Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina

Introduction

In late August 2005, much of the United States tracked the progress of Hurricane Katrina, as reported by the National Hurricane Center (NHC); National Weather Service (NWS) forecast offices, and news media. The hurricane strengthened considerably as it moved over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico and caused devastating effects on the Gulf Coast, especially in Louisiana and Mississippi. Warnings and evacuation orders were issued well ahead of the storm, but many lives were lost, and there was tens of billions of dollars in property damage. Reporting on the storm and its aftereffects was a national focus for weeks, and reporting regarding recovery efforts and the effects of displacement on coastal residents continues years after the incident. Understanding the physical conditions of the storm, as well as its effects, is important for communications efforts.

Katrina began as a slow-moving easterly wave of low pressure in the trade wind belt near the west coast of Africa. The mass of rain clouds traveled across the Atlantic Ocean, becoming Tropical Depression 12 on August 23, 2005. The system intensified overnight to Tropical Storm Katrina (39 mi./hr., or 63 km/hr.) east of the Bahamas. Rapid strengthening followed as the system passed over 82 °F (28 °C) water. These storms feed on the latent heat of condensation, and warmer water provides more energy for the storm (Emanuel, 2005).

Hurricane warnings were posted along the Southern Florida coast. On August 25, Katrina reached 74 mi./hr. (119 km/hr.) and Category 1 status on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Damage Potential Scale. At 5 p.m., Katrina made landfall near North Miami Beach with sustained winds of 80 mi./hr. (128 km/hr.), causing flooding and damage and taking 14 human lives. By morning, Katrina had reached the Gulf of Mexico and moved westward towards the warm water of the Loop Current. Sea surface temperatures reached 92 °F (33 °C), feeding rapid intensification.

Discussion

During the past generation, the environment has changed faster than at any comparable time in history. Although natural phenomena have played a role in this change, the primary source of this dynamic has been accelerated by human interaction with the biosphere. Those influences produced inadvertently or by design, have created or will create dramatic global changes that can alter human existence for many years. To clarify the foregoing, pollution means any undesirable change in the characteristics of air, water or soil, which adversely affects all living beings on the planet. These changes are mainly generated by human action.

In the atmosphere, increasing the concentration of carbon dioxide, CO2 can alter the Earth's temperature because this compound is transparent to incoming solar radiation of the sun, letting it flow freely, but absorbs, however, infrared radiation emitted from the earth. This phenomenon is known as "greenhouse" would produce a warming of the atmosphere and modified, among others, the rainfall, producing changes on arable land and the spread of deserts. The diagnosis of scientists is nearly unanimous: the degradation of soils resulting from human activity is enhanced ceaselessly. The soil is alive and fragile ...