Rainfall from Katrina’s outer bands began affecting the Gulf coast well before landfall. As Katrina came ashore on August 29th, rainfall exceeded rates of 1 inch/hour across a large area of the coast. NOAA’s Climate Reference Network Station in Newton, MS (60 miles east of Jackson, MS) measured rainfall rates of over an inch an hour for 3 consecutive hours, with rates of over 0.5 in/hr for 5 hours during August 29th. Precipitation analysis from NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center show that rainfall accumulations exceeded 8-10 inches along much of the hurricane’s path and to the east of the track.

Windspeeds over 140 mph were recorded at landfall in southeastern Louisiana while winds gusted to over 100 mph in New Orleans, just west of the eye. As the hurricane made its second landfall on the Mississippi/Louisiana border, windspeeds were approximately 110 kts (125 mph). Gusts of over 80mph were recorded in Mobile and 90 mph in Biloxi, MS.

The central pressure at landfall was 920 mb, which ranked 3rd lowest on record for US-landfalling storms behind Camille (909 mb) and the Labor Day hurricane that struck the Florida Keys in 1935 (892 mb). Hurricane Andrew in 1992 dropped to fourth, as its central pressure was 922 mb at landfall. Katrina also reached a minimum central pressure of 902 mb at its peak, ranking 4th lowest on record for all Atlantic basin hurricanes.

It would appear that negligence on the part of experts in the US Army Corps of Engineers led to the flooding of New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. The ruling belongs to a US judge, who came to the conclusion after analyzing pieces of evidence for and against, presented by six residents and a business on the one hand, and the engineers, on the other. The court’s decision was to uphold the complaints that the civilians and the company made against the Corps, saying that the engineers’ lack of ability in maintaining a navigation channel indeed led to the massive flood that wiped homes and businesses off the face of the Earth.

The ruling also stated the plaintiffs were to receive some $720,000 in damages, in a ruling that could see thousands of others suing for the recovery of their losses. An estimated 80 percent of New Orleans was engulfed by waters following one of the most devastating tropical storms in recent history. The mayhem caused billions of dollars in damages, and also claimed the lives of more than 1,800 people. An additional 705 were declared missing, following what some called the worst natural disaster in the history of the United States. Overall, Katrina was the sixth strongest tropical storm ever recorded.

“Hurricane Katrina in 2005 was the largest natural disaster in the history of the United States. Preliminary damage estimates were well in excess of $100 billion, eclipsing many times the damage wrought by Hurricane Andrew in 1992,” Randall Bell, an economist and crisis consultant, wrote a while back. If the current ruling holds future appeals, then the US Army Corps of Engineers could lose a lot of the reputation it now enjoys in the eyes of the public on account of its usually skilled work.

Hurricane Katrina - a nightmare of a hurricane with 140-mile-an-hour (225-kilometer-an-hour) winds and a storm surge nearly two stories tall came ashore at the mouth of the Mississippi River near New Orleans.

Katrina is the hurricane that emergency-management and government officials have long feared would strike New Orleans. Many of the Louisiana city’s 500,000 residents live below sea level and were surrounded by the waters of the Mississippi River, Lake Pontchartrain, and several bays.

Hundreds of thousands of Gulf Coast residents evacuated as the forecasts for Hurricane Katrina became more ominous. All kinds of evacuations were going on, and shelters were filling up. There were shelters as far away as southeast Texas and all over central Louisiana.
Residents in the Florida Keys, which lie to the south of the peninsula, were caught off guard by Katrina’s intensification.

A radiosonde is a small instrument package and radio transmitter that is attached to a large balloon. As the balloon rises through the atmosphere, the radiosonde instruments measure: Air Temperature, Humidity and Pressure. This data is relayed back to a computer at the surface.

The data provide an important vertical profile of the hurricane’s environment, which is critical for forecast models. Radiosondes are generally only released over land, which leaves a large data gap over the oceans.

Dropsondes are a variation on the radiosonde. Instead of being carried aloft by a balloon, the dropsondes, which are attached to a small parachute, are dropped into the hurricane from the reconnaissance aircraft. These instruments are helping forecasters to make great strides in understanding and predicting hurricane behavior.

As of 9 September 2005, several countries and international organisations have offered aid despite significant sources of conflict or recent political disagreement with the U.S.A. Enmity with the U.S.A. ranges from past and possibly future violent conflict (e.g. Cuba and Iran) to diplomatic ice mainly due to the Iraq war (e.g. France and Spain and hence the EU despite splits within that organisation) to mutual dislike and distrust (e.g. China and Mexico).

The summary is:

· China
Offered $5 million aid and rescue workers, including medical experts.

· Cuba
Offered more than 1,000 doctors and over 26 tons of medical supplies. On 1 September 2005, Castro held one minute of silence for Hurricane Katrina’s victims and then the Cuban parliament passed a resolution attacking President Bush and the American government.

· EU (European Union)
The U.S.A. officially requested emergency assistance from the EU in the form of first aid kits, blankets, water trucks, and prepared meals which were soon delivered. The EU executive Commission’s Civil Protection Mechanism is coordinating member states’ offers, which included offers beyond that which was requested. Romania, not yet an EU member, is providing medical teams as part of the EU’s assistance. BBC comments “The US may not really need baby food from Italy or divers from Belgium, but its call for European and international help shows that, after the divisions over Iraq, it has now realised that even superpowers need friends.”

· France
Provided tents, generators, and water purifying plants amongst other materials. A French NGO offered to send a team to repair phone lines and internet service and a French company offered to assist with water supply.

· Germany
The German environment minister wrote an opinion piece on 30 August which blamed the American President’s stance on global warming for increasing disaster effects. On 31 August and 1 September, the German government offered aid, including 25 tonnes of food, emergency shelter, and services for medicine, transportation, water treatment capabilities, and search and rescue.

· India
Offered $5 million plus medicine, a medical team, and water purification systems.

· Iran
Offered 20 million barrels of crude oil, although sanctions might inhibit delivery.

· Mexico
Sending $1 million, water, food, medical supplies, vehicles, and equipment. Much more was offered than was accepted. The Mexican army delivered supplies, crossing into American territory.

· Russia
Sent medical supplies, food, tents, blankets, drinking water, and portable electricity generators.

· Spain
As part of the International Energy Agency’s plan, Spain is providing 70,000 barrels a day of oil for 30 days along with food, batteries, medicine, and a Red Cross delegation.

· UN (United Nations)
Despite the American government’s disinterest in strong outcomes from the World Conference on Disaster Reduction in January 2005 and continuing attempts to tone down the outcomes from the 2005 World Summit in September 2005, the UN offered assistance which was accepted by the American government on 3 September 2005. The inter-agency teams comprise representatives from the World Food Programme (WFP), Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), World Health Organization (WHO), and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), as well as support teams from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)/United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) network.

· Venezuela
Offered to send food, oil, water and aid workers plus soldiers to help tackle looting in New Orleans. Just before Hurricane Katrina, Venezuela’s president had offered cheap gas to poor Americans and free eye surgery for Americans without health care access. No official reaction could be found to these offers.

Use bottled water that has not been exposed to flood waters if it is available.

If you don’t have bottled water, you should boil water to make it safe. Boiling water will kill most types of disease-causing organisms that may be present. If the water is cloudy, filter it through clean cloths or allow it to settle, and draw off the clear water for boiling. Boil the water for one minute, let it cool, and store it in clean containers with covers.

If you can’t boil water, you can disinfect it using household bleach. Bleach will kill some, but not all, types of disease-causing organisms that may be in the water. If the water is cloudy, filter it through clean cloths or allow it to settle, and draw off the clear water for disinfection. Add 1/8 teaspoon (or 8 drops) of regular, unscented, liquid household bleach for each gallon of water, stir it well and let it stand for 30 minutes before you use it. Store disinfected water in clean containers with covers.

If you have a well that has been flooded, the water should be tested and disinfected after flood waters recede. If you suspect that your well may be contaminated, contact your local or state health department or agriculture extension agent for specific advice.

The Gulf Coast has taken another phenomenal blow due to BP oil spill. Our Gulf Coast here in Mississippi was still trying rebuild after being hit by Hurricane Katrina. They were successfully plunging ahead and businesses were finally beginning to bloom again with tourists who were finally returning to our shores. Hotels were busy and the shrimp boats were doing well.

New businesses were even beginning to pop up but they still had a ways to go to get back to normal since Hurricane Katrina slammed our shores.For an already struggling economy and with many hurdles left to leap after taking the blow from Hurricane Katrina, along came BP’s oil spill that is the worst oil spill in history.

Now many businesses are shutting down with no means to support their families and no means of being able to return to their livelihoods from this horrific disaster. Without the oil spill being contained and stopped, there is no way to even estimate the damage we’ll have to recover from; especially should it reach the Atlantic shores.

Shortly after the hurricane moved away on August 30, 2005, some residents of New Orleans who remained in the city began looting stores. Many were in search of food and water that were not available to them through any other means, as well as non-essential items.

Reports of carjacking, murders, thefts, and rapes in New Orleans flooded the news. Some sources later determined that many of the reports were inaccurate, because of the confusion.Thousands of National Guard and federal troops were mobilized (the total went from 7,841 in the area the day Katrina hit to a maximum of 46,838 on September 10) and sent to Louisiana along with numbers of local law enforcement agents from across the country who were temporarily deputized by the state.

 ”They have M16s and are locked and loaded. These troops know how to shoot and kill and I expect they will,” Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco said. Congressman Bill Jefferson (D-LA) told ABC News: “There was shooting going on. There was sniping going on. Over the first week of September, law and order were gradually restored to the city.” Several shootings were between police and New Orleans residents, including a fatal incident at Danziger Bridge.A number of arrests were made throughout the affected area, including some near the New Orleans Convention Center. A temporary jail was constructed of chain link cages in the city train station.

An engineering firm hired to oversee the reconstruction of city buildings and infrastructure damaged by Hurricane Katrina has been overcharging the city, including billing for theater tickets and a flight to Las Vegas, an internal investigation found.

The report by New Orleans Inspector General E.R. Quatrevaux said the flawed contract with MWH Americas Inc. has hurt the city’s recovery, placing blame on both the company and city officials. The city’s slow rebuilding process continues to anger residents, and the uneven recovery was a major issue in the campaign leading up to last month’s mayoral election.

Quatrevaux advised scrapping the deal with the Broomfield, Colo.-based firm in the report, first made public Thursday by The Times-Picayune. The company’s work previously had not garnered much criticism.

Hurricane Katrina is one of our nation’s worst natural disasters. The loss of life and destruction seems immeasurable. Today, in the aftermath of Katrina, the focus of caregivers must be the stabilization of injury and illness and, ultimately, the preservation of life. As our nation rushes to help, by addressing the physical and safety needs of survivors, we must not overlook the myriad victims of the hidden trauma - traumatic stress.

Traumatic stress refers to the feelings, thoughts, actions and physical reactions of individuals who are exposed to, or who witness, events that overwhelm their coping and problem-solving abilities. Traumatic stress disables people, causes disease, precipitates mental disorders, leads to substance abuse, and destroys relationships and families.

Beyond those who have survived Katrina, many of whom have faced serious physical injury, are those who have experienced devastating losses of loved ones. Countless people have lost their homes, all of their possessions, and all that was familiar to them.