Hurricane Katrina

Atlantic hurricane in 2005

Hurricane Katrina was one of the deadliest hurricanes to ever hit the United States and the second Category 5 hurricane of the record-breaking 2005 Atlantic hurricane season.

Hurricane Katrina
Category 5 major hurricane (SSHWS/NWS)
Hurricane Katrina at peak intensity in the Gulf of Mexico on August 28, 2005
FormedAugust 24, 2005
DissipatedAugust 31, 2005[1]
(Extratropical after August 29)
Highest winds1-minute sustained: 175 mph (280 km/h)
Lowest pressure902 mbar (hPa); 26.64 inHg
Fatalities1,933 total
Damage125 billion (2005 USD)
(Tied as costliest tropical cyclone on record[2])
Areas affected
Part of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season

Storm history change

 
Storm path

The storm formed over the Bahamas on August 23, where it moved west and hit south Florida as a Category 1 hurricane two days later. Katrina then crossed over Florida and strengthened into a Category 5 hurricane moving west in the Gulf of Mexico.

The storm then turned north, had an eyewall replacement cycle, and hit east Louisiana and Mississippi, flooding coastal areas on the morning of August 29.

The leftovers of Katrina then died out over the Great Lakes on August 31.

Impact change

 
People on the roofs of their houses, to avoid the flood waters

80% of New Orleans was flooded when the levees protecting the city broke.[3][4] Most of the people killed by Katrina were thought to have died from drowning. Many of the survivors had swum to higher roofs or tree branches.




Related pages change

References change

  1. Knabb, Richard D; Rhome, Jamie R; Brown, Daniel P; National Hurricane Center (December 20, 2005). Hurricane Katrina: August 23 – 30, 2005 (PDF) (Tropical Cyclone Report). United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Weather Service. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
  2. https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/news/UpdatedCostliest.pdf
  3. "Hurricane Katrina". Archived from the original on 2012-07-31. Retrieved 2010-11-23.
  4. Swenson, Dan D.; Marshall, Bob (May 14, 2005). "Flash Flood: Hurricane Katrina's Inundation of New Orleans, August 29, 2005". Times-Picayune. Archived from the original (SWF) on October 17, 2012. Retrieved June 7, 2007.

Other websites change