Hurricane: Characteristics And Impacts Of Natural Hazard

1. Define the natural hazard

A natural hazard is a natural phenomenon that might have a negative effect on humans or the environment. Natural hazards can cause a negative effect and impact on humans and the environment as natural hazards can damage the environment and can cause serious injuries to people. Natural hazards occur from natural events inside of our earth. For the earth’s Crustal plates can create natural disasters such as tsunamis and earthquakes. A hurricane is only called a hurricane when the wind force goes beyond 64 knots 118km per hour.

2. Describe where your chosen natural hazard is likely to occur and why. Include a map.

Hurricanes are most likely to occur near the equator. This is because the temperature and the water near the equator is the hottest in the world. Hot water is one of the most crucial parts of a hurricane. If there is a lot of warm water in a certain part in the ocean and a storm happening at the same time, the storm would suck up the heat energy from the water. This creates moisture in the air and if the wind conditions are right, the storm will become a hurricane. The main places where hurricanes have occurred near the Pacific Ocean and The Philippines as they are the closest places to the equator and have a lot of hot water around them.

3. Outline the causes of your natural hazard.

Hurricanes can be created or start when moist air comes from the oceans and starts to rise up at a rapid rate. Then the moist air comes across cooler air which causes warm water vapor to condense (condense means to be compacted) and to create storm clouds and rain. Hurricanes can be very dangerous and reach up to speeds of over 160 mph and release more than 2.4 trillion gallons of rain a day. Hurricanes are formed in oceans and then move on the land and then storm surges which are massive waves of water coming from the ocean goes with the hurricane causing a lot of damage to the environment. Hurricanes are caused when there is lots of warm, moist air in a certain part of the ocean. When the warm, moist air is met with cool dense air, it causes the warm water vapor to condense and form storms and a lot of rain.

(Figure 3: Shows a labelled diagram of the first stages to how hurricanes are formed)

4. Describe the Social, Economical and environmental impacts this case study has had on the affected communities.

Social Impacts =

Hurricane Katrina made a big social impact as it caused many serious problems towards the people in New Orleans such as major damage to homes and properties, killing many people and to be specific over 1,800 lost their lives due to this destructive hurricane, giving severe injuries or harm towards people and leaving most of the community homeless or in financial difficulties.

(Figure 4.1 shows New Orleans and a couple of square miles of the destruction of Hurricane Katrina.

Figure 4.2 shows a map showing where the max flood height happened which is shown in red and the minimum flood height shown in Dark Blue.)

Both these images above show some of the damage that Hurricane Katrina did in New Orleans. Not only does it show the damage of what the flood and the Hurricane did, it shows the large area that was affected by this destructive Hurricane. To be specific about 93,000 square miles were affected by Hurricane Katrina, and it’s storm surge was lifted up to 27 feet in some areas. This creates a social impact because it shows a larger area meaning that a bigger community was widely affected which is the reason why a magnificent amount of people were killed or left severely injured. This also explains why so many homes and buildings being destroyed, which then leads to many families losing their jobs and for people to become homeless.

Economic Impacts =

Hurricane Katrina made a huge impact economically based on the destruction and effects on the environment and on the community, many things had to be repaired and put back to their normal state which required a lot of money ($250 Billion) to be put into play. The main reason to why a lot of money was put towards the damages of Hurricane Katrina is because many important things were affected such as oil production, the disturbance of gas pipes from all the flooding, a larger area means more properties to be fixe, loss of vegetation, animals to be replenished and many more. Another Economic impact would have to be a loss of jobs as shown below through this graph.

(Figure 4.3 shows the change in employment before and after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans)

This graph shows the 3 year changes in job employment and as shown in this image, the changes in employment dropped dramatically after Hurricane Katrina arrived. This is because many industries, factories and everyday jobs were lost from all the destruction that the Hurricane Katrina. But as shown after the drop, the amount of employment starts to progressively rise which is mainly from all the jobs opening up to fix the town of New Orleans.

Environmental Impact =

The environmental impacts that Hurricane Katrina caused a loss of vegetation, many animals to die, the natural environment to be put in severe damage and a lot more. Have a loss of crops and vegetation means that the community had to replant and regrow all the crops that were lost from mainly the storm surge. The animals that were dead meant that the other countries around them would have to transport more animals to the farms so they can repopulate.

These images below shows the before and after image of the Chandeleur Islands which is 60 miles from New Orleans and yet still affected by the Hurricane. This area had many animal habitats, safe environment for animals and plants, Vegetated areas and Marshes (a Wetland type area).

Images Below of Chandeleur Islands

(Figure 4.3 = Before – 2001) (Figure 4.2 = After – 2005)

5. Examine how individuals, groups and various levels of government responded to the case study. How effective was their response? Justify your answer.

On August 26th, before Hurricane Katrina hit the U.S, the Governor at the time, Katherine Babineaux Blanco, declared a state of emergency in Louisiana, and asked President Bush to do the same at the federal level the next day, he complied with this request. This gave FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) the authorisation to organise and distribute resources to help the residents of New Orleans prepare for this upcoming disaster. As this was happening the Mayor of New Orleans at the time, C. Ray Nagin, declared a voluntary evacuation of the city. The next day, August 28th, the evacuation became a mandatory requirement. Many citizens who did not have the ability to leave the city took shelter in the Superdome.

When the Hurricane hit on August 29th FEMA mobilised 1000 Homeland Security workers to assist the city. In an effort to organise the response, FEMA made a declaration that undoubtedly slowed the response. This was that firefighters and ambulance crew were not to respond to areas hit by The Hurricane without being informed by the local and state authorities to do so. FEMA was said to seem unwilling to accept help from non-government organisations. For example; the American Red Cross was not allowed to enter New Orleans following the disaster.

The day after Katrina hit New Orleans, the Superdome was packed past capacity. More and more people were swarming to the Superdome for safety, the situation there became much much worse. Therefore it was evacuated by Homeland Security workers the next day. While the situation was unfolding it was clear to the community that the government response to this emergency was inefficient and inadequate. This made the community frustrated. The federal government did not have sufficient information about the severe damage that the hurricane was causing.

Figure 5.1-

This image shows the total spending on hurricanes from 2004 – 2006.

Figure 5.2-

This image shows how much the government spent on services which helped keep the community under control and control/lessen the damage of the hurricane.

6. Outline the current management strategies that have been implemented to stop/reduce the effects of this hazard on the community. How effective have these strategies been? Justify your answer.

Management Strategies

There were many Management strategies that were implemented to stop/reduce the effects that Hurricane Katrina would do. These management strategies were mainly made before the Hurricane came, this is because they needed to prepare and get ready for what the damages that the Hurricane was going to do, especially with a strong storm surge that was behind this hurricane. All these management strategies were different from one another which made some more effective and some being not as effective as the others.

Examples of management strategies that were used to stop or reduce Hurricane Katrina were creative the levees, adding flood walls in the edge of the city, Pipes were linked from towns and to the ocean to reduce the floods, Families were told to stay in homes and barricade them inside to reduce any harm and damages towards them and families also made safety kits which include food, medical items to prepare for injuries.

The levees, Pipes, and flood walls were mainly used to reduce or even try to stop the damage that the storm surge would possibly do. The Levees were used to reduce the amount of water from coming through, the flood walls and the pipes were used as a second source of defence in reducing the damages that the powerful storm surge could do the many properties in the city.

(Figure 6 all the levees protecting New Orleans are shown in red)

For family safety, before the Hurricane arrived on every household TV a warning was sent out to prepare for this destructive hurricane. Families were told to barricade the doors and windows by using their household items such as tables and chairs. This helped reduce the amount the water coming in and reduce the damage and injuries that may occur. Safety kits were also made which included off some food water, bandages and other medical items. This was to help with any injuries or other things that could cause danger.

Was it Effective

Many of these management strategies were highly effective while others failed and ended up allowing both the Hurricane and Storm Surge more destructive. Some strategies like the levees and barricading would’ve reduced the damage and the impacts of the Hurricane, but since Hurricane Katrina was a Category 5 Hurricane the hurricane was way too powerful and destructive allowing the hurricane to easily past the levees and break through the barricades that was protecting the many families that were in their homes

Firstly, due to how powerful and destructive Hurricane Katrina was especially how it was a category 5 hurricane it was able to overcome some of the management strategies. For example the storm surge went to a height of about 27 feet max meaning that although the levees reduced the amount of water coming in, a majority of the water was still coming through.

Secondly, the management strategy of families barricading themselves in their homes was also not as effective due to the strength and power of Hurricane Katrina. Although it reduced the water from coming in, the water was still able to break through causing damage to structures and some injuries to people.

Some of the other management strategies were very effective. Although it didn’t stop the effects of the Hurricane, they did reduce them. Some of the many things such as the safety kits, the flood walls and the pipes were very effective.

Safety kits were very effective as it helped families who couldn’t find medical assistance, with minor injuries such as cuts and many more. The floods walls and pipes were really effective as it reduced the amount of water from entering the city. Without the flood walls and the large pipes a lot more water would come into the city causing more destructive damage and even caused a flood.

7. Predict the impact that climate change could have on your natural hazard. Think about occurrence, frequency and extent of this type of hazard. Your group must examine at least 3 impacts. Suggest a solution for one of these impacts.

Climate change will have a great impact on hurricanes as it has the effects of; more moisture in the air, which can cause more frequent storms, more & faster evaporation, rise in sea levels due to the melting of ice caps, oceans expand due to warmer temperatures, warmer temps around seas causing more humidity and evaporation, which is the main cause of a forming hurricane.

The ripple effects of these effects are; Warmer sea temperatures could intensify tropical storm wind speeds, potentially delivering more damage if they make landfall.

Warmer waters also mean more rain. Rainfall rates during these storms are predicted to increase by about 20 percent and, as Hurricane Harvey showed in 2017, this can, at times, have a more destructive impact than the winds.

Sea level rise is likely to make future coastal storms, including hurricanes, more damaging. Globally, sea level is expected to rise by 1.2 meters during the next decade, which will amplify coastal storm surge. Much of this damage was related to coastal flooding.The sea level has risen 20cm in the last year. For example; Louisiana is losing land at the rate of one football field every 45 minutes. Only 10% of what used to be there is still there.

The melting of the ice caps results in more water in our oceans and seas. This means the water is becoming deeper, the water temperatures are also rising meaning that water is getting warmer deeper which is dangerous not only for humankind but for animals like deep-sea animals which thrive in the dark, cold depths of the ocean. It has been proven that Katrina intensified significantly when it hit the deep, yet warm waters of the Mexican Gulf.

So, how do we solve the great impacts of the climate and hurricanes? To do this we would need to stop climate change, which is impossible, as the end of the world is inevitable, but we can lengthen the time we have here by; using renewable resources, not wasting any resources that we have, try to divert from fossil fuels, recycle more. It’s just the little things that we do that can help.

Figure 7.1-

Shows how the increase in global temperature has had an effect on the frequency of hurricanes.

Figure 7.2-

Shows how warmer air can affect precipitation and evaporation.

References for all questions:

1. The Balance. (2018). Why Was Hurricane Katrina so Damaging to New Orleans, and the World? [online] Available at: https://www.thebalance.com/hurricane-katrina-facts-damage-and-economic-effects-3306023#targetText=Damage%20and%20Insurance%3A%20Hurricane%20Katrina,or%20rendered%20uninhabitable%20300%2C000%20homes [Accessed Oct. 2019].
2. Noaa.gov. (2013). NOAA Ocean Explorer: Education – Multimedia Discovery Missions | Lesson 14 – Hurricanes | Activities: Hurricane Katrina – Environmental Consequences. [online] Available at: https://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/edu/learning/14_hurricanes/activities/environment.html [Accessed Oct. 2019].
3. Anon, (2018). Social Impacts of Hurricane Katrina. [online] Available at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02732170701534267?journalCode=usls20 [Accessed Oct. 2019].
4. Anon, (2019). Economic Statistics- Hurricane Katrina. [online] Available at: https://edition.cnn.com/2013/08/23/us/hurricane-katrina-statistics-fast-facts [Accessed Oct. 2019].
5. Anon, (2017). Hurricanes and Climate Change. [online] Available at: https://www.c2es.org/content/hurricanes-and-climate-change [Accessed Oct. 2019].