In the blink of an eye.
Before being officially declared as a severe hurricane, Katrina first appeared as a tropical depression on the 23rd of August. It formed over southeastern Bahamas, as it made its path towards central Bahamas, quickly developing into a tropical storm on the 24th. As the hurricane developed, it approached the Florida coast as a category 1 hurricane, and into the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Hurricane Katrina quickly went from category 1 to category 5, the highest threat possible during August 25th-28th as it continued to move west.
The storm is brewing…
The city of New Orleans, located in Louisiana, has suffered its own damages before. Hurricane Betsy of 1965 struck the city with moderate damage, but the city’s barriers prevented the city from flooding, and time was given to prepare for Betsy to hit. Afterwards, the city has asked to be provided with a strengthened structural system, and was approved. Although, the plan fell behind, and was supposed to be completed by 1978 but still remained unfinished even in 2005. The city’s levees were not enough to handle floodwaters, let alone a hurricane. Louisiana’s residential population has decreased during these specific years, but the city’s protections hardly changed.
As Hurricane Katrina approached the Gulf coast, many residents evacuated from their areas, and those that stayed depending on the reason, has sought shelter or found other arrangements to keep themselves safe. Media reports at the time have reported that the city’s weak protections and location makes it extremely vulnerable to extreme damage from the Hurricane. Especially since it was in the eye of the hurricane.
New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin ordered the mandatory evacuation of the city’s 485,000 residents. Officials acknowledged that tens of thousands of residents and tourists would be unable to leave. With the airport closed, the city organized buses to transport those left behind to 10 emergency shelters and encouraged people to bring supplies and food for a three- to five-day stay. Three nursing home patients died during the evacuation, according to an Associated Press report.
Christopher Lee & Peter Whoriskey
August 29, 2005
Looking at the quote from the Washington Post Article, we can specifically look at how the community was preparing to leave or prepare for those unable to evacuate. For residents that are unable to stay, the city was willing to transport them to nearby emergency shelters. According to the article, it seems that those who can not leave are residents who do not have the financial means to be able to leave safely and quickly. Looking at the second data visualization with the population change, we can look at both 1965 and 2005 where both Hurricane Betsy and Katrina appeared. Between 1965 and 1966, population seem to increase, rather than decrease after Hurricane Betsy. Although in 1980, it started to gradually decline before sharply declining from 2005 to 2006.
