Hurricane Katrina

Introduction

"Hurricane Katrina was one of the strongest storms to impact the coast of the joined States throughout the last 100 years. With maintained winds during landfall of 140 mph (a strong category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale) and smallest central force the third smallest on record at landfall (920 mb), Katrina initiated prevalent devastation along the centered Gulf seaboard area states of the US. Cities such as New Orleans, LA, wireless, AL, and Gulfport, MS unexciting the brunt of Katrina's force and will need weeks and months of recovery efforts to refurbish normality."

There is an argument as to whether or not decisions made by four important figures prior to the hurricane could have lessened its devastation and destruction. President Bush, LA Governor Blanco, New Orleans Mayor Nagin, and ex-FEMA director Michael Brown were all key decision makers in the preparation and evacuation efforts of New Orleans and other areas in its path. The amount of destruction caused by this hurricane has not been seen for almost a hundred years - since the Galveston Hurricane in 1900 and Hurricane Camille in 1969 which both hit this area of the country. We have decided to look into three different regions of the hurricane that could have changed the decisions made by these four people. We have investigated scientific hurricane research and whether or not we could have prepared better for Katrina from past information. Also, we are considering whether or not the relief efforts could have been faster and more efficient had a majority of the suffering popular not have been African American; which also turns this into an issue of racial discrimination. We are also taking into account the natural landscape of Louisiana and could New Orleans have improved any of the man made protections before the hurricane to prevent the kind of damage it caused.

Effects of Huricane Katrina

After reading a few articles the most common normal feelings surrounding this disaster seem to include panic, feeling out of control, anger, despair, anxiety, re-experiencing the event (flashbacks), numbing and avoidance of difficult memories or feelings, loss of trust and disorientation. If these reactions last for more than a month, however, then a individual may have Post-Traumatic Stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD is a mental health disorder that typically develops in a small percentage of people after exposure to an event in which grave physical harm occurred or was threatened. ...