Taggart+VanEtten

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= Hurricane Katrina = === Hurricane Katrina was the worst storm to hit the Gulf Coast in decades. The hurricane forced thousands of people from that region to leave. On August 28th, 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans of the United States. It was reported that more then 1,800 people died, and more then $81 billion dollars in damages happened. This Hurricane was the 11th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which began June 1, 2005. That is seven more than usually have created by now in the Atlantic, Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. Rarely, two or more tornadoes may occur at the same time. With hurricanes, tornadoes are not usually accompanied by hail or lightning. Katrina's winds got up to 140 miles per hour. ===



** Wind Speeds ** ===If a storms wind speeds of 38 miles per hour, it is known as a tropical depression. When a storm’s wind’s speeds reach 74 mile an hour it becomes a hurricane and earns a category rating of 1 to 5 on the Saffir-Simpson scale. Hurricanes spin around a low-pressure center known as the eye. Sinking air makes these 20 to 30 miles wide area are usually calm. A hurricane’s high winds are also destructive and create tornadoes.===

** Hurricane Water ** ===Hurricanes are spiraling tropical storms that can pack wind speeds of over 160 miles per hour and unleash more than 2.4 trillion gallons of rain a day. Torrential rains cause more damage by making floods and landslides, which may occur several miles inland. Salt water can cave in roofs easier than fresh water. Hurricanes Katrina’s water flooded New Orleans to the roofs of buildings.===

** Hurricane Eye **
=== The eye is surrounded by a circular eye wall that has the storm’s strongest winds and rain. They eye is usually 20-30 miles wide. The eye is surrounded by an eye wall. It is a ring of thunderstorms. Clouds will be around it. The eye can be a weak cyclone. Eyes can reach 200 miles wide. Hurricanes with large eyes are usually not as bad. ===



** Hurricane Size ** === One way of measuring the size of a tropical cyclone is determined by measuring the distance from its center of circulation to its outermost closed isobar. If the radius is less than 138 miles, then the cyclone is very small. A radius between 207 miles 420 miles are considered average-sized. Very large tropical cyclones have a radius of greater than 552 miles. Other methods of measuring its size include measuring the radius of gale force winds and measuring the radius at which its relative field. ===

** Injury ** Injuries from Hurricane Katrina.

** Damages ** ===It had 89.6 billion dollars worth of damage. Water had to be pumped back into lakes. It killed 538 persons. 217 square miles of land was hit by water. These waters contained a mix of raw sewage, bacteria, heavy metals, pesticides, toxic chemicals, and about 6.5 million U.S. gallons of oil. It sparked fears in the scientific community of large numbers of fish dying. The damage from Katrina forced the closure of 16 National Wildlife Refuges.===

** Government Response ** ===The United States made the National Response Act. It was passed by President George W. Bush. The local governments could not handle everything. The United States Navy went in to help civilians. Congress gave 62.3 billion dollars toward this. FEMA provided housing. There was more than 700,000 applicants.===

** New Orleans ** ===When Hurricane Katrina hit the city at the end of August 2005, most people had left the city. As the hurricane went through the Gulf Coast region, the city's Federal Flood Protection system failed. This was the worst disaster in American history. Flood walls and levees made by the United States Army Corps of Engineers failed below 80% of the city flooded. Tons of people who had stayed in the city were rescued or otherwise made their way to New Orleans Morial Convention Center. Hurricane Katrina is called the first mandatory evacuation in the city's history.===

** Tropical Depression ** ===A tropical depression is a thing of clouds and thunderstorms with a closed surface circulation and maximum sustained winds of less than 39 mph. It has no eye and does not usually the spiral shape of more powerful storms.===

winds** || 175 mph (280 km/h) (1-minute sustained) ||  ||   || $90.1 billion (2010 USD) ([|Costliest] [|tropical cyclone] in history) || affected** || [|Bahamas], [|South Florida], [|Cuba], [|Louisiana] (especially [|Greater New Orleans]), [|Mississippi], [|Alabama], [|Florida Panhandle], most of eastern [|North America] ||
 * **Formed** || August 23, 2005 ||
 * **Dissipated** || August 30, 2005 ||
 * **Highest
 * **Lowest pressure** || 902 [|mbar] ([|hPa]; 26.64 [|inHg]) ||
 * **Fatalities** || 1,836 confirmed[|[1]] ||
 * **Damage** || $81.2 billion (2005 [|USD])
 * **Areas

= ** Safety ** = ===The best defense against a hurricane is an accurate forecast that gives people time to get out of its way. Be in a low closed off shelter. Have no windows in that area. Have a first aid kit. Always make sure you have bottled water and food canned. Do not drive on roads with cracks and faults after earthquakes. Stay in closed area up to 24 areas after earthquake, unless really hurt.===

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_katrina