Social, Economic And Social Effects Of Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina

On August 29, 2005 Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans and Morgan City, Louisiana, Biloxi, Mississippi, and Mobile, Alabama. At landfall it was a category 3, and it increased to a category 5. This was one of the strongest and most destructive storms to ever hit the US. It left thousands dead, homes and buildings destroyed, and the cities underwater leaving a negative impact on America socially, economically and politically.
Socially, America was impacted because of how much damage was done due to the strength of the storm. There were orders of evacuation before the storm hit, and 80% of the population did evacuate. However, more than 112,000 people did not have access to a car, about 10,000 people sought shelter in the superdome,
In all, the storm impacted over 93,000 square miles. Not only did the storm cause billions of dollars in damage, but it also destroyed 19% of U.S oil production. It destroyed 113 offshore oil and gas platforms combined with Hurricane Rita, which occurred shortly after. 457 oil and gas pipelines were destroyed, causing oil prices to increase by $3 a barrel. The oil prices increase cause gas prices to increase to almost $5 a gallon. In response, the U.S. government released oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserves. This reserve has the largest emergency supply of oil in the world, it holds up to 727 million barrels. It’s located underground in Louisiana and Texas. Before Katrina hit the U.S economy grew by 3.8%, but afterwards it plummeted to 1.3%. In New Orleans alone, the hurricane caused $260 million in damage to the port. Before the hurricane the city generated $9.6 billion a year in tourism and attracted 7.1 million visitors a year. After the hurricane, the profit from tourism was only $2.6 million. Also, the hurricane destroyed 40% of the crop in the heart of Louisiana’s sugar industry. The annual crop value was estimated at $500 million, but after the storm it was reduced to almost nothing because it was destroyed. This area of Louisiana also had 50 chemical plants that produced 25% of the nation’s chemicals. About 190,000 barrels of oil were spilled in Louisiana after Katrina. When the amount of oil spilled in Alabama is included, there were about 8 million gallons of oil spilled total due to Katrina. 540 individual oil spills were recorded after Katrina and Rita. Also, there were 54 superfund sites that were scattered around Louisiana because of the hurricane. Tests by the Natural resource defense council revealed that the levels of arsenic were present at a level 30 times higher than the EPA’s safety limits. There were other cancer causing contaminants found in the sediment around New Orleans.