Remembering Hurricane Katrina...5 Years Later...

Sunday, August 29, 2010

The following is the first of three blog posts today on Hurricane Katrina. This look back at Katrina comes on the 5 year anniversary of the terrible storm. It was not only the worst natural disaster in the history of this state, and the Gulf Coast region. It was also the worst natural disaster in U.S. history. It also became the worst man-made disaster in U.S. history as well as the levees broke in the New Orleans area flooding 80% of the city. This look back at Katrina will look at everything from the forecasting of the storm to the impacts to the aftermath. It will be tough to read for most, but it is worth looking back. Please take a moment to pause today and pray as we commemorate this somber anniversary.

The first part of my look back at Katrina follows.

Today is officially the 5 year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Katrina is still talked about to this day, and it along with OUR storm, which we'll remember next month, Rita, are the worst natural disasters to ever strike our great nation. There is so much that is still be learned from Katrina, and research will be conducted for many many years. While most of the focus with Katrina from media coverage et. al centered on New Orleans, what happened in other parts of SE Louisiana and Southern Mississippi and Alabama can't be forgotten. The death toll from Katrina was nearly 1,300. Over 1,000 of these deaths occurred in Louisiana.

While I want to discuss and remember Rita more than Katrina, because Rita has more effects locally, and was the most devastating storm in our area's history, the anniversary of Katrina can't pass without us taking a moment to pause and reflect on the tragedy that occurred in late August 2005. We remember those who perished, and had their lives torn apart by this storm. Many of us have friends/family that were affected directly by the storm, as do I. Many areas of the great city of New Orleans, will likely never be the same again, and the same can be said for coastal Mississippi. Some meteorological insight involved with the storm itself will be included. I will conclude this post with a very "chilling" manuscript from the National Weather Service Office in Slidell, LA. This was issued on Sunday, August, 28, 2005 shortly after 10a.m. I still get teary-eyed when I read this.

URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW ORLEANS LA
1011 AM CDT SUN AUG 28 2005

...DEVASTATING DAMAGE EXPECTED....HURRICANE KATRINA...A MOST POWERFUL HURRICANE WITH UNPRECEDENTED STRENGTH...RIVALING THE INTENSITY OF HURRICANE CAMILLE OF 1969. MOST OF THE AREA WILL BE UNINHABITABLE FOR WEEKS...PERHAPS LONGER. AT LEAST ONE HALF OF WELL CONSTRUCTED HOMES WILL HAVE ROOF AND WALL FAILURE. ALL GABLED ROOFS WILL FAIL...LEAVING THOSE HOMES SEVERELY DAMAGED OR DESTROYED.THE MAJORITY OF INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS WILL BECOME NON-FUNCTIONAL. PARTIAL TO COMPLETE WALL AND ROOF FAILURE IS EXPECTED. ALL WOOD FRAMED LOW RISING APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL BE DESTROYED. CONCRETE BLOCK LOW RISE APARTMENTS WILL SUSTAIN MAJOR DAMAGE...INCLUDING SOME WALL AND ROOF FAILURE. HIGH RISE OFFICE AND APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL SWAY DANGEROUSLY...A FEW TO THE POINT OF TOTAL COLLAPSE. ALL WINDOWS WILL BLOW OUT. AIRBORNE DEBRIS WILL BE WIDESPREAD...AND MAY INCLUDE HEAVY ITEMS SUCH AS HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCES AND EVEN LIGHT VEHICLES. SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES AND LIGHT TRUCKS WILL BE MOVED. THE BLOWN DEBRIS WILL CREATE ADDITIONAL DESTRUCTION. PERSONS...PETS...AND LIVESTOCK EXPOSED TO THE WINDS WILL FACE CERTAIN DEATH IF STRUCK. POWER OUTAGES WILL LAST FOR WEEKS...AS MOST POWER POLES WILL BE DOWN AND TRANSFORMERS DESTROYED. WATER SHORTAGES WILL MAKE HUMAN SUFFERING INCREDIBLE BY MODERN STANDARDS.THE VAST MAJORITY OF NATIVE TREES WILL BE SNAPPED OR UPROOTED. ONLY THE HEARTIEST WILL REMAIN STANDING...BUT BE TOTALLY DEFOLIATED. FEW CROPS WILL REMAIN. LIVESTOCK LEFT EXPOSED TO THE WINDS WILL BE KILLED. AN INLAND HURRICANE WIND WARNING IS ISSUED WHEN SUSTAINED WINDS NEAR HURRICANE FORCE...OR FREQUENT GUSTS AT OR ABOVE HURRICANE FORCE...ARE CERTAIN WITHIN THE NEXT 12 TO 24 HOURS. ONCE TROPICAL STORM AND HURRICANE FORCE WINDS ONSET...DO NOT VENTURE OUTSIDE!

What are your memories of Katrina??? Post your comments, thoughts, or questions. Part 2 is immediately above this post.

-DM-