Level 9

Level 9

Famous Disasters: Famous Disasters:

Hurricane Katrina 2005 Hurricane Katrina 2005

Copyright © 2013 by Little Fox Co., Ltd.

All rights reserved.
 A Storm Called Katrina August 30 the worst of the storm was over, but nearly 15

O n Sunday, August
28, 2005, twelve
feet of floodwater remained, submerging 80 percent of the
city. Even worse, over a thousand people had drowned, and
thousand people huddled now corpses floated in the streets. It would take years for
inside the Superdome in New Orleans to recover from Katrina, one of the strongest
New Orleans, Louisiana. hurricanes ever to form in the Atlantic Ocean.
Thousands more waited
The Superdome in Louisiana with its
outside. Built to fit about damaged roof after Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Havoc
seventy thousand people, the Superdome was a huge sports Hurricanes are powerful
arena where professional football games and concerts were storms that start over warm
held. But on that day, people were not there for a game. oceans. As their winds spin and
Public officials had just named the stadium an emergency move across the water, they
shelter. The building was open to New Orleans residents gain heat and energy. If these
who were unable to evacuate the city as a huge storm—a hurricanes reach land, they can
dangerous hurricane called Katrina—approached. cause serious damage with their
The next morning Katrina arrived, pelting the strong winds, heavy rain, and
Superdome with violent winds and rain. Soon the building’s high waves. Scientists measure
generators failed, leaving everyone in darkness. The a hurricane’s intensity by using
A satellite image of
wind tore a huge hole in the ceiling, and food shortages, Hurricane Katrina the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane
sweltering heat, and backed-up toilets added to the chaos scale, which divides hurricanes into five categories. Category
inside the arena. As hours passed people grew more and One is the weakest, and Category Five is the strongest.
more frustrated. There were reports of violence and crime. Hurricane Katrina began near The Bahamas in the
Outside the building the situation was just as grim. By Caribbean Sea on August 23, 2005. The winds and relentless

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rain grew stronger as they traveled westward. Two days later flooding. But in 2005 some of these levees were old and in
the storm reached the southern tip of Florida as a Category need of rebuilding. Heavy rain and high floodwaters were
One hurricane, damaging homes and property and causing predicted with Katrina, and experts were deeply concerned
widespread flooding. Four people were killed. By the time that these levees would not be able to hold back the water.
Katrina reached the Gulf of Mexico, it had become a huge As the storm came
storm, with winds over 130 miles per hour. By August 28 closer, government officials
Katrina had grown into a Category Five hurricane—and this issued evacuation orders,
time the city of New Orleans lay right in its path. requiring residents to leave
many parts of Louisiana.
Trouble in the Big Easy Hundreds of thousands
Private airlines were used to evacuate
In 2005 no place was more of people evacuated citizens of New Orleans.

vulnerable to this monster storm the coastal region, heading for other states or to shelters
than New Orleans. This city, away from the coast. In New Orleans buses shuttled some
affectionately known as the Big residents to emergency shelters such as the Superdome. But
Easy, is the birthplace of jazz many people stubbornly refused to leave their homes; they
music and home of a famous were determined to wait out the storm, no matter how many
celebration called Mardi Gras. warnings were issued.
It is also a city surrounded On the morning of August 29, Katrina finally hit
by water, lying within the New Orleans. Experts had downgraded the hurricane to
Mississippi River basin, with Category Three, but it was still a powerful storm. Driven
New Orleans has always been
the Gulf of Mexico to the south known for its jazz musicians. by strong winds, great walls of ocean water crashed along
and the giant Lake Pontchartrain to the north. the coastline. As experts had predicted, the city’s system of
Levees, or man-made walls, protected the city from levees failed. Water from the river and lake poured into the

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streets, flooding New Orleans from all sides. Help Pours In
People who had chosen not to evacuate were suddenly During the hurricane and
in terrible danger. Some tried to leave their homes, only immediately afterward, only
to be swept away by rushing waters. Others headed for the military and police were
attics or rooftops, where they ended up stranded for days. allowed to help Katrina’s
Nearly 1,500 of victims. Tens of thousands
the city’s residents of soldiers were flown to
Rescue workers searching
died as a result for victims by boat the scene to rescue stranded
of the hurricane. and injured people, and deliver supplies like food and clean
Many more grew ill drinking water. Later civilian volunteers from all over the
from contaminated world arrived to help too.
f l o o d w a t e r, a n d The American government, under President George W.
Hundreds of thousands of people were left
cases of dysentery, without homes. Bush, decided to contribute $60 billion to the disaster relief.
cholera, and typhoid fever sprang up. Thousands suffered The Red Cross, as well as groups such as the Salvation
mental-health problems due to the stress of losing their Army and Habitat for Humanity, also raised money for
homes and family members. the victims and led efforts to supply clothing, food, and
Louisiana was hit the hardest, but Katrina struck temporary shelter. People outside the city helped by housing
seven states in total. By the time it was over, the storm the homeless and donating money and supplies. Businesses
had killed over 1,800 people and caused billions of pitched in too, with employees collecting contributions and
dollars in damage, leaving hundreds of thousands of preparing meals.
people without homes. One government official called
Katrina the “worst catastrophe, or set of catastrophes, in A Healing Process
the country’s history.” The Hurricane Katrina disaster has not been erased from

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the minds and daily lives of “We did it,” manager Doug Thornton said of the
its victims. Yet tremendous amazing feat. “We had to do it. We couldn’t fail.”
strides have been made Just as amazing was the Saints’ record that year. With
in rebuilding the places the Superdome completely filled with excited fans, the team
hit hardest, most notably won its first home game
New Orleans. New homes, and went on to have
Many homes have been rebuilt since
schools, and businesses the disaster. one of its best seasons
have been constructed, along with better levees to protect ever. And that gave the
the city from flooding. Weather experts are improving ways residents of New Orleans
to predict the intensity of hurricanes, while emergency The repaired Superdome a reason to celebrate.
management experts are working to create better systems for
alerting—and evacuating—people in danger.
The Superdome in New Orleans offers yet another sign
of hope.
After Katrina many residents wanted the damaged
stadium to be demolished because of all the unpleasant
memories that surrounded it. Yet a group of people, including
its manager, Doug Thornton, rallied to save it, arguing
that people still associated many happy memories with the
Superdome.
Their efforts succeeded. Just one year after Katrina, the
building was completely restored, and the city’s professional
football team, the Saints, returned there to play.

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Photo Credits

The photo of page 2: Courtesy of National Aeronautics and Space

Administration (NASA).

The photo of page 4: © Rick Lord/Dreamstime.com

All other photos: Courtesy of FEMA News Photos.