BISL 04-Weather and Climate

58 METEOROLOGICAL PHENOMENA

What Katrina Took Away

H

urricane Katrina lashed the south and the center of the United States

in August 2005. The force of the wind razed thousands of houses,

buildings, oil installations, highways, and bridges, leaving a vast area

of the country without communication and some heavily populated areas

without provisions. It resulted in extensive material damage and thousands

of deaths in Florida, the Bahamas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Satellite images

reveal the scope of the disaster, considered one of the most devastating in

the history of the country.

The hurricane winds pushed the

water 14 feet (4.3 m) above the

normal sea level.

Along with the storm, the

backed-up water reaches the

dikes of the Mississippi River.

ORLEANS

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17TH STREET

CANAL

OVER

OVER

Area most affected

by the flood

Areas most affected

by the flood

Area of New Orleans

affected by flooding

80%

LAKE PONTCHARTRAIN

THE WATER

advances toward the city,

invading the central regions.

6:00 A.M.

The time when

the hurricane

made landfall

NEW ORLEANS

Latitude 30° N

Longitude 90° W

Area

Number of inhabitants

Altitude (above sea level)

360 square miles (933 square kilometers)

500,000

10 feet (3 m)

THE WINDS

At 155 miles per hour (250

km/h), they force the water

against the protective walls..

DIKES

were breached by the

water and the wind,

causing a great flood.

Deaths confirmed after Katrina

1,500

dollars was the cost of the repairs.

75 billion

AUGUST 23

A tropical depression forms in the

Bahamas. It intensifies and becomes

tropical storm Katrina. On August

25, it makes landfall in Florida as a

category 1 hurricane.

AUGUST 27

Leaves the Gulf of Mexico and

reaches category 3. On August 28,

it is transformed from category 3

to category 5 and increases in size.

CATEGORY 3

CATEGORY 4

CATEGORY 5

AUGUST 29

In the early hours, it makes landfall in

Louisiana as a category 4 hurricane.

A little later, it makes landfall for the

third time, in Mississippi.

SEPTEMBER 1

What remains of the hurricane

is weakened as it moves north

to Canada, where it dissipates.

Direction of

the hurricane

MAXIMUM WIND SPEED

155

(250 km/h)

miles

per hour

of the inhabitants

of this zone were

evacuated.

75%

Huracanes fueron

14 registrados en 2005.

El total de tormentas

tropicales registradas

en el año 2005.

26

WEATHER AND CLIMATE 59

LONDON

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