2000s+Hurricane+Katrina

Hurricane Katrina 

**The Hurricane** Hurricane Katrina was a massive hurricane that struck Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama in the summer of 2005. There has been an increasing number of hurricanes since 1995. Natural climatic cycles and warmer ocean temperatures contribute to the increase of hurricane activity. Warm seas are considered fuel for hurricanes. Hurricane Katrina reached Category 5 over the warmest water which is the highest Category for a hurricane. It was the third major hurricane of the 2005 season. This hurricane was declared the costliest and most destructive natural disaster in US history. New Orleans was one of the most affected towns by Hurricane Katrina. The storm front of Hurricane Katrina extended 120 miles along the Gulf of Mexico, created dozens of tornadoes, and generated a surge that pushed water a mile inland and created 20 foot waves. There were sustained winds of 175 mph and gusts of 215 mph. By the end of the storm a lot of people were killed, missing, or homeless. The official death count in December 2005 was over 1,800 people. There were more than 6,000 people missing or unaccounted for. More than one million people were displaced by the storm and remained homeless for months. The economic damages from Hurricane Katina were more than $81.2 billion and it was the most costly hurricane in the nation's history. The hurricane revealed America's lack of natural disaster preparedness. Many blamed the George W. Bush Administration and Federal Emergency Management for not responding quickly enough to help people. At first little was done to help people evacuate and some had to fend for themselves. However many celebrities donated their time and money, and many organizations were started to contribute to the Gulf Region. "Were the damages of Hurricane Katrina in any way preventable?" is a very commonly asked questions and many think that there was a way to prevent some of the damages. Here is a time line of the events in the order of the hurricane...Timeline for Hurricane Katrina media type="youtube" key="IblL_rXpdu8" height="349" width="425"media type="youtube" key="pvoEiBnpCc8" height="349" width="425"

 