Case Study: Hurricane Katrina - Responses
Geography: Cambridge International GCSE (2027 Exams), topic 2.4.7
The Responses to Hurricane Katrina
The severe effects of Hurricane Katrina were met with both immediate and long-term responses.
Immediate responses
- 1.7 million people were evacuated from the states of Mississippi and Louisiana before the storm struck.
- 20-30% of inhabitants were forced to stay in New Orleans and most of these people were the poorest who could not afford to evacuate.
- Louisiana's National Guard asked for more than 700 buses to evacuate people, however, only 100 buses were sent. States of emergency were declared in Mississippi and Louisiana.
- More than 35,000 people were rescued by the coastguard in New Orleans.
- Charities provided food, water, and aid to those affected.
Long-term responses
- The waters that flooded New Orleans were pumped into Lake Pontchartrain. This took over a month.
- The US Congress (government) allocated $62bn to be spent in aid helping feed and re-house the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
- The US federal and state governments have spent $20 billion rebuilding New Orleans' flood defence systems, with levees, gates, pumps and floodwalls.
Test yourself on Case Study: Hurricane Katrina - Responses
How much money was provided by the US government in aid after Hurricane Katrina?
Immediate responses to Hurricane Katrina
What were the responses to Hurricane Katrina?