the energy of the warm water is transferred into wind and rain

What causes the damage?

• Winds up to 150 mph destroy houses, fling vehicles and people, whip up giant swells of water

• Rain produces flooding; the damage is severe and affects almost everything. See next slide for details.

What are the effects of the flooding?

• Drowning, especially vulnerable are old people, the infirm, and children

• Houses are washed away

• Even if not washed away the water destroys everything in the house (electronics, furniture,clothes, documents, etc.

Effects of flooding, continued

• The flood water picks up dirt, bacteria, poisons from spillage; it becomes dangerous to even touch it!

• Infrastructure is ruined: bridges, railroads, highways,buildings, banks, electricity plants, hospitals, water treatment plants…all are damaged, contaminated or destroyed.