Hurricane Katrina (Essay Sample)

Hurricane Katrina

This essay’s objective is precisely describing the cause and effect brought by the horrifying hurricane which was faced by a fraction of the U.S.A. Hurricane Katrina listed among the five lethal, costliest, and cataclysmic hurricanes in United States’ history. Hurricane Katrina was the sixth-powerful/ most active Atlantic hurricane ever registered. Additionally, Katrina was the third-forceful hurricane ever registered that caused a landfall. Causes of the disastrous storm started to form on twenty-third August, two-thousand and five. The wave sprung from a tropical depression twelve over the southeastern Bahamas.

This depression resulted from a tropical wave combined with the remnant effect of tropical depression ten. After that, the tide converted into a storm and gradually came into its peak status on August twenty-eighth, two thousand and five. The storm arose from the Gulf of Mexico and became among the top three hurricanes recorded in U.S.A’s history. Hurricane Katrina was forecasted to impact the Gulf coast such as New Orleans, Mississippi along with other states that were also wholly devastated and flooded by the terrifying and ghastly hurricane. The hurricanes’ physical traits include the storm’s eye and clouds that can shift either counterclockwise or clockwise depending on the area from which the hurricane has instigated and also the wind’s direction. Normally, a hurricane has an eye, an eye is the hurricane’s central and innermost area and can span from twenty to four-hundred miles depending on the hurricane’s velocity, and the number of clouds gathered around it. A hurricane can gain a constant speed of seventy-four mph or more depending on the type of hurricane that has been formed. However, all hurricanes have different characteristics in term of the number of clouds, speed, spinning direction, and the distance covered by the eye. Devastating impacts to land ‘A’ hurricanes such as Hurricane Katrina do cause an immense impact on the land reason being, with a hurricane, the entire land can erode away. All the existing plantations and beaches that were existent in the hurricane-affected areas are all completely eroded, and the earth’s topmost layer has been wiped away by the hurricane.

After analyzing the hurricane, one cannot conclude that New Orleans is vulnerable to disaster reason being, all natural disasters are not well planned out for. Additionally, hurricanes commonly crop up as a surprise for humankind’s life. The underlying reason New Orleans is at risk is credited to its location that is, being on the country’s coastline. The federal government can take steps to increase local government’s commitment to hazard alleviation and planning by establishing relatively small adjustments to the Flood Insurance Act along with the 2000 Disaster Mitigation Act. Furthermore, the government needs to create defined evacuation plans where the coastline states must be significantly concentrated upon because of the numerous numbers of hurricanes known to have hit America. The government must additionally communicate to the country’s citizens regarding if and when such a disaster might occur. If everyone is included in the plan, greater chances of adaptation and cooperation to the disaster are established. Possible means to alleviate or avoid the disasters as individuals after undergoing such a hurricane. Individuals must understand to avoid such disasters, a need for the individual to be calm and also keeping some food and other fundamentals stored away as a backup. The storage is of significance when evacuation plans are being performed.

When an electrical power outage happens during a storm, we are instructed to hold flashlights, a generator, battery-functioned radios, and survival gear. However, what transpires when the power outage is long-term? What takes place when batteries die down? What comes about when the generator’s fuel runs out? For those individuals who did not endure Katrina, the consequences of power loss combined with catastrophic flooding are unimaginable. Hurricane Katrina was not a minimal vexation; it was a cataclysm of epic proportions. Much of the onsite first responders and rescue workers’ failure to efficiently operate resulted from lost communication. Additionally, friends and relatives could not locate each other neither could they find any information for an extended period. Katrina was a nightmare for the victims and the communications people. Simply, the massive power loss rendered the Gulf Coast without the essential tools to function. Today’s technology in communications is unparalleled and becoming increasingly more sophisticated by the week; yet, devoid of power, even the most high-tech systems are useless. Katrina shattered communication networks. It impacted cell phones, broadband, satellite technology, instant messaging, wireless and other kinds of everyday communication that are primarily taken for granted. Even in the terrible disaster 9/11 and Hurricane Andrew, communication was not knocked out. Backup batteries and generators are equipped to keep equipment running for a couple of hours at the most, which is usually ample time for the electrical grid to be restored. However, here, the floodwaters were to blame for most of the communication failure.

The individual can then assist the government in constructing any destruction that might have been a result of the hurricane so that the development and solution can be achieved faster compared to if the government was executing the duty alone. The relationship between global warming and hurricane frequency knowing the magnitude behind global warming, it can be asserted that hurricanes and global warming both cause the earth’s normal temperature to augment resulting in various adverse impacts to occur. One causes the temperature to rise because of the winds and speed that is occurring at repetitive stages whereas the other increases the temperature by the numerous gas emissions which are effused to the atmosphere causing intoxication atmospheric intoxication

One the most catastrophic disasters in United States’ history is Hurricane Katrina. The genesis of large destructions is credited with engineering errors and also the storm’s strength. It is important to own multiple power sources, both alternative and conventional, for equipment to function for prolonged periods even when the primary power source is disabled. In an emergency, effective communication is imperative. Making communication networks/channels better can be the difference between life and demise in future disasters.

related articles