Hurricane Katrina Anniversary

[Kory]

9 years ago, my family and I were packing up and evacuating out home in the New Orleans area.  Little did we know that it would be the last time we would see our city the way we knew it.  The days leading up to it seem almost surreal.  The TV meteorologists begging and crying on TV for people to evacuate; making frequent runs to Home Depot and the grocery; sitting in endless lines to fuel up our cars and get out; and packing up things we cherished and necessities to ride out the storm in Baton Rouge.  Never did I once think that almost a decade after the storm, there would still be visible marks.  Watching the live areal stream from news helicopters seeing New Orleans underwater brought tears to everyone in the hotel (they were most evacuees as well).  It has been a long road to recovery.  Even though I attend college in Tuscaloosa, New Orleans is still my home.  We're resilient people.  It's amazing the progress we've made in 9 years.  Still have a ways to go, but I feel we've rebuilt a better New Orleans.  

 

 

 

[Hoosier]

000

WWUS74 KLIX 281550

NPWLIX

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!

[Kory]

Another amazing statistic about Katrina was the storm surge she produced.  It's the highest recorded in the United States at a whopping 28 feet high in Pass Christian, Mississippi.  20+ foot storm surge was common across all of Southeast Louisiana, Mississippi, and parts of coastal Alabama.  Something about the year 2005...produced such powerful and destructive storms.  

[Kory]

000WWUS74 KLIX 281550NPWLIXURGENT — WEATHER MESSAGENATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW ORLEANS LA1011 AM CDT SUN AUG 28, 2005...DEVASTATING DAMAGE EXPECTED...HURRICANE KATRINA...A MOST POWERFUL HURRICANE WITH UNPRECEDENTEDSTRENGTH... RIVALING THE INTENSITY OF HURRICANE CAMILLE OF 1969.MOST OF THE AREA WILL BE UNINHABITABLE FOR WEEKS...PERHAPS LONGER. ATLEAST ONE HALF OF WELL CONSTRUCTED HOMES WILL HAVE ROOF AND WALLFAILURE. ALL GABLED ROOFS WILL FAIL...LEAVING THOSE HOMES SEVERELYDAMAGED OR DESTROYED.THE MAJORITY OF INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS WILL BECOME NON FUNCTIONAL.PARTIAL TO COMPLETE WALL AND ROOF FAILURE IS EXPECTED. ALL WOODFRAMED LOW RISING APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL BE DESTROYED. CONCRETEBLOCK LOW RISE APARTMENTS WILL SUSTAIN MAJOR DAMAGE...INCLUDING SOMEWALL AND ROOF FAILURE.HIGH RISE OFFICE AND APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL SWAY DANGEROUSLY...AFEW TO THE POINT OF TOTAL COLLAPSE. ALL WINDOWS WILL BLOW OUT.AIRBORNE DEBRIS WILL BE WIDESPREAD...AND MAY INCLUDE HEAVY ITEMS SUCHAS HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCES AND EVEN LIGHT VEHICLES. SPORT UTILITY VEHICLESAND LIGHT TRUCKS WILL BE MOVED. THE BLOWN DEBRIS WILL CREATEADDITIONAL DESTRUCTION. PERSONS...PETS...AND LIVESTOCK EXPOSED TO THEWINDS WILL FACE CERTAIN DEATH IF STRUCK.POWER OUTAGES WILL LAST FOR WEEKS...AS MOST POWER POLES WILL BE DOWNAND TRANSFORMERS DESTROYED. WATER SHORTAGES WILL MAKE HUMAN SUFFERINGINCREDIBLE BY MODERN STANDARDS.THE VAST MAJORITY OF NATIVE TREES WILL BE SNAPPED OR UPROOTED. ONLYTHE HEARTIEST WILL REMAIN STANDING...BUT BE TOTALLY DEFOLIATED. FEWCROPS WILL REMAIN. LIVESTOCK LEFT EXPOSED TO THE WINDS WILL BEKILLED.AN INLAND HURRICANE WIND WARNING IS ISSUED WHEN SUSTAINED WINDS NEARHURRICANE FORCE...OR FREQUENT GUSTS AT OR ABOVE HURRICANE FORCE...ARECERTAIN WITHIN THE NEXT 12 TO 24 HOURS.ONCE TROPICAL STORM AND HURRICANE FORCE WINDS ONSET...DO NOT VENTUREOUTSIDE!

This right here was accredited for saving numerous lives.  I remember vividly this message being read by the news anchors as they pleaded for people to get out.  

[Kory]

A truly great link for looking at the progress made in New Orleans. 

 

http://www.nola.com/katrina/index.ssf/2014/08/hurricane_katrina_then_and_now.html

[Sunny and Warm]

That pic of Katrina at max intensity was truly one of a kind.  A large, perfectly constructed cat 5 hurricane.  I hardly remember those days of cat 4 and 5 storms.  Been awhile.

[IsentropicLift]

It's pretty amazing that she weakened from a CAT 5 to a CAT 3 by landfall. I remember waking up the morning of thinking New Orleans had dodged a major bullet given the weaker intensity.

[Hoosier]

It's pretty amazing that she weakened from a CAT 5 to a CAT 2 by landfall. I remember waking up the morning of thinking New Orleans had dodged a major bullet given the weaker intensity.

 

Wasn't it cat 3?

[andyhb]

It's pretty amazing that she weakened from a CAT 5 to a CAT 2 by landfall. I remember waking up the morning of thinking New Orleans had dodged a major bullet given the weaker intensity.

 

Cat 3.

[IsentropicLift]

Wasn't it cat 3?

Yes, typo, 110kts at landfall. Still, things could have been much worse.

[Hoosier]

Yes, typo, 110kts at landfall. Still, things could have been much worse.

 

 

That can be said with basically anything.  Nearly 2000 deaths and a cat 5 like surge was pretty bad.

[andyhb]

That can be said with basically anything.  Nearly 2000 deaths and a cat 5 like surge was pretty bad.

 

Not to mention the extended crippling of a major US city, the government backlash and widespread economic effects.

 

Aside from not having Cat 5 winds at landfall, Katrina needs no disclaimers in the "could be worse" department.

[Kory]

That can be said with basically anything.  Nearly 2000 deaths and a cat 5 like surge was pretty bad.

I don't know how it could've gotten any worse (perhaps wind wise).  Over 80% of New Orleans flooded and surge made it over 1 mile inland in Mississippi.  

 

If you ask me, a storm going just east of New Orleans is worst case scenario.  It pushes Lake Pontchartrain into the numerous drainage canals that open up to the Lake.  

[Srain]

Here are a couple of photos I took while living in the Lower Keys after Katrina made that SW turn across the Miami Dade/Broward Counties and crossed S Florida mostly over the Everglades in 8 hours before exiting into  Florida Bay about 40 miles N of Key West on its way to rapid intensification.

 

 

[IsentropicLift]

That can be said with basically anything.  Nearly 2000 deaths and a cat 5 like surge was pretty bad.

I was talking in terms of the warning posted here from the NHC. They were expecting widespread structrual damage from wind. I'm not sure anyone expcted the type of surge and flooding that ensued.

[gymengineer]

That can be said with basically anything.  Nearly 2000 deaths and a cat 5 like surge was pretty bad.

Right. The 'doomsday' scenario thrown around for years about New Orleans on all those "Top potential natural disaster" lists was always about the flooding. Katrina pretty much fulfilled that scenario. A more intense landfall wouldn't have made much of a difference in terms of the water. And once entire blocks are under-water, the level of wind damage was kind of moot point. 

[IsentropicLift]

Here are a couple of photos I took while living in the Lower Keys after Katrina made that SW turn across the Miami Dade/Broward Counties and crossed S Florida mostly over the Everglades in 8 hours before exiting into  Florida Bay about 40 miles N of Key West on its way to rapid intensification.

 

 

I remember Jim Cantore broadcasting from SE Florida and him saying it was the most intense Cat 1 he had ever experienced.

[Srain]

I was talking in terms of the warning posted here from the NHC. They were expecting widespread structrual damage from wind. I'm not sure anyone expcted the type of surge and flooding that ensued.

Actually it was expected. I certainly contacted my family and friends back in Texas and told them that this Hurricane was like none other that I had experienced. That water you see in the above photos was from surge on the Atlantic side of the Lower Keys Island Chain and then again as the storm passed to the W, from the Gulf side.

[Hoosier]

If you ask me, a storm going just east of New Orleans is worst case scenario.  It pushes Lake Pontchartrain into the numerous drainage canals that open up to the Lake.  

 

 

I remember this debate before but I'm not sure what the conclusion was.  Intuitively speaking, a storm just east is pretty bad for the reason you mentioned yet a storm going just west would put the right front quadrant over the city. 

[IsentropicLift]

Actually it was expected. I certainly contacted my family and friends back in Texas and told them that this Hurricane was like none other that I had experiences. That water you see in the above photos was from surge on the Atlantic side of the Lower Keys Island Chain and then again as the storm passed to the W, from the Gulf side.

I'm sure your first hand experiences led to a lot more information then I was receiving from The Weather Channel. 

[Srain]

I'm sure your first hand experiences led to a lot more information then I was receiving from The Weather Channel. 

And likely a lot of years of personal experience with Hurricanes/Tropical cyclones dating back to Hurricane Carla in 1961...

[IsentropicLift]

I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask or not but why was Camille not as damaging to the levee system given the landfall location and intensity? Guessing it had something to do with the size of the windfield?

 

[Kory]

I remember this debate before but I'm not sure what the conclusion was.  Intuitively speaking, a storm just east is pretty bad for the reason you mentioned yet a storm going just west would put the right front quadrant over the city. 

If it did go just to the west, then the Westbank (the suburbs across the Mississippi River) would be badly hit as they have drainage canals that open up to the marshy (or what's left) to the South.  Also, the eastern facing suburbs such as New Orleans East, Chalmette, etc, would also be under the gun as the Mississippi Coast and the River act as a funnel into those areas.  

 

[Eduardo]

000WWUS74 KLIX 281550NPWLIXURGENT — WEATHER MESSAGENATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW ORLEANS LA1011 AM CDT SUN AUG 28, 2005...DEVASTATING DAMAGE EXPECTED...HURRICANE KATRINA...A MOST POWERFUL HURRICANE WITH UNPRECEDENTEDSTRENGTH... RIVALING THE INTENSITY OF HURRICANE CAMILLE OF 1969.MOST OF THE AREA WILL BE UNINHABITABLE FOR WEEKS...PERHAPS LONGER. ATLEAST ONE HALF OF WELL CONSTRUCTED HOMES WILL HAVE ROOF AND WALLFAILURE. ALL GABLED ROOFS WILL FAIL...LEAVING THOSE HOMES SEVERELYDAMAGED OR DESTROYED.THE MAJORITY OF INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS WILL BECOME NON FUNCTIONAL.PARTIAL TO COMPLETE WALL AND ROOF FAILURE IS EXPECTED. ALL WOODFRAMED LOW RISING APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL BE DESTROYED. CONCRETEBLOCK LOW RISE APARTMENTS WILL SUSTAIN MAJOR DAMAGE...INCLUDING SOMEWALL AND ROOF FAILURE.HIGH RISE OFFICE AND APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL SWAY DANGEROUSLY...AFEW TO THE POINT OF TOTAL COLLAPSE. ALL WINDOWS WILL BLOW OUT.AIRBORNE DEBRIS WILL BE WIDESPREAD...AND MAY INCLUDE HEAVY ITEMS SUCHAS HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCES AND EVEN LIGHT VEHICLES. SPORT UTILITY VEHICLESAND LIGHT TRUCKS WILL BE MOVED. THE BLOWN DEBRIS WILL CREATEADDITIONAL DESTRUCTION. PERSONS...PETS...AND LIVESTOCK EXPOSED TO THEWINDS WILL FACE CERTAIN DEATH IF STRUCK.POWER OUTAGES WILL LAST FOR WEEKS...AS MOST POWER POLES WILL BE DOWNAND TRANSFORMERS DESTROYED. WATER SHORTAGES WILL MAKE HUMAN SUFFERINGINCREDIBLE BY MODERN STANDARDS.THE VAST MAJORITY OF NATIVE TREES WILL BE SNAPPED OR UPROOTED. ONLYTHE HEARTIEST WILL REMAIN STANDING...BUT BE TOTALLY DEFOLIATED. FEWCROPS WILL REMAIN. LIVESTOCK LEFT EXPOSED TO THE WINDS WILL BEKILLED.AN INLAND HURRICANE WIND WARNING IS ISSUED WHEN SUSTAINED WINDS NEARHURRICANE FORCE...OR FREQUENT GUSTS AT OR ABOVE HURRICANE FORCE...ARECERTAIN WITHIN THE NEXT 12 TO 24 HOURS.ONCE TROPICAL STORM AND HURRICANE FORCE WINDS ONSET...DO NOT VENTUREOUTSIDE!

 

Still spurs a shiver in me after nine years.  Definitely the gravest foreboding I have ever read.

[Kory]

I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask or not but why was Camille not as damaging to the levy system given the landfall location and intensity? Guessing it had something to do with the size of the windfield?

 

Correct...and there was A LOT more marsh and wetlands to break down the surge as it came in (for Louisiana at least).  Wetland coverage has waned considerably in the past few decades and Katrina really wiped a significant portion out.  

[andyhb]

That discussion probably still is the most frightening NWS product ever issued, the only thing that would come close is probably some of the texts before/during 4/27/11.

[Hoosier]

That discussion probably still is the most frightening NWS product ever issued, the only thing that would come close is probably some of the texts before/during 4/27/11.

 

 

Well, both of them share something in common - tremendous outlier events in terms of casualties. 

[valkhorn]

All this focus on New Orleans and very little on the MS Gulf Coast.

 

I rode out Katrina in Hattiesburg, MS. My apartment was fine, but there were a lot of trees down and roofs somewhat peeled off due to the wind. 90mph wind gusts made it as far north as Meridian NAS (just north of where my parents live), and Meridian had a good bit of damage as well. I had to evacuate Hattiesburg the day after though due to no food, no water, and no power. It just wasn't liveable and I had to get out.

 

While New Orleans did get flooded, people often forget that the worst side of the storm hit coastal MS and pretty much wiped out everything about one mile from the coast from the Pearl River eastward across all of the state. Camille was the benchmark of the MS coast until Katrina, and a lot of people will tell you Katrina was much worse - mainly due to the surge which was higher than Camille. Even storm chasers around Gulfport and Biloxi thought they would be safe 25 feet above sea level and weren't. Jim Cantore had to go to another floor if you remember during the storm because the surge made it to where he was, and I believe he was 23' above sea level or thereabouts.

 

I had spent a lot of time on the MS Gulf Coast growing up and when I went back a few months later it was unrecognizable. Even six months later it was unrecognizable, and there was still a ton of damage that had not been cleaned up. A lot of people had no home except for a FEMA trailer for a very long time.

 

But what I found amazing was how the people on the MS Gulf Coast didn't complain. They just got on with life and rebuilt as best as they could. They didn't blame anyone for what had happened. In spite of the hell they went through, they persevered.

 

And, the sobering thought is it could have been worse for both MS and LA. What if it didn't weaken? What if it went further west? NO only got a glancing blow. This really wasn't the doomsday scenario for New Orleans yet it flooded. And, there were no levees protecting the entire MS Gulf Coast. While people in NO had it tough, you can't forget the people in MS who dealt with the true wrath of Katrina - and didn't let it defeat them.

[Kory]

All this focus on New Orleans and very little on the MS Gulf Coast.

 

I rode out Katrina in Hattiesburg, MS. My apartment was fine, but there were a lot of trees down and roofs somewhat peeled off due to the wind. 90mph wind gusts made it as far north as Meridian NAS (just north of where my parents live), and Meridian had a good bit of damage as well. I had to evacuate Hattiesburg the day after though due to no food, no water, and no power. It just wasn't liveable and I had to get out.

 

While New Orleans did get flooded, people often forget that the worst side of the storm hit coastal MS and pretty much wiped out everything about one mile from the coast from the Pearl River eastward across all of the state. Camille was the benchmark of the MS coast until Katrina, and a lot of people will tell you Katrina was much worse - mainly due to the surge which was higher than Camille. Even storm chasers around Gulfport and Biloxi thought they would be safe 25 feet above sea level and weren't. Jim Cantore had to go to another floor if you remember during the storm because the surge made it to where he was, and I believe he was 23' above sea level or thereabouts.

 

I had spent a lot of time on the MS Gulf Coast growing up and when I went back a few months later it was unrecognizable. Even six months later it was unrecognizable, and there was still a ton of damage that had not been cleaned up. A lot of people had no home except for a FEMA trailer for a very long time.

 

But what I found amazing was how the people on the MS Gulf Coast didn't complain. They just got on with life and rebuilt as best as they could. They didn't blame anyone for what had happened. In spite of the hell they went through, they persevered.

 

And, the sobering thought is it could have been worse for both MS and LA. What if it didn't weaken? What if it went further west? NO only got a glancing blow. This really wasn't the doomsday scenario for New Orleans yet it flooded. And, there were no levees protecting the entire MS Gulf Coast. While people in NO had it tough, you can't forget the people in MS who dealt with the true wrath of Katrina - and didn't let it defeat them.

Ahh...the dreaded FEMA trailers.  Don't you just love the government giving out trailers, to people who lost everything, that were ridden with formaldehyde?

[Srain]

All this focus on New Orleans and very little on the MS Gulf Coast.

 

I rode out Katrina in Hattiesburg, MS. My apartment was fine, but there were a lot of trees down and roofs somewhat peeled off due to the wind. 90mph wind gusts made it as far north as Meridian NAS (just north of where my parents live), and Meridian had a good bit of damage as well. I had to evacuate Hattiesburg the day after though due to no food, no water, and no power. It just wasn't liveable and I had to get out.

 

While New Orleans did get flooded, people often forget that the worst side of the storm hit coastal MS and pretty much wiped out everything about one mile from the coast from the Pearl River eastward across all of the state. Camille was the benchmark of the MS coast until Katrina, and a lot of people will tell you Katrina was much worse - mainly due to the surge which was higher than Camille. Even storm chasers around Gulfport and Biloxi thought they would be safe 25 feet above sea level and weren't. Jim Cantore had to go to another floor if you remember during the storm because the surge made it to where he was, and I believe he was 23' above sea level or thereabouts.

 

I had spent a lot of time on the MS Gulf Coast growing up and when I went back a few months later it was unrecognizable. Even six months later it was unrecognizable, and there was still a ton of damage that had not been cleaned up. A lot of people had no home except for a FEMA trailer for a very long time.

 

But what I found amazing was how the people on the MS Gulf Coast didn't complain. They just got on with life and rebuilt as best as they could. They didn't blame anyone for what had happened. In spite of the hell they went through, they persevered.

 

And, the sobering thought is it could have been worse for both MS and LA. What if it didn't weaken? What if it went further west? NO only got a glancing blow. This really wasn't the doomsday scenario for New Orleans yet it flooded. And, there were no levees protecting the entire MS Gulf Coast. While people in NO had it tough, you can't forget the people in MS who dealt with the true wrath of Katrina - and didn't let it defeat them.

Excellent point about the Biloxi/Gulfport/Waveland/St Louis Bay area of Mississippi. Along I-10 just E of the I-12 junction, I saw cars and home furnishings in tree tops as well as sizeable ocean going barges, large shrimp boats and tugs marooned well N of  I-10. Mississippi to me did not receive the media coverage of the aftermath that the New Orleans area did because of the size of that media market. Many lives were lost in Waveland/St Louis Bay as well.