What was hurricane katrina on the scale

Hundreds of square miles of wetlands were lost after Katrina. Some marshlands became permanent water bodies.

Some projects now aim to bring back marshlands because of their value in defending the coastline from storms. Black stripes run through the Sep. Lake Pontchartrain covers the northern part of these Landsat images.

The curvy dark line is the Mississippi River as it meanders past New Orleans. The m Chandler, K. Accessed April 28, As early as two days before landfall, the NWS Office in Mobile issued a Hurricane Local Statement at pm that foretold of the historic storm surge values of feet well east of Katrina's center.

Storm Surge Map depicting a portion of storm surge data. Observed storm surge data [Note: Highest tides occurred August 29, ]. Tree damage across Stone and George Counties in south Mississippi was very similar to the damage produced by Hurricane Ivan across Atmore and Brewton in south central Alabama. In this velocity loop am CDT , the eye of the storm, denoted by the large white circle, is southwest of the region of maximum surface wind speeds.

These measurements are the winds flowing toward KMOB radar. The outer bands of Hurricane Katrina produced numerous tornadoes throughout the southeastern US on August , especially across southern Alabama and the northwest Florida panhandle. Most of the damage associated with these weak outer band tornadoes was tree and power line damage. No fatalities or injuries occurred with these tornadoes. A general inches of rain fell with isolated amounts exceeding 12 inches. The highest rainfall total observed in our county warning area was in Philpot, FL where 7.

Flash flooding occurred throughout the day as Katrina made landfall due to the heavy rainfall. The extend of rainfall can be seen in the map of observed precipitation for the southeastern US during Hurricane Katrina's lifetime August Please Contact Us. Please try another search. Multiple locations were found. Please select one of the following:.

Location Help. News Headlines. Customize Your Weather. Privacy Policy. Hurricane Katrina - August Weather.

Current Hazards. Submit a Storm Report Local Outlooks. Current Conditions. Rivers and Lakes. By August 28, evacuations were underway across the region. New Orleans was at particular risk. Though about half the city actually lies above sea level, its average elevation is about six feet below sea level—and it is completely surrounded by water.

Over the course of the 20th century, the Army Corps of Engineers had built a system of levees and seawalls to keep the city from flooding. Before the storm, officials worried that surge could overtop some levees and cause short-term flooding, but no one predicted levees might collapse below their designed height. Some 10, had sought shelter in the Superdome, while tens of thousands of others chose to wait out the storm at home. By the time Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans early in the morning on Monday, August 29, it had already been raining heavily for hours.

Water seeped through the soil underneath some levees and swept others away altogether. Bernard Parish and the Ninth Ward were under so much water that people had to scramble to attics and rooftops for safety.

Eventually, nearly 80 percent of the city was under some quantity of water. Many people acted heroically in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The Coast Guard rescued some 34, people in New Orleans alone, and many ordinary citizens commandeered boats, offered food and shelter, and did whatever else they could to help their neighbors.

Yet the government—particularly the federal government—seemed unprepared for the disaster. Officials, even including President George W. Bush , seemed unaware of just how bad things were in New Orleans and elsewhere: how many people were stranded or missing; how many homes and businesses had been damaged; how much food, water and aid was needed.

For one thing, many had nowhere to go. At the Superdome in New Orleans, where supplies had been limited to begin with, officials accepted 15, more refugees from the storm on Monday before locking the doors. City leaders had no real plan for anyone else.

Tens of thousands of people desperate for food, water and shelter broke into the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center complex, but they found nothing there but chaos.

Meanwhile, it was nearly impossible to leave New Orleans: Poor people especially, without cars or anyplace else to go, were stuck. For instance, some people tried to walk over the Crescent City Connection bridge to the nearby suburb of Gretna, but police officers with shotguns forced them to turn back. Katrina pummeled huge parts of Louisiana , Mississippi and Alabama , but the desperation was most concentrated in New Orleans.