Devastating Effects Of Katrina

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Have you ever imagined your home being destroyed as well as your whole community? Well the people in New Orleans experienced this last year. Hurricane Katrina destroyed the whole New Orleans area as well as many other areas. Today I will talk about the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina. I will inform you of what organizations provided help to the victims. And also I will talk about what actions are being taken to rebuild the area.

Hurricane Katrina did its destruction in late August of 2005. It began as a category 5 and then became a category 3 hurricane. Before hitting New Orleans, Katrina hit South Florida and then the Gulf Coast. Before Katrina struck land, a state of emergency was declared and mandatory evacuations were issued. Katrina was the most destructive and costliest natural disaster in the history of the United States and the deadliest since 1928. Over 1,400 people died and almost 2,000 people are still unaccounted for.

A major problem caused by Katrina was flooding. The levees were destroyed and since the city is lower than the levees, it caused major flooding. This led to many people drowning and also many suffered from dehydration. Many people fled, but those who couldn't were housed in the superdome for several days. Theses people were unable to evacuate due to the insufficient transportation for citizens. All forms of public transportation was shut down before the storm even hit. The people who were evacuated went to Houston, Atlanta, and Little Rock. This storm left almost 3 million people without electricity. ...

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...gram. Also, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs set up mobile health care clinics in surrounding communities.

Schools and Education was another key aspect that needed to be restored. In New Orleans all 183 schools were closed. Now 54 schools have been reopened. The department of education provided $750 million to help public and private schools along the Gulf Coast reopen.

If better preparation was taken to avoid the flooding form the levees breaking, many lives would have been saved. Many lessons have been learned in that response time should be immediate and we must always prepare for the worst. Stronger and better hurricane protection is needed in the future.

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