Hurricane Safety Zone

Katrina

When HurricaneKatrina made landfall the first time, it was in South Florida as a Category 1 hurricane. What she left in Florida was flooding and thousands of people without power. But the next time she made landfall was in the Gulf Coast states, she caused thousands of deaths and massive destruction. Hurricane Katrina is, to date, the worst hurricane in U.S. history. It is too bad that we have to get hit with such a devastating storm before many people will start to make the proper preparations - such as they should for the impending Hurricane Wilma.

Hurricane Katrina Makes Her Mark

Making her mark is actually an understatement. 80% of New Orleans was flooded as a result of Hurricane Katrina, and the entire city was evacuated both before and after the storm. Why? Because the levies in Lake Pontchartrain broke, it made a bad situation worse. Many people did not heed evacuation warnings. Some stayed because they had weathered severe hurricanes before and come out of it just fine, while others may not have had the means to get out. Although many did make adequate hurricane safety preparations, nobody was prepared for the flooding that followed. Many people who stayed were forced to their attics or rooftops to escape rising flood waters. While waiting for help, some starved to death because they were literally there for days. Many people wanted to place blame on the government for not getting help to victims of Katrina soon enough. The lack of a fast response did, in fact, contribute to the death toll of Katrina. But the deaths of some could be attributed to the fact that they didn't evacuate when told. There were other factors as well, like the fact that nursing homes didn't get all of their residents evacuated in time. And if the lake's levies had been strong enough, the flooding wouldn't have been as bad as it was.

Just as the mayor of New Orleans thought it was safe enough to let residents return to the flood-ravaged city, the threat of Hurricane Rita arose. Just yesterday (September 20, 2005) the mayor had to ask that residents do not return just yet. At this point, the levies are not fixed, and as little as three inches of rain in six hours could cause even more flooding. As of right now, New Orleans is just barely out of harm's way with Rita, but hurricanes are unpredictable creatures, and the slightest bobble could set it off of its projected path and possibly hit New Orleans yet again. If it's one thing we've all learned from the 2005 hurricanes, it's that it's better to be safe than sorry--especially when it comes to hurricanes.

We hope to never have a storm as bad as Hurricane Katrina again.