Basic facts in a Katrina review

Katrina Diaspora
Originally uploaded by Ross Mayfield

Hurricane Katrina was the costliest and one of the deadliest hurricanes in the history of the United States, according to Wikipedia.org.

* Caused catastrophic damage along the coastlines of
- Alabama,
- Mississippi
- Louisiana
And to the municipalities of
- New Orleans
- Mobile (AL),
- Biloxi (MS)
- Gulfport (MS)
- Slidell (LA).

* Levees separating Lake Pontchartrain from New Orleans were breached by the surge, ultimately flooding roughly 80% of the city and areas of neighboring parishes.
* Severe wind damage was reported well inland.
* Katrina damages estimated at $75 billion.
- Costliest hurricane in U.S. history.
- 1,836 people dead.


New Orleans' levee failures:
- primarily the result of system design flaws
- also caused by lack of adequate maintenance, acc. to the National Science Foundation.

diaspora: mass migration of people. Ex: diaspora of African-Americans from the Deep South to northerly cities such as Chicago, Detroit and NYC after the WWI era.