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Chapter Chapter 1

 Section Measuring Hurricane Katrina: The Path of Destruction

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Measuring Hurricane Katrina: The Path of Destruction

Estimating disaster damage is not an exact science, and, in the case of Hurricane Katrina, it is further complicated by ongoing recovery efforts. Estimates vary but, considering property damage alone, Hurricane Katrina is America’s first disaster—natural or man-made—to approach the $100 billion mark (See Table 1.1). ²²

Table 1.1 Estimated damage from Hurricane Katrina and the New Orleans Flood ²³

Housing                                                   $67 billion

Consumer durable goods                   $7 billion

Business property                                 $20 billion

Government property                         $3 billion

Total                                                         $96 billion

Hurricane Katrina devastated far more residential property than had any other recent hurricane, completely destroying or making uninhabitable an estimated 300,000 homes. ²⁴

This far surpasses the residential damage of Hurricane Andrew, which destroyed or damaged approximately 80,000 homes in 1992. ²⁵ It even exceeds the combined damage of the four major 2004 hurricanes, Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne, which together destroyed or damaged approximately 85,000 homes. ²⁶ Figure 1.2 charts the effects of Hurricane Katrina against other major hurricanes in recent U.S. history, comparing homes damaged or destroyed, property damage, and deaths.

Figure 1.2: Hurricane Katrina Compared to Hurricanes Ivan, Andrew, and Camille ²⁷

Hurricane Katrina’s damage was extensive. The storm destroyed so many homes, buildings, forests, and green spaces that an extraordinary amount of debris was left behind—118 million cubic yards all told. ²⁸ In comparison, Hurricane Andrew created 20 million cubic yards of debris. ²⁹ The debris from Katrina, if stacked onto the space of a football field, would reach over ten and a half miles high. ³⁰

Hurricane Katrina’s effects on the economy have yet to be fully reckoned. The worst consequences were local: between August and September, the unemployment rate doubled from 6 to 12 percent in the most affected areas of Louisiana and Mississippi. ³¹ In Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, salaries and wages fell by an estimated $1.2 billion in the third quarter of 2005. ³² But short-term, economic ripples reached the entire country through the rising cost of gasoline. The approach of the storm forced the temporary shutdown of most crude oil and natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico. In the immediate wake of Hurricane Katrina, gasoline prices rose sharply nationwide. ³³ The combined effects of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita, which made landfall on the border between Texas and Louisiana early on September 24, 2005, were such that, between August 26, 2005, and January 11, 2006, 114 million barrels of oil production capacity were left unused, equivalent to over one-fifth of yearly output in the Gulf of Mexico. ³⁴

The storm devastated the regional power infrastructure. In Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, approximately 2.5 million power customers reported outages. ³⁵ By contrast, Hurricane Ivan denied 1.8 million customers power. ³⁶

Communications suffered as well. The storm crippled thirty-eight 911 call centers, disrupting local emergency services, ³⁷ and knocked out more than 3 million customer phone lines in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. ³⁸ Broadcast communications were likewise severely affected, as 50 percent of area radio stations and 44 percent of area television stations went off the air. ³⁹

Much more than any other hurricane, Katrina’s wrath went far beyond wind and water damage. In fact, Hurricane Katrina caused at least ten oil spills, releasing the same quantity of oil as some of the worst oil spills in U.S. history. Louisiana reported at least six major spills of over 100,000 gallons and four medium spills of over 10,000 gallons. ⁴⁰ All told, more than 7.4 million gallons poured into the Gulf Coast region’s waterways, over two thirds of the amount that spilled out during America’s worst oil disaster, the rupturing of the Exxon Valdez tanker off the Alaskan coast in 1989. ⁴¹

The wave of destruction created environmental and health hazards across the affected region, including standing water, oil pollution, sewage, household and industrial chemicals, and both human and animal remains. The storm surge struck 466 facilities that handle large amounts of dangerous chemicals, thirty-one hazardous waste sites, and sixteen Superfund toxic waste sites, three of which flooded. The surge also destroyed or compromised 170 drinking water facilities and dozens of wastewater treatment facilities. ⁴²

Most terrible of all and most difficult to measure, however, were Hurricane Katrina’s human effects.

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