REMEMBERING THE HURRICANE KATRINA DISASTER: AUGUST 29-30, 2005 Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction, Vienna, Virginia, USA THE 29-30 AUGUST 2005 HURICANE CAUSED A DISASTER IN NEW ORLEANS AND PARTS OF THE GULF COAST OF THE USA THE GULF COAST EXPERIENCES HURRICANES EACH YEAR HURRICANE TRACKS: 1851-2004 ETUDE HURRICANE KATRINA EXPOSED THE DEADLY CONSEQUENCES IN A HURRICANE PRONE AREA OF NOT BEING HURRICANE DISASTER RESILIENT FACTORS THAT ONCE MADE LOUISIANA’S COAST RESILIENT  By 1900, the Louisiana coast was a 15,500 square km (6,000 square mile) swath of swamp, marsh, and barrier islands that made it more resilient to the winds, rain, and storm surge of a hurricane. THE WORKS OF MAN REDUCED LOUIISIANA’S RESILIENCE  Levees built in the 1930’s by the US Army Corps of Engineers did end spring floods,-- But, by the 1960’s, a significant reduction in hurricane resilience had occurred, because:  The US Army Corps of Engineers had also dredged 14 major ship channels to inland ports, and over many years, oil companies had cut countless channels for pipelines and access to oil wells. BY 2005 NEW ORLEANS WAS CONSIDERED TO BE VERY VULNERABLE TO HURRICANES HURRICANE KATRINA EXPOSED SOCIAL, ORGANIZATIONAL, PHYSICAL, AND HEALTH CARE VULNERABILITIES IN NEW ORLEANS AND ALONG THE GULF COAST WHAT DID WE LEARN FROM HURRICANE KATRINA?  Hurricane Katrina exposed the startling fact that the nation was unprepared to manage a disaster caused by the environmental extremes of a moderate category hurricane AND a major flood caused by breaches in 200 mile levee system that was not known to be so flawed, until after post-disaster studies. IMPACT OF HURRICANE KATRINA ON GULF COAST  90 % of the Gulf’ Coasts oil production was stopped by the storm.  Insured losses reached $47 billion for Gulf Coast and $27 for New Orleans, with actual direct and indirect losses much higher and perhaps beyond definition for many years.  It caused the worst financial crisis in New Orleans’ and Louisiana’s history. IMPACT OF HURRICANE KATRINA ON GULF COAST  Major cities (New Orleans, Biloxi, Bay St. Louis, etc) were closed for business.  Millions of displaced people were unable to return for several months; some never returned.  Neighborhoods were destroyed.  Over 2,500,000 homes and businesses were without communications, power, potable water, and sewage disposal. IMPACT OF HURRICANE KATRINA ON GULF COAST  No commercial airline flights for a short period.  Rail systems destroyed.  500,000 homes destroyed.  300 years of community infrastructure destroyed.  500,000 jobs lost. IMPACT OF HURRICANE KATRINA ON GULF COAST  Thousands of people and many animals were still awaiting rescue after 2 weeks.  Thousands needed food, water, and shelter every day, which the American Red Cross and many other cooperating organizations provided as quickly as possible for over 90 days. IMPACT OF HURRICANE KATRINA IN NEW ORLEANS  FLOODING, NOT HIGH WINDS AND NOT STORM SURGE, INFLICTED MOST OF THE DEVASTATION IN NEW ORLEANS .  80 PERCENT OF NEW ORLEANS WAS FLOODED FROM FOUR MAJOR AND DOZENS OF SMALLER BREACHES IN THE 200 MILE LEVEE SYSTEM.  OVER 100,000 HOMES WERE INUNDATED. IMPACT OF HURRICANE KATRINA ON NEW ORLEANS  80 % of New Orleans was under water after levees broke, releasing waters from Lake Ponchartrain and canals into downtown New Orleans.  More than 1,000 people were rescued from roof tops of inundated houses by helicopters  Many others were rescued by boats. IMPACT OF HURRICANE KATRINA ON NEW ORLEANS  In New Orleans, the school district laid off more than 7,000 teachers and staff, and large numbers of police.  Six of the eight hospitals were destroyed. KATRINA CAUSED AN INSURANCE NIGHTMARE  The insurance industry grappled with its largest-ever loss and a record number of individual claims:  1.6 million from Katrina,  Another 1 million from hurricanes Rita and Wilma, which followed Katrina. RECOVERY REQUIRED LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS  TO MARSHAL AND INTEGRATE THE COMMUNITY’S STAPLE FORCES,..  …WITH THE GOAL OF BECOMING MORE RESILIIENT TO FUTURE HURRICANES.