The Physical Vulnerabilities of New Orleans
New Orleans was severely flooded by Hurricane Katrina 14 years ago in August, 2005. Katrina made landfall near New Orleans as a category 3 hurricane with winds up to 120 mph and a storm surge of 27.8 ft. This deadly storm and its catastrophic aftermath killed nearly 2,000 people, displaced thousands, caused $200 billion in damage, and affected 90,000 square miles of the Gulf Coast. New Orleans was uniquely vulnerable to Katrina because of its low elevation, inadequate levee system and the lack of wetlands.
New Orleans was severely flooded by Hurricane Katrina 14 years ago in August, 2005. Katrina made landfall near New Orleans as a category 3 hurricane with winds up to 120 mph and a storm surge of 27.8 ft. This deadly storm and its catastrophic aftermath killed nearly 2,000 people, displaced thousands, caused $200 billion in damage, and affected 90,000 square miles of the Gulf Coast. New Orleans was uniquely vulnerable to Katrina because of its low elevation, inadequate levee system and the lack of wetlands.
New Orleans is Below Sea Level
New Orleans low elevation creates a “Bowl” effect because it’s situated between the levees along the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain. Although these levees were meant to protect New Orleans from hurricanes, when they were put to the test with Katrina, they failed and either broke or were over stopped. The failure of these levees left New Orleans “bowl” full of water and left thousands of people dead or stranded in their flooded homes.
New Orleans low elevation creates a “Bowl” effect because it’s situated between the levees along the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain. Although these levees were meant to protect New Orleans from hurricanes, when they were put to the test with Katrina, they failed and either broke or were over stopped. The failure of these levees left New Orleans “bowl” full of water and left thousands of people dead or stranded in their flooded homes.
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Aging Poorly Constructed Levee System
New Orleans was also very vulnerable because of its inadequate levee system. A levee is a natural or artificial wall that blocks water from going where it's not supposed to go. These levees work as a shield to block rivers flooding cities during a storm surge. In New Orleans the levees are made type mounds or walls made out of concrete which holds back lakes and canals. For example, the Industrial Canal Levee holds back the waters in the industrial canal, and the London Avenue Levee holds back water in the London Avenue canal which pumps rainwater into Lake Pontchartrain. Because New Orleans is below sea level the network of levees surrounding the city are critical infrastructure. Tragically, Katrina revealed the weaknesses of these critical protection systems. The levees were breached because of the bad construction and design of them, they were metal planks driven into the ground that didn’t reach deep enough. Unstable soil under the levees was ignored, and quickly washed away by flood waters undercutting the levee walls leading to collapse. Engineers warning about the need for repairs were ignored and the city spent pennies on repairs that could have saved lives. |
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Wetland Loss
Wetlands act as a natural defense against coastal storms and flood waters. For every mile of existing wetlands, 3 to 8 inches of storm surge can be absorbed. Wetlands can limit the storm’s access to warm ocean water that drives the storms and by creating a physical barrier to the floodwater and storm surge. New Orleans lacked on wetlands because they no longer receive the influx sediments that it needs to survive, and because they have opened shipping channels that connect to the Mississippi river that have caused saltwater to infiltrate freshwater wetlands. This has caused Louisiana to lose 2,000 square miles of coastal wetlands
Wetlands act as a natural defense against coastal storms and flood waters. For every mile of existing wetlands, 3 to 8 inches of storm surge can be absorbed. Wetlands can limit the storm’s access to warm ocean water that drives the storms and by creating a physical barrier to the floodwater and storm surge. New Orleans lacked on wetlands because they no longer receive the influx sediments that it needs to survive, and because they have opened shipping channels that connect to the Mississippi river that have caused saltwater to infiltrate freshwater wetlands. This has caused Louisiana to lose 2,000 square miles of coastal wetlands
The Social Vulnerability of New Orleans
Social vulnerability refers to the factors that indicate the resilience of communities when confronted by external stresses on human health, stresses such as climate change. Several factors, including poverty, a lack of access to transportation, and crowded housing, may weaken a community's ability to prevent human suffering and financial loss in and after a disaster. Impoverished people are more likely to live in hazard-exposed areas and are less able to invest in risk-reducing measures. Through redlining, in our country, we've been able to systematically deny various services to residents of specific racially associated neighborhoods or communities, either directly or through the selective raising of prices.
New Orleans before the storm had the second highest share of its poor residents living in neighborhoods of extreme poverty and more than 40 percent of individuals had incomes below the poverty line. Although African Americans made up 67 percent of the city’s total population, they made up 84 percent of its population below the poverty line. Most of those living in poverty lived in the lower-lying, more flood-prone sections of the city, such as Mid-City or the Lower Ninth Ward. Many people in flooded areas lacked access to a car, a fact that became critical during the evacuation period.The poor had no choice but to stay put as they could not afford to leave, mainly because they could not afford the necessary supplies.
New Orleans Before The Storm
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Before Katrina ever crossed New Orleans, the population was not as high as we thought. There was almost 500,000 people in New Orleans. About 60% of this population was African American.
While New Orleans as a whole was physically vulnerable to a storm like Katrina, not all residents of New Orleans were equally vulnerable. Wealthy, white neighborhoods such as Lake Shore-Lake Vista or Lakewood didn't experience the same degree of flooding due to the high elevation of their home . It also has a few places that are vulnerable like the lower 9th ward, 36% of the population is living below the poverty line. 92% of the population is Black or African American. Another vulnerable neighborhood is Dixon. 96% of the population is Black or African American. 25% of these people are living below the poverty line. Lack of protection is causing most of these places to be more vulnerable to Hurricanes or any other natural disaster. These minorities don’t have health care or shelter when they lose their home to these storms. Resulting in high death rates when storms like this occur. |
As shown in this map, people in poverty; African Americans are all grouped on the West and East side of New Orleans. In the middle of New Orleans, there are more wealthy people.
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