Katrina :: Storm Effects
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Effects of the Storm :: Hurricane Katrina :: Evacuation Order and Refugees of Last Resort
In spite of repeated warnings, no large-scale corrective measures had been implemented when Hurricane Katrina made landfall.
"The design of the original levees, which dates to the 1960s, was based on rudimentary storm modeling that, it is now realized, might underestimate the threat of a potential hurricane.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effect_of_Hurricane_Katrina_on_New_Orleans
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Evacuation Order and Refugees of Last Resort
The organisation of hurricane evacuation structured the Southeast Louisiana Hurricane Evacuation and Sheltering Plan of January 2000. The plan named the responsibilities, the routes, transport and the shelters: The primary means of hurricane evacuation will be personal vehicles. School and municipal buses [...] may be used to provide transportation for individuals who lack transportation and require assistance in evacuating.[[11]]
Ray Nagin, Mayor of New Orleans, LAIn anticipation of destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina, Max Mayfield, the director of the National Hurricane Center, called New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin on the night of August 27 to express his extreme concern over hurricane Katrina, and then had a video call with President Bush at his farm in Crawford Texas about the severity of the storm on the 28th. [12]. Nagin subsequently ordered a citywide mandatory evacuation on August 28, the first such order in the city's history. Neighboring areas and parishes followed suit. In a live news conference, Mayor Nagin predicted that "the storm surge most likely will topple our levee system," and warned that oil production in the Gulf of Mexico would be shut down. President George W. Bush made a televised appeal for residents to heed the evacuation orders, warning, "We cannot stress enough the danger this hurricane poses to Gulf Coast communities." [13]
Pre-disaster scenarios estimated that 100,000 or more residents would not have the transportation means to escape the city. In the interest of protecting these residents, a "refuge of last resort" had been designated in advance - the Superdome. Beginning at noon on August 28th and running for several hours, some City buses were redeployed to shuttle local residents to the refuges. Several hundred school buses were not deployed due to the City being unable to find drivers. By the time Hurricane Katrina came ashore early the next morning, the Superdome was housing over 9,000 residents along with 550 National Guard troops. The elevation of the Superdome is about three feet (1 m) above sea level, and the forecasted storm surge was predicted to cause flooding on that site. The Superdome had been used as a shelter in the past, such as during 1998's Hurricane Georges, and because it was estimated to be able to withstand winds of up to 200 mph (320 km/h) and water levels of 35 feet (10 m), it was considered one of the best options available at the time. The mayor told those coming to the Superdome to bring blankets and enough food for several days, warning that it would be a very uncomfortable place. [14]
The entire Southern Louisiana region was declared a disaster area before Hurricane Katrina made landfall land and FEMA prepositioned 18 disaster medical teams, medical supplies and equipment, urban search and rescue teams along with millions of MREs (Meals, ready-to-eat), liters of water, tarpaulins, and truckloads of ice.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effect_of_Hurricane_Katrina_on_New_Orleans
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