Katrina: A Freight Train Screamin’ - Cary Black

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is likely that the maximum high water mark is not indicative of the true height of the surge as a water mark forms when the water quits moving. There is some evidence that suggests the surge in some places could have exceeded 50 feet.

      The surge appeared to have penetrated at least 6 miles inland in many portions of coastal Mississippi and up to 12 miles inland along bays and rivers, in some cases crossing Interstate 10. Surges from 10 to 15 feet extended along the coastal waters of Alabama.

      Although the storm surge was highest to the east of the path of the eye of Katrina, a significant storm surge occurred west of the path of the eye towards New Orleans and Lake Pontchartrain. High water mark data indicate the storm surge was 12 to 16 feet in St. Tammany Parish from Slidell to Mandeville, Louisiana. The data also indicate a storm surge of 15 to 19 feet occurred in eastern New Orleans, St. Bernard Parish, and Plaquemines Parish, while the surge was 10 to 14 feet in western New Orleans along the southern shores of Lake Pontchartrain.

      For New Orleans wind damage, though severe, was less than the wind damage observed in those areas of the eye and her landfall points.

      The National Hurricane Center reported that, “The storm surge severely strained the levee system in the New Orleans area.” Several of the levees and floodwalls were overtopped and or breached at different times on the day of landfall. Most of the floodwall and levee breaches were due to erosion on the back side caused by overtopping, but a few breaches occurred before the waters reached the tops of the floodwalls.

      The surge overtopped large sections of the levees east of New Orleans in Orleans Parish and St. Bernard Parish, and it also pushed water up the Intracoastal Waterway and into the Industrial Canal. The water rise in Lake Pontchartrain strained the floodwalls along the canals adjacent to its southern shore, including the 17th Street Canal and the London Avenue Canal. Breaches along the Industrial Canal east of downtown New Orleans, the London Avenue Canal north of downtown and the 17th Street Canal northwest of downtown occurred early Monday morning on August 29th.

       Out of the Storms

      80% of the city of New Orleans and outlying areas were under up to 25 feet of sitting flood waters. A big difference between the storm surge in the New Orleans and those of the Gulf Coast was that the Gulf Coast surges, though far more unabated and energetic flowed inland… then back out to sea. The floodwaters in the areas around New Orleans had nowhere to go, thus remaining for up to 3 weeks.

      With high temperatures, bodies, sewage and chemical pollutants, the ‘Katrina’ water became a cesspool of corrosion and potential disease for everything it touched.

      Between and Katrina and Rita, 90,000 square miles of the United States was affected. This equates to approximately 3% of the total area of the continental United States. More than 1.5 million people were directly affected with over a million citizens being forced to live outside of their homes. Not since the Dust Bowl migrations of the 1930’s had such a huge portion of US citizenry been displaced. The actual death toll may never be fully known; the official death toll at the time of this writing is 1,836. Many people remain missing and unaccounted for. Further, premature deaths of elderly have increased and continue, possibly caused by the stress and havoc inflicted on them in their twilight years.

      Thousands of homes and businesses throughout New Orleans were destroyed by the flooding. Many high rise buildings lost windows and roof structures. The resulting storm surges striking the Mississippi coast destroyed entire coastal communities. At the time of this writing, some 2.5 years after the storm, much has yet to be re-built and much is still destroyed. The magnitude of Katrina’s destruction was extreme. The infrastructure of an entire region of the United States was brought to its knees in a matter of about 6 hours. It has been estimated that the total damage cost of Katrina was about $81 Billion. The dollar figure will likely grow over the years of recovery...possibly for a decade.

      Not only from the damage and the attempts to re-build, the economic and environmental ramifications are difficult to fathom. Thousands of workplaces were destroyed with hundreds of thousands of workers displaced resulting in millions of dollars in lost tax revenues and societal cash flow for the region. Agricultural, tourism, and the oil industries were dramatically impacted and it is still not certain when or if they will return to their pre-Katrina levels of economics.

      All of the citizens of the United States in some way or another experienced the disastrous consequences of Hurricane Katrina. From increases in the cost of fuel due to the upset in the Gulf Coast fuel producing infrastructure, to increases in food costs, to a national loss in faith in the good will of the Federal government as perpetrated and sensationalized in the media...we all suffered a loss. Questions and uncertainties as to our social fabric began to emerge extending into every area of our lives. How could such a calamity in terms of the federal response occur? How could such a perception of ineptitude be so patently obvious in the evaluation of the seeming disinterest of our country’s executive administration of the time? Or so goes the pictures the pundits were painting. Yet in spite of the problems, the disorganization, and the lack of a coherent local/state/federal response, the heroes of America stepped up. People from all walks of life left their homes and families behind to do what they could do as individuals by reaching out and helping their fellow Americans in a time of need.

      As a country, and as members of this national community, it’s time to react to the lessons of Katrina by changing the way we approach such scenarios. More recently, the responses to Hurricane Gustav and Hurricane Ike appeared to take the lessons of Katrina quite seriously. Communication redundancies, supply logistics, and other preparations were in place locally and were on stand-by for immediate deployment. Changes in the FEMA approach in enhancing the communications between local and state governments were implemented.

      There are many indications that FEMA could have responded more effectively during Katrina and that the Louisiana government appeared disorganized, not desirous of federal assistance until too late in the game.

      Another point that cannot be over emphasized is the lingering perception (enhanced by our country’s media) that New Orleans was where Katrina hit. It is important to note that the flood protection infrastructure of New Orleans should have been adequate in keeping the water out. Poor maintenance and design contributions are more to blame for the devastating flooding that followed Katrina’s passage. The damage inflicted upon New Orleans should have been negligible compared to the communities along the Gulf Coast where the true brunt of Katrina’s strength was unleashed.

      The forces and wrath of Katrina were without bound as she ripped through Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, and continued her destructive path along the Gulf Coast of Mississippi into Alabama.

      Communities such as Venice, Port Sulfur, Bay St. Louis, Gulfport, Waveland, Biloxi, and Dauphin Island, felt the true force of Katrina. These communities experienced the worst Katrina had to offer. They were hit with Category 3 to Category 4 winds, followed by storm surges up to and likely exceeding 30 feet. These communities were literally washed away.

      There is still a great deal of bitterness amongst survivors in these communities, some of whom feel that New Orleans received preferential treatment in terms of attention, rescue resources, and post disaster funding at their expense. Indeed, Gulf Coast residents sitting on floating rooftop pieces waiting to be rescued recalled helicopters flying over on their way to New Orleans. It is suggested that money and sensationalism talk in America!

       In the Eyes of the People

      While researching this book, it quickly became clear that base human response to utter calamity requires explanation. The perspectives and prejudices that people have are often amplified and expanded upon in the course

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