:: wikimiki.org ::

New Orleans

New Orleans

:For information on the events of Hurricane Katrina, see effect of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans. New Orleans (local pronunciations: , , or ) (French: La Nouvelle-Orléans, pronounced Image:ltspkr.png in standard French accent) is a major U.S. port city and historically the largest city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in southeastern Louisiana along the Mississippi River, just south of Lake Pontchartrain, and is coextensive with Orleans Parish.

Overview

The city was devastated by Hurricane Katrina and the subsequent civil engineering failure which resulted in massive flooding in August 2005. As of mid December 2005, efforts continue to aid survivors, clean up debris, and restore infrastructure. While most of the city has reopened to residents and areas which suffered moderate damage have substantially resumed functioning, other parts of town most severely damaged such as some neighborhoods of the 9th Ward are open only during daylight hours for residents to salvage items from their formerly flooded homes. New Orleans is a Southern city known for its multicultural heritage (especially French, Spanish and African American influences) and its music and cuisine. It is a world-famous tourist destination thanks to its many festivals and celebrations; the most notable annual events are Mardi Gras ("Fat Tuesday"), Jazz Fest,Voodoo Fest, Southern Decadence, and college football's Sugar Bowl. The most recent U.S. census put New Orleans's population at 484,674 and the population of Greater New Orleans at 1,337,726. Due to the evacuation of the city before and in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the population as of late 2005 is significantly less; a Time Magazine article with a publication date of 28 November 2005 (written weeks before) estimated the city's population at about 100,000. But now that the city's population is trickling back in to see if they will be able to repair their homes or move someplace else. The population, as of December 12th, is estimated at about 140,000 New Orleans was founded by the French in 1718 and has played an important role in the history of the United States. The city was named in honor of Philip II, Duke of Orléans, who was regent and ruler of France when the city was founded. This is comparable to the naming of New York City in honor of James, Duke of York, heir to the throne of England. It is a major port city due to its location near the Gulf of Mexico and along the Mississippi River, making it a hub for goods which travel to and from Latin America. The petroleum industry is also of great importance to the New Orleans economy; many oil rigs are located in the Gulf. The Port of South Louisiana (which includes the port of N.O.) is based in the New Orleans metropolitan area and is the fourth largest port in the world in terms of raw tonnage, and among the largest U.S. ports for several major commodities, including cement and coffee. The city's several nicknames describe various characteristics of the city, including the "Crescent City" (describing its shape around the Mississippi River), "The Big Easy" (a reference by musicians to the relative ease of finding work in the city), and "The City that Care Forgot" (associated with the easy going, carefree nature of many of the local residents). The city's unofficial motto, "Laissez les bons temps rouler" ("Let the good times roll") describes the party-like attitude of many residents. The city's name is often abbreviated NOLA. Residents of the city are referred to as New Orleanians.

History

Main article: History of New Orleans

Colonial era

History of New Orleans The place was first discovered by Spanish conqueror Alonso Alvarez de Pineda in 1518 along with the Mississippi River, which was named "Espiritu Santo" river. New Orleans was founded in 1718 by the French as La Nouvelle-Orléans, under the direction of Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville. The site was selected because it was a rare bit of natural high ground along the flood-prone banks of the lower Mississippi, and was adjacent to a Native American trading route and portage between the Mississippi and Lake Pontchartrain via Bayou St. John (known to natives as Bayou Choupique). A community of French fur trappers and traders had existed along the bayou (in what is now the middle of New Orleans) for at least a decade before the official founding of the city. Nouvelle-Orléans became the capital of French Louisiana in 1722, replacing Biloxi. In 1763, the colony was ceded to the Spanish Empire and remained under Spanish control for 40 years. The Great Fire of 1788 destroyed many of the existing structures in the city (800 houses were destroyed), which were made of wood. As a result of this, and a subsequent fire in 1795 (another 200 houses destroyed), much of 18th century architecture still present in the French Quarter was built under Spanish rule and demonstrates Spanish colonial characteristics, wood was replaced with bricks. The three most impressive buildings of New Orleans come from the Spanish times: St. Louis Cathedral, the Cabildo and the Presbytere. In 1795, Spain granted the United States "Right of Deposit" in New Orleans, allowing Americans to use the city's port facilities. Louisiana reverted to French control in 1801 after Napoleon re-acquired the territory from Spain by treaty. But in 1803, Napoleon sold Louisiana (which then included portions of more than a dozen present-day states) to the United States in the Louisiana Purchase. At this time the city of New Orleans had a population of about 10,000.

19th century

In its early days it was noted for its cosmopolitan polyglot population and mixture of cultures. The city grew rapidly, with influxes of Americans, French and Creole French, many of the latter fleeing from the revolution in Haiti. During the War of 1812 the British sent a force to try to conquer the city, but they were defeated by forces led by Andrew Jackson some miles down river from the city at Chalmette, Louisiana on January 8, 1815 (commonly known as the Battle of New Orleans). Battle of New Orleans The population of the city doubled in the 1830s, and by 1840 the city's population was around 102,000, fourth-largest in the U.S, the largest city away from the Atlantic seaboard, as well as the largest in the South after Baltimore. However, population growth was at times plagued by yellow fever epidemics, such as the great scourge of 1853 that killed nearly 10,000 people in New Orleans. New Orleans was the capital of the state of Louisiana until 1849, then again from 1865 to 1880. As a principal port it had a leading role in the slave trade, while at the same time having North America's largest community of free persons of color. Early in the American Civil War it was captured by the Union (by David Farragut -son of Spanish emigrants- later named the first US Navy Vice-Admiral) without a battle, and hence was spared the destruction suffered by many other cities of the American South. It was the first captured city in the American South. It retains a historical flavor with a wealth of 19th century structures far beyond the early colonial city boundaries of the French Quarter. The city hosted the 1884 World's Fair, called the World Cotton Centennial. An important attraction in the late 19th and early 20th centuries was the famous red light district called Storyville.

20th century

Storyville Storyville Storyville Much of the city is located below sea level between the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain, so the city is surrounded by levees. Until the early 20th century, construction was largely limited to the slightly higher ground along old natural river levees and bayous, since much of the rest of the land was swampy and subject to frequent flooding. This gave the 19th century city the shape of a crescent along a bend of the Mississippi, the origin of the nickname The Crescent City. In the 1910s engineer and inventor A. Baldwin Wood enacted his ambitious plan to drain the city, including large pumps of his own design which are still used. All rain water must be pumped up to the canals which drain into Lake Pontchartrain. Wood's pumps and drainage allowed the city to expand greatly in area. However, pumping of groundwater from underneath the city has resulted in subsidence. The subsidence greatly increased the flood risk, should the levees be breached or precipitation be in excess of pumping capacity (as was the case in 2005 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina). There were many warnings in the late 20th century that a major hurricane or a Mississippi flood could create a lake in the central city as much as 9 m (30 ft) deep, which could take months to pump dry.This warning was augmented by vestigial fears from Hurricane Betsy, and the lasting stories of the Army Corps of Engineers blasting the flooding levees, drowning the poorer neighborhoods of the lower ninth Ward. The Holy Cross Neighborhood Association, (HCNA) respresenting a substantial group of the aforementioned lower ninth ward, created a lobby against the Army Corps of Engineers furthering work on the levees which might endanger the neighborhoods. The HCNA sent Jamal Morelli, activist and New Orleans artist, to respresent them in Washington, D.C. Jamal Morelli's struggle for the neighborhood was successful in protecting the lower ninth ward. (2000-2004) In 1905 Yellow Fever was reported in the city, which had suffered under repeated epidemics of the disease in the previous century. As the role of mosquitos in spreading the disease was newly understood, the city embarked on a massive campain to drain, screen, or oil all cisterns and standing water (breeding ground for mosquitos) in the city and educate the public on their vital role in preventing mosquitos. The effort was a success and the disease was stopped before reaching epidemic proportions. President Theodore Roosevelt visited the city to demonstrate the safety of New Orleans. The city has had no cases of Yellow Fever since. New Orleans was hit by major storms in the 1909 Atlantic hurricane season and the 1915 Atlantic hurricane season. In the 1920s an effort to "modernize" the look of the city removed the old cast-iron balconies from Canal Street, the city's commercial hub. In the 1960s another "modernization" effort replaced the Canal Streetcar Line with buses. Both of these moves came to be regarded as mistakes long after the fact, and the streetcars returned to a portion of Canal Street at the end of the 1990s, and construction to restore the entire line was completed in April 2004. The suburbs saw great growth in the second half of the 20th century; the largest suburb today is Metairie, which borders New Orleans to the west. Metairie is not incorporated and is a part of Jefferson Parish. Much of the city flooded in September of 1947 due to the 1947 Fort Lauderdale Hurricane. In 1965 the city was damaged by Hurricane Betsy, with catastrophic flooding of the city's Lower 9th Ward. While long one of the USA's most-visited cities, tourism boomed in the last quarter of the 20th century, becoming a major force in the local economy. Areas of the French Quarter and Central Business District which were long oriented towards local residential and business uses switched to largely catering to the domestic and international tourist industry. A century after the Cotton Centennial Exhibition, New Orleans hosted another World's Fair, the 1984 Louisiana World Exposition. The city experienced severe flooding in the May 8th 1995 Louisiana Flood when heavy rains suddenly dumped over a foot of water on parts of town faster than the pumps could remove the water.

21st Century (Hurricane Katrina)

May 8th 1995 Louisiana Flood :Main article: Effect of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans The city suffered from the effects of Hurricane Katrina, which made landfall on August 29, 2005 on the gulf coast near the city. Mayor Nagin issued a mandatory evacuation of the entire city, the first such order ever issued in New Orleans. Many residents chose to stay or were stranded in the city by a lack of available transportation. The eye of the storm passed within 10 to 15 miles of New Orleans, bringing strong winds that downed trees, shattered windows, and hurled debris around the area. Heavy rains and flooding immediately affected the eastern areas of the city. The situation worsened on August 30 when levees along three canals which drain into were breached. These canals were the 17th Street Canal, the Industrial Canal, and the London Avenue Canal. As much as 80% of the city, much of which is below sea level, flooded, with water reaching a depth of 25 feet (7.6 meters) in some areas. As of November 2005, The Times Picayune article states that there are in addition to those 1,050 confirmed deaths 5,000 missing residents of the city. Early estimates of the cost of physical damage from the storm have exceeded 100 billion USD. Subsequent investigations showed that the levee failures which flooded the majority of the city were the result of what has been called "the largest civil engineering disaster in the history of the United States" [http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpage/index.ssf?/base/news-4/1133336859287360.xml] The city government declared the city off-limits to residents while clean-up efforts began and warned that those remaining could be removed by force, for their health and safety. On September 15, several of the suburban towns started allowing residents to return. The mayor announced a "phased repopulation" plan to start bringing residents of the city back in the next two weeks. Concern about the fragility of the city's flood defences and transportation caused repopulation efforts to be postponed due to Hurricane Rita. [http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/09/15/katrina.impact/index.html]. New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward was reflooded when a storm surge from Rita overcame one of the repaired levees on the Industrial Canal [http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5300327,00.html]. By October 1, parts of the city accounting for about one-third of the population of New Orleans had been reopened, including the French Quarter.[http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/10/01/katrina.recovery.ap/index.html] As of October 1, only 5% of the city remained underwater.

Geography and climate

October 1 New Orleans is located at (29.964722, -90.070556) on the banks of the Mississippi River, approximately 100 miles upriver from the Gulf of Mexico at 30.07°N, 89.93°W. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 907.0 km² (350.2 mi²). 467.6 km² (180.6 mi²) of it is land and 439.4 km² (169.7 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 48.45% water. The city is located in the Mississippi Alluvial Plain, between the Mississippi River in the south and Lake Pontchartrain in the north. The area along the river is characterized by ridges and hollows. Fields atop the ridges along the river are referred to as the "frontlands." The land contour slopes away from the frontlands to the "backlands", comprised of clay and silt. The Mississippi Delta, at the mouth of the Mississippi River, covers about 13,000 square miles (about 1/4 of Louisiana) and consists of silt deposited by the river, and is the most fertile area of Louisiana. The city of New Orleans actually contains the lowest point in the state of Louisiana, and one of the lowest points in the United States, after Death Valley and the Salton Sea. Much of the city is actually located between 1 and 10 feet (0.3 to 3 m) below sea level, and as such, is very prone to flooding. Some 45% of the city is above sea level; these higher areas were developed before 1900; the lowest areas only being developed more recently. Rainwater is continually pumped out of the city and into Lake Pontchartrain across a series of canals lined by levees and dikes. Before the 20th century pumping system, if it rains more than 1 inch, or more recently if there is a major storm surge, such as that caused by a hurricane, greater flooding can occur. Because of the city's high water table most of the cemeteries in the city use above ground crypts as opposed to underground burial. The New Orleans Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), the 39th largest in the United States, includes the Louisiana parishes of Orleans (contiguous with the city of New Orleans), Jefferson, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. John the Baptist, and St. Tammany.

Cityscape

St. Tammany The Central Business District of New Orleans is located immediately north and west of the Mississippi River, and is historically called the "American Quarter." Most streets in this area fan out from a central point in the city. Major streets of the area include Canal Street and Poydras St. The term "downtown" refers to those parts of town that are downriver from the central business district. "Uptown" refers to those parts of town that are upriver from the central business district. Parts of the city that are located downtown include the world famous French Quarter (most noted as the central tourist district, with its array of shops, bars, and nightclubs along Bourbon Street), Storyville (now defunct), Treme, Faubourg Marigny, Bywater, the 7th Ward, and the Lower 9th Ward. Parts of the city that are located uptown include the Garden District, the Irish Channel, the University District, Carrollton, Gert Town, Fontainebleau, and Broadmoor. Other major districts within the city include Bayou St. John, Mid City, Gentilly, Lakeview, Lakefront, New Orleans East, The upper 9th Ward and Algiers. Parishes located adjacent to the city of New Orleans include St. Tammany Parish to the northeast, St. Bernard Parish to the south, Plaquemines Parish to the southwest, and Jefferson Parish to the west. Jefferson Parish

Climate

The climate of New Orleans is subtropical, with mild winters and hot, humid summers. In January, morning lows average around 43 °F (6°C), and daily highs around 62°F (17°C). In July, lows average 74°F (23°C), and highs average 91°F (33°C). The lowest recorded temperature was 11.0°F (-11.6°C) on December 23, 1989. The highest recorded temperature was 102.0°F (38.9°C) on August 22, 1980. The average precipitation is 59.74 inches (1520 mm) annually. On rare occasions, snow will fall. Most recently, a trace of snow fell on Christmas in 2004, during the 2004 Christmas Eve Snowstorm. On December 25, a combination of rain, sleet, and snow fell on the city, leaving some bridges icy. Before that, the last white Christmas was in 1954, and brought 4.5 inches (110 mm). The last significant snowfall in New Orleans fell on December 22, 1989, when most of the city received 1 or 2 inches of snow.

People and culture

Demographics

:Note: Though many of those evacuated from New Orleans from circumstances relating to Hurricane Katrina have yet to return, the evacuees remain residents of the city. While medium-to-long term changes in population may be drastic, there is no way, short of speculation, to account for these effects. The U. S. Census figures presented here are the most recent; and verifiable. As of the census of 2000, there were 484,674 people, 188,251 households, and 112,950 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,036.4/km² (2,684.3/mi²). There were 215,091 housing units at an average density of 459.9/km² (1,191.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 67.25% African American, 28.05% White, 0.20% Native American, 2.26% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.93% from other races, and 1.28% from two or more races. 3.06% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. The population of Greater New Orleans stood at 1,337,726 in 2000, placing it 35 amongst United States metropolitan areas. These population statistics are based on legal residents of the city. But due to the enourmous annual tourist flow, the amount of people inside the city at a given time, such as Mardi Gras season, tends to exceed these numbers sometimes by the hundreds of thousands. There were 188,251 households out of which 29.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 30.8% were married couples living together, 24.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.0% were non-families. 33.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.7% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.23. In the city the population was spread out with 26.7% under the age of 18, 11.4% from 18 to 24, 29.3% from 25 to 44, 20.9% from 45 to 64, and 11.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 88.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.3 males. The median income for a household in the city was $27,133, and the median income for a family was $32,338. Males had a median income of $30,862 versus $23,768 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,258. 27.9% of the population and 23.7% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 40.3% of those under the age of 18 and 19.3% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line. New Orleans is well known for its Creole culture and the persistence of Voodoo practice by a few of its residents, as well as for its music, food, architecture, and spirit of celebration.

Pronunciation

New Orleans is usually pronounced by locals as "Noo Or-lins," or "Noo Aw-lins." The pronunciation "N'Awlins" is not generally used by locals but has been popularized by the tourist trade. The distinctive local accent, sometimes identified as Yat, is unlike either Cajun or the stereotypical Southern accent so often misportrayed by film and television actors. It does, like earlier Southern Englishes, feature frequent deletion of post-vocalic "r". It is similar to a New York "Brooklynese" accent to people unfamiliar with it. There are many theories to how the accent came to be, but it likely results from New Orleans' geographic isolation by water, and the fact that New Orleans was a major port of entry into the United States throughout the 19th century. Many of the immigrant groups who reside in Brooklyn also reside in New Orleans, with Irish, Italians, and Germans being among the largest groups. The prestige associated with being from New Orleans by many residents is likely a factor in the linguistic assimilation of the ethnically divergent population. This distinctive accent is dying out generation by generation in the city (but remains very strong in the surrounding Parishes). As with many sociolinguistic artifacts, it is usually attested much more strongly by older members of the population. Also notable are lexical items specific to the city, such as "lagniappe" (pronounced LAN-yap) meaning "a little something extra," "makin' groceries" for grocery shopping, or "neutral ground" for a street median.

Media

The major daily newspaper is the New Orleans Times-Picayune, publishing since 1837. Other alternative weekly publications include the [http://www.louisianaweekly.com/ Louisiana Weekly] and the [http://www.bestofneworleans.com/ Gambit Weekly]. Greater New Orleans is well served by television and radio. The market is the 43rd largest Designated Market Area (DMA) in the U.S., serving 672,150 homes and 0.610% of the U.S. Major television network affiliates serving the area include WWL 4 (CBS), WGNO 26 (ABC), WDSU 6 (NBC), WVUE 8 (FOX), WNOL 38 (WB), WUPL 54 (UPN), and WPXL 49 (PAX). PBS stations include WYES 12 and WLAE 32. WHNO 20 also operates as an independent station in the area.

Museums and other attractions

WHNO Greater New Orleans has many major attractions, from the world-renowned Bourbon Street and the French Quarter's notorious nightlife, St. Charles Avenue (home of Tulane and Loyola Universities), and many stately 19th century mansions. Favorite tourist scenes in New Orleans include the French Quarter (known locally as "the Quarter"), which dates from the French and Spanish eras and is bounded by the Mississippi River and Rampart Street, Canal Street and Esplanade Ave. The French Quarter contains many popular hotels, bars, and nightclubs, most notably around Bourbon Street. Other notable tourist attractions in the quarter include Jackson Square, St. Louis Cathedral, the French Market (including the Café du Monde, famous for café au lait and beignets), and Preservation Hall. Also located near the French Quarter is the old New Orleans Mint, formerly a branch of the United States Mint, now operates as a museum. The National D-Day Museum is a relatively new museum (opened on June 6, 2000) dedicated to providing information and materials related to the allied invasion of Normandy, France. The Natchez is an authentic steamboat with a calliope tours the Mississippi twice daily. Art museums in the city include the New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA) and the Ogden Museum of Southern Art. The Audubon Park and the Audubon Zoo are also located in the city of New Orleans. New Orleans is also noted for its many beautiful cemeteries. Some notable cemeteries in the city include Saint Louis Cemetery and Metairie Cemetery. The city is also world-famous for its food. Specialties include beignets, square-shaped fried pastries that are sometimes called French doughnuts (served with coffee and chicory "au lait"); Po'boy and Italian Muffaletta sandwiches; Gulf oysters on the half-shell and other seafoods; etouffee, jambalaya, gumbo, and other Creole dishes; and the Monday evening favorite of red beans and rice. (Louis Armstrong often signed his letters, "red beans and ricely yours.") Significant gardens include Longue Vue House and Gardens and the New Orleans Botanical Garden.

Annual cultural events and fairs

See also: New Orleans Mardi Gras New Orleans Mardi Gras Greater New Orleans is home to numerous year-around celebrations, including Mardi Gras, New Year's Eve celebrations, and the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. New Orleans' most famous celebration is its Carnival Season. The Carnival season is often known (especially by out-of-towners) by the name of the last and biggest day, Mardi Gras (literally, "Fat Tuesday"), held just before the beginning of the Catholic liturgical season of Lent. Mardi Gras celebrations include parades and floats; participants toss strings of cheap colorful beads and doubloons to the crowds. The Mardi Gras season is kicked off with the only parade allowed through the French Quarter (Vieux Carré, translated Old Square), a walking parade aptly named Krewe du Vieux. The largest of the city's many musical festivals is the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. Commonly referred to simply as, "Jazz Fest", it is one of the largest music festivals in the nation, and features crowds coming from all over the world to experience music, food, arts, and crafts. Despite the name, it features not only jazz but a large variety of music, including both native Louisiana music and nationally-known popular music artists.

Music

New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.]] New Orleans has always been a significant center for music with its intertwined European, Latin American, and African-American cultures. The city engendered jazz with its brass bands. Decades later it was home to a distinctive brand of rhythm and blues that contributed greatly to the growth of rock and roll. Its general atmosphere of Dionysian art has also resulted in chaotic artists such as Crash Worship, Liquiddrone, and Jamal Morelli. In addition, the nearby countryside is the home of Cajun music, Zydeco music, and Delta blues. The city also created its own spin on the old tradition of military brass band funerals; traditional New Orleans funerals with music feature sad music (mostly dirges and hymns) on the way to the cemetery and happy music (hot jazz) on the way back. Such traditional musical funerals still take place when a local musician, a member of a club, krewe, or benevolent society, or a noted dignitary has passed. Until the 1990s most locals preferred to call these "funerals with music," but out of town visitors have long dubbed them "jazz funerals." Younger bands, especially those based in the Treme neighborhood, have embraced the term and now have funerals featuring only jazz music.

Sports

Treme The city is the home to several professional, major league sports teams, including the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League and the New Orleans Hornets of the National Basketball Association (moved from Charlotte, North Carolina at the start of the 2002–2003 season). The Saints play in the Louisiana Superdome, and the Hornets play in the adjacent New Orleans Arena. Due to the effects of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans, including damage both to the exterior and the interior of the Louisiana Superdome, the New Orleans Saints will have to play their "home" games in Baton Rouge and San Antonio, Texas. The football season began just a week after the storm hit, and the Saints played their first "home" game against the Giants at Giants Stadium. After that, they traveled to San Antonio to play in the Alamodome for their "home" game against Buffalo. Next the Saints will remain in San Antonio to play their opponent Atlanta. For the October 30 game the Saints will travel to Baton Rouge, where they will play in LSU's Tiger Stadium. The Saints will play the next three "home" games in Baton Rouge. The final game of the Saints' season will be played in San Antonio. All in all the Saints will play a total of three "home" games in San Antonio, and four "home" games in Baton Rouge. The Hornets will play 35 "home" games at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City,Oklahoma, with the remaining 6 to be played in Baton Rouge or, if possible, in New Orleans. The city also has an Arena Football League team, the New Orleans VooDoo, owned by the Saints' owner, Tom Benson. The New Orleans Zephyrs, AAA minor league baseball team plays in adjacent Metairie. They are currently affiliated with the Washington Nationals. The city also hosts two college football bowl games annually: the New Orleans Bowl and the Sugar Bowl. Historically, many teams have been formerly located in the city, including the New Orleans Pelicans baseball team (1887–1959), the New Orleans Breakers of the United States Football League, the New Orleans Night of the Arena Football League (1991–1992), and the New Orleans Brass ice hockey team (1997–2003). Former basketball teams were the New Orleans Buccaneers (c. 1967–1970), and the New Orleans Jazz (1974–1980) which became the Utah Jazz.

Economy

Utah Jazz New Orleans is an industrial and distribution center, and a major U.S. seaport. It is one of the busiest seaports in not only the United States, but also the world. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet Canal in the mid 20th century to accommodate New Orleans' barge traffic. Like Houston, New Orleans is located in proximity to the Gulf of Mexico and the many oil rigs lying just offshore. There are a substantial number of energy companies that have their regional headquarters in the city, including BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, and Shell Oil Company. The city is also home to one Fortune 500 company, Entergy Corporation, an electric power provider. The federal government has a significant presence in the area. The NASA Michoud Assembly Facility is located in the eastern portion of Orleans Parish. Lockheed-Martin also has a large manufacturing facility located in the Greater New Orleans area that produces external fuel tanks for space shuttles. Other companies with a significant presence or base in New Orleans include BellSouth, Hibernia Corp., IBM, Navtech, Harrah's (downtown casino), Popeye's Fried Chicken, and Zatarain's. The Port of New Orleans handles about 145 million short tons (132 million tonnes) of cargo a year and is the largest faction of the Port of South Louisiana, the latter being the largest and busiest shipping port in the western hemisphere and the 4th busiest in the world. About 5,000 ships from nearly 60 nations dock at the Port of New Orleans annually. The chief exports are grain and other foods from the Midwestern United States and petroleum products. The leading imports include chemicals, cocoa beans, coffee, and petroleum. The port handles more trade with Latin America than does any other U.S. gateway, including Miami. New Orleans is also a busy port for barges. The barges use the nation's two main inland waterways, the Mississippi River and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, which meet at New Orleans. The port of New Orleans handles about 50,000 barges yearly. There are also two ferries that cross the river near the Garden district and the French Quarter. These ferries are free of charge to pedestrians, but motorists pay a $1 fee to cross on them. New Orleans is also one of the most visited cities in the United States, and tourism is a major staple in the area's economy. The city's colorful Carnival celebrations during the pre-Lenten season, centered on the French Quarter, draw particularly large crowds. Other major tourist events and attractions in the city include Mardi Gras, the Sugar Bowl, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, and Southern Decadence (one of the largest annual Gay/Lesbian celebrations in the nation).

Infrastructure

Government

New Orleans has a mayor-council government. The city council consists of five councilmembers that are elected by district and two at large councilmembers. Mayor C. Ray Nagin, Jr. was elected in May 2002. The New Orleans Police Department provides professional police services to the public in order to maintain order and protect life and property. The Orleans Parish civil sheriff's employees serve (deliver) papers involving lawsuits. The Criminal Sheriff's department maintains the parish prison system. The city of New Orleans and the parish of Orleans operate as a merged city-county government. Before the city of New Orleans became co-extensive with Orleans Parish, Orleans Parish was home to numerous smaller communities. Some of these communities within Orleans Parish have historically had separate identities from the city of New Orleans, such as Irish Bayou and Carrollton. Algiers, Louisiana was a separate city through 1870. As soon as Algiers became a part of New Orleans, Orleans Parish ceased being separate from the city of New Orleans.

Schools

New Orleans Public Schools, the city's school district, is one of the area's largest school districts. NOPS contains approximately 100 individual schools. The Greater New Orleans area has approximately 200 parochial schools. Several institutions of higher education also exist within the city, including University of New Orleans, Tulane University, Loyola University New Orleans, Dillard University, Southern University at New Orleans, Xavier University of Louisiana, Louisiana State University Medical School, and Our Lady of Holy Cross College. Other schools include Delgado Community College, Nunez Community College, Culinary Institute of New Orleans, Herzing College, Commonwealth University, and New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.

Transportation

The metropolitan area is served by Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport , located approximately nine miles west of the city in the city of Kenner. It serves millions of passengers on approximately 300 nonstop flights per day to or from destinations throughout the United States, Canada, Latin America, and the Caribbean. The airport also handles a significant amount of charter operations from Europe. The airport also serves as a nonstop gateway to Mexico for Federal Express. Within the city itself is Lakefront Airport, a small, general aviation airport, as well as the New Orleans Downtown Heliport, located on the roof of the Louisiana Superdome's parking garage. There are also several regional airports located throughout the metropolitan area. The city is also served by rail via Amtrak. The New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal is the central rail depot, and it is served by three trains: the Crescent to New York City, the City of New Orleans to Chicago, Illinois, and the Sunset Limited from Orlando to Los Angeles. In addition, the city is served by six Class I freight railroads. The Union Pacific and Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroads approach the city from the west, the Norfolk Southern and CSX from the east, and the Canadian National and Kansas City Southern from the north. Public transportation in the city is operated by New Orleans Regional Transit Authority ("RTA"). In addition to the many bus routes connecting the city and suburban areas, there are three active streetcar lines moved by electric motors powered by DC wires overhead. The St. Charles line (green cars, formerly connecting New Orleans with the then independent suburb of Carrollton) is the oldest continuously operating streetcar line in New Orleans and a historic landmark. The Riverfront line (also known as the Ladies in Red since the cars are painted red) runs parallel to the river from Canal Street through the French Quarter to the Convention Center above Julia Street in the Arts District. The Canal Street line uses the Riverfront line tracks from Esplanade Street to Canal Street, then branches off down Canal Street and ends at the cemeteries at City Park Avenue with a spur running from the intersection of Canal and Carrollton Avenue to the entrance of City Park at Esplanade near the entrance to the New Orleans Museum of Art. The city's streetcars were also featured in the Tennessee Williams play, A Streetcar Named Desire. The streetcar line to Desire Street became a bus line in 1948, but may be restored as a light rail streetcar line. The roads in the city are arranged in a radial grid pattern, emanating out to various parts of town from a central point in the Central Business District. I-10 travels east-west through the city, and goes very close to the Central Business District, taking traffic west towards Baton Rouge, Louisiana and east-northeast to Slidell, Louisiana. The "Highrise" carry I-10 across the Industrial Canal. Further east, the Interstate connects New Orleans East with Slidell across an arm of Lake Pontchartrain, known as the "Twin Spans"; these causeways were severely damaged by Hurricane Katrina; by October single lanes in each direction had been reopened on the eastbound span. The westbound span is scheduled to be repaired by January 2006. The bridges are to be replaced with a new six-lane bridge in 2006. As I-10 heads south from Metairie towards the Central Business District, it is called the Pontchartrain Expressway. I-610 connects I-10 and travels through the northern central part of the city. US 90 leaves the Central Business District and goes west through the city's Uptown neighborhood and crosses the Missisisppi River at the Huey P. Long Bridge near the suburb of Jefferson. I-10 is also connected to I-12, north of Lake Pontchartrain, via the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, consisting of two parallel bridges, which are also the longest in the world. The interstate highways serving New Orleans were laid out in the middle of the 20th century, a time when a larger proportion of Gulf of Mexico freight traffic passed through New Orleans. I-10 goes west to Houston and beyond and east to Mobile and Florida, with I-59 and I-55 heading northward to Birmingham and Jackson, respectively. Later, I-12 created a shortcut that avoided

Hurricane Katrina

__NOEDITSECTION__ : This article is about the 2005 hurricane. For other storms with this name, see Hurricane Katrina (disambiguation). Hurricane Katrina was the eleventh named tropical storm, fourth hurricane, third major hurricane, and first Category 5 hurricane of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. It was the third most powerful storm of the season, behind Hurricane Wilma and Hurricane Rita, and the sixth-strongest storm ever recorded in the Atlantic basin. It first made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane just north of Miami, Florida on August 25, 2005, resulting in a dozen deaths in South Florida, spawning several tornadoes which happened not to strike any dwellings. Katrina strengthened to a 175 m.p.h. storm in the Gulf of Mexico, one of the 5 most powerful ever recorded. It weakened by the time it made landfall again on August 29 along the Central Gulf Coast near Buras-Triumph, Louisiana, as a Category 4 storm. The sheer physical size of Katrina caused devastation far from the eye of the hurricane. It was possibly the largest hurricane of its strength ever recorded. Judging the size of storms in the pre-satellite era is difficult. On August 29, its storm surge soon breached the levee system that protected New Orleans from Lake Pontchartrain and the Mississippi River. Most of the city was subsequently flooded mainly by water from the lake. Heavy damage was also inflicted onto the coasts of Mississippi and Alabama, causing Katrina to become the most destructive and costliest natural disaster in the history of the United States, and likely the deadliest since 1928. The official death toll now stands at 1,383, the third highest in US history (behind the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 and the Okeechobee Hurricane of 1928). 6,644 others remain unaccounted for, with 1,300 of them "feared dead". The damage is estimated to be from $100 to $200 billion [http://www.srh.noaa.gov/data/NHC/TWSAT], at least double from previously most expensive Hurricane Andrew making Katrina the most expensive natural disaster in U.S. history. Over a million people were displaced — a humanitarian crisis on a scale unseen in the U.S. since the Great Depression. In Louisiana, the hurricane's eye made landfall at 6:10am CDT on Monday, August 29. After 11:00 am CDT, several sections of the levee system in New Orleans collapsed. By early September, people were being forcibly evacuated, mostly by bus to neighboring states. Federal disaster declarations blanketed 90,000 square miles (233,000 km²) of the United States, an area almost as large as the United Kingdom. The hurricane left an estimated five million people without power, and it may take up to four months for all power to be restored. On September 3, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff described the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina as "probably the worst catastrophe, or set of catastrophes" in the country's history, referring to the hurricane itself plus the flooding of New Orleans. For a timeline of events leading up to Hurricane Katrina through to the aftermath of the hurricane, see Timeline of Hurricane Katrina.

Storm history

The U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported on August 23 that Tropical Depression Twelve had formed over the southeastern Bahamas. The numbering of the system was debated, as Tropical Depression Twelve formed partially from the remains of Tropical Depression Ten. The naming and numbering rules at the NHC require a system to keep the same identity if it dies, then regenerates, which would normally have caused this storm to remain number Ten. However, the NHC gave this storm a new number because a second disturbance merged with the remains of Tropical Depression Ten on August 21, and there is no way to tell whether the remnants of Tropical Depression Ten should be credited with this storm. (This is different from Hurricane Ivan in the 2004 season, when the NHC ruled that Ivan did indeed reform; the remnant of Ivan that regenerated in the Gulf of Mexico was a distinct system from the moment Ivan originally dissipated to the moment it regained tropical storm strength [http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/2005/dis/al122005.discus.001.shtml].) The system was upgraded to Tropical Storm Katrina on the morning of August 24. Katrina became the fourth hurricane of the 2005 season on August 25 and made landfall later that day around 6:30 p.m. between Hallandale Beach and Aventura, Florida. Florida Katrina weakened over land on August 26, becoming a tropical storm. The initial National Hurricane Center forecasts predicted that Katrina would enter the Gulf of Mexico and begin turning northward, eventually hitting the Florida Panhandle. Katrina, however, continued a west track, eventually turning to the west-southwest. When the storm began turning to the northwest, New Orleans was its aim. On August 27, the storm was upgraded to Category 3 intensity (major hurricane) and at 12:40 a.m. CDT (0540 UTC) on August 28, Katrina was upgraded to Category 4. Later that morning, Katrina went through a period of rapid intensification, becoming a Category Five storm on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. Katrina had maximum sustained winds of 175 mph (280 km/h), gusts of 215 mph (344 km/h) and a central pressure of 26.75 inches, or 906 mbar (hPa), by 1:00 p.m. CDT. It later reached a minimum pressure of 26.64 inches (902 mbar), making it, at the time, the fourth most intense Atlantic Basin hurricane on record (Hurricane Rita and Hurricane Wilma in 2005 would later surpass Katrina). Katrina's rapid intensification was due in part to its movement over the Gulf Loop Current. Katrina made landfall on August 29 as a Category 4 hurricane with sustained winds of 145 mph (235 km/h) with higher gusts, at 6:10 a.m. CDT near Buras-Triumph, Louisiana. Hurricane force winds extended outward 120 statute miles (190 km); pressure was 918 mbar (27.11 inHg) and forward speed 15 mph (10 km/h). Making its way up the eastern Louisiana coastline, most communities in Plaquemines and St. Bernard Parish, and Slidell in St. Tammany Parish, were severely damaged by storm surge and the strong winds of the eyewall, which also grazed eastern New Orleans. A few hours later, it made landfall for a third time near the Louisiana/Mississippi border with 125 mph (200 km/h) Category 3 sustained winds. However, because the storm was so large, extreme damaging eyewall winds and the strong northeastern quadrant of the storm, pushing record storm surges onshore, smashed the entire Mississippi Gulf Coast, including towns in Mississippi such as Waveland, Bay St. Louis, Pass Christian, Long Beach, Gulfport, Biloxi, Ocean Springs, Gautier and Pascagoula, and, in Alabama, Bayou La Batre. As Katrina moved inland diagonally over Mississippi, high winds cut a swath of damage that affected almost the entire state. Bayou La Batre (1700 UTC).]] Bayou La Batre aircraft on August 28, 2005, before the storm made landfall.]] Katrina weakened thereafter, losing hurricane strength more than 150 miles (160 km) inland, near Jackson, Mississippi. It was downgraded to a tropical depression near Clarksville, Tennessee and continued to race northward. Katrina continued to affect the central U.S. as it moved north, and was last seen in the eastern Great Lakes region on August 31. Before being absorbed by a frontal boundary, Katrina's last known position was over southeast Quebec and northern New Brunswick. On August 31, Katrina became a powerful extratropical low in the province of Quebec that gave 50 to 170 mm (1.97 to 6.69 in) of rain in 12 hours; also numerous wind gusts from 50 to 98 km/h (31 to 61 mph) were reported in southern and eastern Quebec. In the region of Saguenay and Cote-Nord, rain caused breakdown and failure in roads. The Cote-Nord region was isolated from rest of Quebec for at least 1 week. Its lowest minimum pressure at landfall was 27.108 inches (918 mbar) (hPa), making it the third strongest hurricane on record to make landfall on the United States. A 10 to 30 foot (3 to 10 m) storm surge came ashore on over 200 continuous miles of coastline, from southeast Louisiana, including Mississippi and Alabama, through to the Florida panhandle. The 30 foot (10 m) storm surge recorded at Biloxi, Mississippi is the highest ever observed in America. Record storm surges that had not occurred in at least the last 150 years, inundated the entire Mississippi coastline, destroying many historic homes. The storm surge in Mobile, Alabama was the highest in that location since 1917, besting the category 3 Hurricane Frederic which hit the city directly in 1979. At 11 p.m. EDT on August 31 (0300 UTC, September 1), U.S. government weather officials announced that the center of the remnant low of what was Katrina had been completely absorbed by a frontal boundary in southeastern Canada, with no discernible circulation. The Hydrometeorological Prediction Center's last [http://www.hpc.ncep.noaa.gov/discussions/tcpat2.html public advisory on Katrina] was at 11 p.m. EDT on August 31 and the Canadian Hurricane Centre's last [http://www.atl.ec.gc.ca/weather/hurricane/bulletins/20050831114442.Katrina.txt.en public advisory on Katrina] was at 9 a.m. EDT on August 31.

Tornadoes

There were at least 36 confirmed tornadoes associated with Hurricane Katrina, with 11 tornadoes in Mississippi, 4 tornadoes in Alabama, 15 tornadoes in Georgia, 1 tornado in Virginia, and 5 tornadoes in Pennsylvania. Most of the tornadoes were rated F0 or F1, but three tornadoes were rated F2 in Georgia, and two were rated F2 in Mississippi. Tornadoes were reported in places including Adams and Cumberland Counties in Pennsylvania, in Fauquier County, Virginia, in Carroll County, Georgia, in Carrollton, Georgia, in White County, Georgia, in Helen, Georgia, and in Fort Valley, Georgia. Several other weak tornadoes were reported by television stations in and around Mobile, Alabama, and Oktibbeha County, Lowdnes County and Harrison County in Mississippi. One death was reported from an F2 tornado near Roopville, Georgia, and 500,000 chickens were killed or set free after about 15 poultry houses were damaged. Several injuries were reported with other tornadoes across Georgia. There was major damage in Helen, Georgia by an F2 tornado, which destroyed homes and a hotel. In Fort Valley, Georgia, another tornado ripped through a credit union and destroyed local houses and trees.

Preparations and expectations before landfall

Previous short term preparations and expectations

Advance weather forecasts

Many living in the area felt that south Florida had minimal advance warning when Katrina strengthened from a tropical storm to a hurricane in one day, and struck southern Florida later that same day, on August 25. Even so, NHC forecasts showed Katrina strengthening into a hurricane well in advance of landfall, and hurricane watches and warnings were indeed issued nearly 36 and 24 hours, respectively, before hurricane conditions were felt in the area (watches and warnings are supposed to be issued at those time periods)[http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/2005/pub/al122005.public.004.shtml?],[http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/2005/dis/al122005.discus.006.shtml?]. By August 26 the possibility of "unprecedented cataclysm" was already being considered. Some computer models were putting New Orleans right in the center of their track probabilities, and the chances of a direct hit were forecast at nearly 90%. This scenario was considered a "potential catastrophe" because 80% of the New Orleans metropolitan area is below sea level. Louisiana governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco declared a state of emergency for state agencies. On August 27, after Katrina crossed southern Florida and strengthened to Category 3, President George W. Bush declared a state of emergency in Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi two days before the hurricane made landfall[http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/08/20050827-1.html]. On August 28 the National Weather Service issued a [http://wikisource.org/wiki/August_28_2005_10:11_AM_CDT_NOAA_Bulletin bulletin] predicting "devastating" damage rivaling the intensity of Hurricane Camille. At a news conference, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin ordered a mandatory evacuation of the city with Gov. Blanco standing beside him.

Transportation and infrastructure

Ray Nagin On Sunday, August 28, Canadian National Railway (CN) suspended all rail traffic on its lines south of McComb, Mississippi (lines owned by its subsidiary Illinois Central Railroad that extend into New Orleans), in anticipation of damage from the hurricane. To help ease the resumption of services after the storm passes, CN also issued an embargo with the Association of American Railroads against all deliveries to points south of Osyka, Mississippi. CSX Transportation also suspended service south of Montgomery, Alabama until further notice. The CSX (former Louisville and Nashville Railroad) main line from Mobile to New Orleans is believed to have suffered extensive damage, especially in coastal Mississippi, but repair crews were not able to reach most parts of the line as of August 30. Amtrak, America's rail passenger carrier, announced that the southbound City of New Orleans passenger trains from Chicago, Illinois, on August 29 and through September 3 would terminate in Memphis, Tennessee, rather than their usual destination of New Orleans; the corresponding northbound trains will also originate in Memphis. The southbound Crescent from New York City, for the same period terminated in Atlanta, Georgia, with the corresponding northbound trains originating in Atlanta as well. Amtrak's westbound Sunset Limited originated in San Antonio, Texas, rather than its normal origin point of Orlando, Florida. Amtrak announced that no alternate transportation options would be made available into or out of the affected area [http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Amtrak/am2Copy/Simple_Copy_Popup&c=am2Copy&cid=1093554014709]. Orlando, Florida The Waterford nuclear power plant was shut down on Sunday, August 28, before Katrina's arrival. The State Departments of Transportation in the affected area, in conjunction with the Federal Highway Administration, have a huge job to rebuild the critical highways for access to the region. Interstate 10 seems, at first glance, to be the most critical to repair, especially the twin bridges over Lake Pontchartrain, which were destroyed. These are "lifelines" to the east, but assessing the damage, there will be no quick fix. These costs could run into many billions of dollars.

Experts: Predictions, Risks and Preparations

The risk of devastation from a direct hit was well documented. The New Orleans Times-Picayune newspaper ran a series on the risk in 2002; the series predicted many of the events that happened in 2005, including the breakdown of the levee system. "It's only a matter of time before South Louisiana takes a direct hit from a major hurricane. Billions have been spent to protect us, but we grow more vulnerable every day." New Orleans Times-Picayune June 23 - 27 June 2002 [http://www.nola.com/washingaway/] National Geographic ran a feature in October 2004 [http://www3.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0410/feature5/]. Scientific American covered the topic thoroughly in an October 2001 piece titled "Drowning New Orleans" [http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa006&articleID=00060286-CB58-1315-8B5883414B7F0000]. Walter Williams did a serious short feature on it called "New Orleans: The Natural History", in which an expert said a direct hit by a hurricane could damage the city for six months [http://soundwaves.usgs.gov/2002/09/outreach3.html]. CSO magazine ran an interview with the National Weather Service's Gary Woodall in which he listed six steps that citizens and company executives can take to be prepared for hurricanes such as this. [http://www.csoonline.com/read/090105/safekeeping.html]

Evacuation and emergency shelters

"Not since the Dust Bowl of the 1930s or the end of the Civil War in the 1860s have so many Americans been on the move from a single event."[http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/hurricanekatrina/2002486584_katuproot11.html] At a news conference 10 a.m. on August 28, shortly after Katrina was upgraded to a Category 5 storm, New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin, calling Katrina "a storm that most of us have long feared," ordered the first ever mandatory evacuation of the city. Contraflow lane reversal on Interstate 10 leading west and Interstates 55 and 59 leading north from New Orleans was ended that afternoon. Two weeks after the storm, over half the States were involved in providing shelter for evacuees. By four weeks after the storm, evacuees had been registered in all 50 states and in almost half the Zip codes of the U.S. Three quarters of evacuees had stayed within 250 miles but tens of thousands had located more than 1000 miles away. The Louisiana State Evacuation Plan declares "The primary means of hurricane evacuation will be personal vehicles. School and municipal buses, government-owned vehicles and vehicles provided by volunteer agencies may be used to provide transportation for individuals who lack transportation and require assistance in evacuating" in Part 1 Section D. The state evacuation plan also assigns the responsibility of evacuation to each Parish with the language [the parish will] "Conduct and control local evacuation in parishes located in the risk area and manage reception and shelter operations in parishes located in the host area" in Part 1 Section D. The state evacuation plan also assigns the responsibility of evacuation of the sick and those needing assistance to the owners of the facilities with the language: "Hospitals, nursing homes, group homes, etc. will have pre-determined evacuation and/or refuge plans if evacuation becomes necessary. All facilities will have approved Multi-Hazard Emergency Operations Plans as mandated by the State of Louisiana, Dept. of Health and Hospitals (DHH). Before operating permits are given to homes/hospitals, emergency precautions are to be taken, such as the placement of emergency supplies and equipment (i.e., generators and potable water) on upper floors.." in Part 1 Section D. As many of these facilities relied on the same bus companies and ambulance services for evacuation, several were unable to evacuate before the storm hit, resulting in the deaths of their occupants. In addition to residents, many tourists were stranded. Fuel and rental cars were in short supply; also, Greyhound bus and Amtrak train service were halted well before the hurricane made landfall [http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050905/NEWS01/509050309/1009&theme=]. Future analysis of motor vehicle registration, census and Social Security Information, and death certificates may help to provide more clarity. During the Hurricane Ivan evacuation, 600,000 people remained in the city [http://www.blackpressusa.com/News/Article.asp?SID=3&Title=Hot+Stories&NewsID=4744]. Mandatory evacuations were also ordered for Assumption, Jefferson (Kenner, Metairie, as well as Grand Isle and other low lying areas), Lafourche (outside the floodgates), Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles and St. James parishes and parts of St. Tammany, Tangipahoa and Terrebonne parishes in Louisiana. In Alabama, evacuations were ordered for parts of Mobile and Baldwin counties (including Gulf Shores). In Mississippi, evacuations were ordered for parts of Hancock, Harrison and Jackson counties.

New Orleans shelters

Louisiana Superdome

Jackson Jackson On August 28, as Hurricane Katrina grew into a Category 5 storm that had yet to make landfall, Nagin established several "refuges of last resort" for citizens who could not leave the city, including the massive Louisiana Superdome. The New Orleans Times - Picayune reported that the Louisiana National Guard delivered three truckloads of water and seven truckloads of MRE's, enough to supply 15,000 people for three days according to Col. Jay Mayeaux, deputy director of the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Emergency Preparedness [http://www.nola.com/newslogs/breakingtp/index.ssf?/mtlogs/nola_Times-Picayune/archives/2005_08_28.html#074657]. The Superdome housed over 9,000 people along with 550 National Guard troops when Katrina came ashore [http://www.wwltv.com/local/stories/WWL082705nagin.b7724856.html]. On August 29, Katrina passed over New Orleans with such force that it ripped two holes in the Superdome roof. A National Guard official said on Thursday, September 1, that as many as 60,000 people had gathered at the Superdome for evacuation, having remained there in increasingly difficult circumstances. Air conditioning, electricity, and running water all failed, making for very unsanitary and uncomfortable conditions. There have been widespread reports of murders, rapes, beatings, robberies, and general mayhem in the Superdome, though most reports appear in the foreign press, as mainstream U.S. media have omitted the more serious reports. Most of these reports were determined to be based on unverified rumors and myths [http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-na-rumors27sep27,0,5536446.story?track=hpmostemailedlink]. On August 31, it was announced that evacuees would be moved to the Astrodome in Houston, Texas. By September 6, the Superdome was completely evacuated. Officials say that the flood damage, debris, human waste and bodily fluids in the Superdome is a "potential biohazard," and that it is too early to tell what the final fate of the structure will be, although demolition has been cited as a possible outcome.

New Orleans Convention Center

The New Orleans Convention Center was broken into by August 30th, and by September 1, the facility, like the Superdome, was overwhelmed and declared unsafe and unsanitary. Reports of violence, beatings, and rape among those gathered in the convention center were widespread. Several people died while sheltered within. Reports indicated that up to 20,000 people had gathered at the Convention Center, many dropped off after rescue from flooded areas of the city. Others were directed to the center by the police, headed by Eddie Compass, as a possible refuge. However, even though there were thousands of evacuees at the center, along with network newscasters, pleading desperately for help on CNN, FOX, and other broadcast outlets, FEMA head Michael Brown and Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff both claimed to have no knowledge of the use of the Convention Center as a shelter until the afternoon of September 1 ([http://www.cnn.com/video/player/player.html?url=/video/bestoftv/2005/09/02/soledad.fema.brown.katrina.cnn CNN Video]), although later Brown said he misspoke and had learned of them 24 hours earlier. For two days, still, the evacuees' pleas were ignored. Those able to walk the distance could have left the Convention Center, and the city, via the Crescent City Connection Bridge, but were prevented from doing so at gunpoint by Gretna, LA sheriffs [http://www.thisamericanlife.org/pages/descriptions/05/296.html]. The Convention Center was completely evacuated by September 3. By September 8 there were reports that the claims of rape and murder at the Convention Center and the Superdome could be false [http://www.reason.com/links/links090605.shtml].

Shelters in Texas

September 8 On August 31, the Harris County, Texas Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management and the State of Louisiana came to an agreement to allow at least 25,000 evacuees from New Orleans, especially those who were sheltered in the Louisiana Superdome, to move to the Astrodome until they could return home. The evacuation began on September 1. However, as of September 2, officials declared the Reliant Astrodome full and unable to accept additional hurricane refugees from the disaster. The Reliant Astrodome was reopened a few hours later, and it was announced that the Reliant Center would have all events cancelled through December so as to open the building to ~11,000 additional evacuees. The George R. Brown Convention Center was announced as an additional shelter site at the same time, but was not opened for use until September 3. When the Houston shelters began to reach capacity on September 2, Texas Governor Rick Perry activated an emergency plan that made space for an additional 25,000 in each of San Antonio and the Dallas/ Fort Worth/ Arlington,TX Metroplex and smaller shelters in communities across Texas. Beginning with a convoy of 50 buses (2,700 people) that arrived at the Dallas Reunion Arena at 3:00 a.m. CST September 3, a wave of over 120,000 additional evacuees began pouring into Texas at a rate, such that as of September 5, it was estimated there are roughly 139,000 evacuees in official shelters in the state, adding to the estimated 90,000 already in hotels and homes. By the afternoon of September 5, with a total estimated number of over 230,000 evacuees in Texas, Governor Perry ordered that buses begin being diverted to other shelters outside the state resulting in 20,000 being sent to Oklahoma and 30,000 being sent to Arkansas. By Labor Day, September 6, Texas had an estimated 250,000 evacuees and Governor Perry was forced to declare a state of emergency in Texas and issued an impassioned plea to other states to begin taking the 40,000-50,000 evacuees that were still in need of shelter.

Local effects and aftermath

Texas Texas Areas affected include southern Florida, Louisiana (especially the Greater New Orleans area), Mississippi, Alabama, the western Florida Panhandle, western and north Georgia (hit by tornadoes), the Tennessee Valley and Ohio Valley regions, the eastern Great Lakes region and the length of the western Appalachians. Over 1,300 deaths have been reported in seven states, a number which is expected to rise as casualty reports come in from areas currently inaccessible. Three levees in New Orleans gave way, and 80% of the city was under water at peak flooding, which in some places was 20 to 25 feet (7 or 8 meters) deep[http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20050830_hurricane_katrina_050830/?hub=World]. As of September 6, the flood pool had abated to covering 60% of the city.[http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/hurricane_katrina;_ylt=AuMEcGUKzaA0k_o5kA8EIWOs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA2Z2szazkxBHNlYwN0bQ--] September 6 By September 2, NOAA had published satellite photography[http://ngs.woc.noaa.gov/katrina/KATRINA0000.HTM] of many of the affected regions. The storm surge in Katrina as it was making landfall on August 29 was very high to the east of where the storm center crossed the coast. Storm surge of near 30 feet high was observed, where during the height of the storm at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum scenes like a car floating outside the first floor lobby, and a boat is being swept across the parking lot as the surge comes in with the eyewall winds were not uncommon. The lobby and parking lot are over 20 feet above sea level of the Gulf of Mexico, and less than 1/4 mile away from the Gulf coastal road Highway 90 in Harrison County between Biloxi and Gulfport.

Looting and violence

Gulfport.]] Shortly after the hurricane ended on August 30, some residents of New Orleans, including police officers, who remained in the city began looting stores [http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050906/ts_nm/police_dc_1]. Many looters were in search of food and water that was not available to them due to the destruction, though many people stole non-essential items as well. Drug, convenience, clothing, and jewellery stores in the French Quarter and on Canal Street were hardest hit. Looting also occurred in other towns throughout the disaster area. "The looting is out of control. The French Quarter has been attacked," Councilwoman Jackie Clarkson said. "We're using exhausted, scarce police to control looting when they should be used for search and rescue while we still have people on rooftops." Some police officers barricaded their stations to avoid snipers and "resorted to looting for shoes, dry socks and food" [http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050906/ts_nm/police_dc_1]. Reports of carjacking, murders, thefts, and rapes flooded the news, however many of the stories were determined to likely be based on rumors, despite being spread by officials such as Mayor Nagin [http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-na-rumors27sep27,0,5536446.story?track=hpmostemailedlink]. Thousands of National Guard and federal troops were mobilized and sent to Louisiana along with numbers of local law enforcement agents from across the country who were temporarily deputized by the state. "They have M-16s and are locked and loaded. These troops know how to shoot and kill and I expect they will," Kathleen Blanco said. Congressman Jefferson (D-LA) told ABC News. "There was shooting going on. There was sniping going on. Over the first week of September, law and order was gradually restored to the city." Several shootings occurred between police and New Orleans residents including the fatal incident at Danziger Bridge [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9208195/]. A number of arrests were made throughout the affected area including near the New Orleans Convention Center. A temporary jail was constructed of chain link cages in the city train station [http://www.komotv.com/news/mnewsaction.asp?ID=39002] although controversy arose over at least one inmate [http://msnbc.msn.com/id/9356608/]. A September 26 2005 article from The Times Picayune, titled 'Rumors of deaths greatly exaggerated' [http://www.nola.com/newslogs/tporleans/index.ssf?/mtlogs/nola_tporleans/archives/2005_09_26.html#082732] provides updated information on attempts to corroborate many of the reports of violence. Issues of racial bias in media coverage began to surface as Caucasian flood victims were portrayed in one AP photo as "finding" supplies while an African-American was described in a separate AP photo as engaged in "looting." The photographers later clarified the two stories, one claiming he witnessed the African-American looting a store, while the other photographer described the Caucasians as finding the food floating in floodwaters[http://www.snopes.com/katrina/photos/looters.asp]. In Texas, with more than 300,000 evacuees, local officials have run 20,000 criminal background checks on the evacuees, as well as the relief workers helping them and people who have opened up their homes. Most of the checks have found little for police to be concerned about. While Philadelphia police found no criminals at all in those evacuated to their city, the state police in West Virginia said roughly half of the nearly 350 Katrina victims evacuated by the government to that state had criminal records, and 22 percent have a history of committing a violent crime.

Death toll (summary)

As of December 11, the confirmed death toll stands at 1,383 mainly from Louisiana (1,075) and Mississippi (230). (This number includes often-omitted deaths in Ohio, Kentucky, and among evacuees.) [http://robertlindsay.blogspot.com/2005/12/katrina-death-toll-inches-up-to-1383.html] Direct deaths indicate those caused by the direct effects of the winds, flooding, storm surge or oceanic effects of Katrina. Indirect deaths indicate those caused by hurricane-related accidents (including car accidents), fires or other incidents, as well as clean-up incidents and health issues. Louisiana's Republican U.S. Senator estimated that fatalities in Louisiana alone could be 10,000. The true death toll is still unknown. Government authorities have been slow to search for the hundreds in Saint Bernard's parish and some Louisiana towns who could have been washed out to sea by the 30 foot surge of water.[http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-rumors27sep27,0,3794602.story?coll=la-home-headlines] [http://www.nola.com/newslogs/tporleans/index.ssf?/mtlogs/nola_tporleans/archives/2005_09_26.html] [http://www.washtimes.com/national/20050928-121515-2539r.htm] However, the New Orleans Times Picayune newspaper ran a story in November noting that 5000 missing New Orleans residents alone are still unaccounted for. Whether most of these Americans are dead is unknown, and Congress is not investigating. Amid arguments about funding, hundreds of bodies have not been DNA tested because neither the federal government nor Louisiana nor Mississippi wants to pay for it, or get together to agree on a contractor to perform the job. Despite assurances by the Feds that all houses had been searched, relatives of those trapped are still discovering bodies in December. And the media won't ask Bush and other officials how they have determined that no dead remain under thousands of houses flattened in Slidell and other Louisiana towns. Thousands of American dead have been shunted aside as unimportant in a Soviet-style effort by the Bush administration to suppress the death toll -- and few Americans still alive to complain seem to care. On September 6 FEMA stopped allowing journalists to accompany rescuers searching for victims, saying they would take up too much space. At the same time, FEMA requested that journalists stop taking pictures of dead bodies. News organizations have filed suit in Federal Court, claiming a violation of the First Amendment's freedom of the press. In face of the lawsuit, FEMA has since countermanded this request[http://writ.news.findlaw.com/hilden/20050913.html]. On September 9 FEMA ordered 50,000 body bags in addition to the 25,000 previously ordered. [http://www.modbee.com/local/story/11196519p-11948351c.html] On September 13, officials announced that negligent homicide charges had been filed against the owners of a New Orleans nursing home, where the bodies of thirty four residents, apparently drowned, were found.[http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/VBOL-6G8BRX?OpenDocument]

Health concerns

Aside from the lack of water, food, shelter, and sanitation facilities, there was concern that the prolonged flooding might lead to an outbreak of health problems for those who remained in the hurricane-affected areas. In addition to dehydration and food poisoning, there was potential for communicable disease outbreaks of diarrhea and respiratory illness, all related to the growing contamination of food and drinking water supplies in the area. President Bush declared a emergency for the entire Gulf Coast. Before the hurricane, government health officials prepared to respond, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) began sending medical emergency supplies to locations near the worst-hit area within 48 hours after landfall. Supplies shipped by CDC's Strategic National Stockpile provided pharmaceuticals, technical assistance teams, and treatment capacity for citizens otherwise stranded by the hurricane's catastrophic effect on hospital infrastructure in Louisiana and Mississippi. CDC's supplies served an estimated 30 acute care hospitals south of Interstate Highway 10, and volunteers organized around its "contingency stations" to become temporary stand-ins for hospitals, warehouses, and distribution facilities damaged by the storm. Alongside strong responses from state and local medical teams, CDC support remained crucial until normal infrastructure support began to return a week and a half later. Within days after landfall, medical authorities established contingency treatment facilities for over 10,000 people, and plans to treat thousands more were developing. Partnerships with commercial medical suppliers, shipping companies, and support services companies insured that evolving medical needs could be met within days or even hours. There is concern the chemical plants and refineries in the area could have released pollutants into the floodwaters. People who suffer from allergies or lung disorders, such as asthma, may have health complications due to toxic mold and airborne irritants [http://www.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/09/27/monster.mold.ap/index.html], leading to what some health officials have dubbed "Katrina Cough". [http://www.wwltv.com/topstories/stories/WWL103105katrinacough.170a5332.html] In Gulfport, Mississippi, several hundred tons of chicken and uncooked shrimp were washed out of their containers at the nearby harbor and could have contaminated the water table. On September 6, 2005 it was reported that Escherichia coli (E. coli) had been detected at unsafe levels in the waters that flooded New Orleans. The CDC reported on September 7 that five people had died of bacterial infection from drinking water contaminated with Vibrio vulnificus, a bacterium from the Gulf of Mexico. Wide outbreaks of severe infectious diseases such as cholera and dysentery are not considered likely because such illnesses are not endemic in the United States [http://www.bt.cdc.gov/disasters/hurricanes/infectiousdisease.asp].

Animal concerns

dysentery As with any major disaster, animals are affected as well as human beings. In the case during Katrina, no order to support total animal evacuation was given. Helicopter pilots and rescue boat captains had refused to load pets in order to hold more people. Many families in the affected area refused to evacuate without their pets. Some field hospitals allowed pets to enter with their patients. However, those who were evacuated from the Superdome were not allowed to take their pets with them[http://www.recorder.ca/cp/World/050901/w090197A.html] (see also Snowball.) Rescue teams were set up in the worst hit regions in response to desperate pleas from pet owners. Horses posed a particular problem, as they are easily stranded and cannot stand in water for long periods of time. Rescue agencies set up shelters and tried to find homes to adopt pets lost by their owners.[http://www.hsus.org/hsus_field/hsus_disaster_center/recent_activities_and_information/animal_disaster_teams_respond_to_hurricane_katrina_massive_flooding.html] Rescue centers were becoming overwhelmed in the days immediately following the hurricane. Online resources, such as the animals911.com clearinghouse for Hurricane Katrina animal rescue and relief[http://www.animals911.com], give rescue groups, individuals, and businesses from around the country a centralized venue to publish their offers and requests for helping the animals displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Most of the 10,000 fish at the New Orleans Aquarium of the Americas died because the backup power ran out after four days. Curators had abandoned the aquarium and the police used it as an emergency base. [http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-sci-aquarium10sep10,0,7843985.story?track=mostemailedlink] Most of the marine mammals and a large sea turtle survived. [http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/science/09/07/katrina.zoos] The Audubon Zoo lost only three animals out of a total of 1,400 due to good disaster planning and location on high ground. Zoo curator Dan Maloney was quoted as saying, "The zoo had planned for years for the catastrophic storm that has long been predicted for New Orleans". [http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20050904/sc_afp/usweatherzoo] [http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N04625799.htm] The response of the American public was unprecedented. The Humane Society of the United States (The HSUS) had received $15 million in donations within two weeks after the hurricane occurred. The HSUS, in conjunction with the Louisiana SPCA and other groups, has hundreds of staff and volunteers working in LA and MS. As of September 20 2005, 6,031 animals were rescued and 400 were reunited with their owners. [http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-09-03-katrinapetrescues_x.htm] Rescued pets are being listed at http://www.petfinder.org//

Reports of price gouging

Hundreds of reports were made to Louisiana authorities and elsewhere regarding sharp increases in prices on products like gasoline and bottled water, or of hotels failing to honor reservations in favor of accepting larger offers for rooms by desperate travelers. The three major U.S. TV networks' nightly news programs showed images of a BP gas station selling gasoline for over $6 per US gallon ($1.59/L). Another BP station in Stockbridge, Georgia, south of Atlanta, was selling gas at $5.87 per US gallon ($1.55/L) less than a day after Katrina hit. Gas prices in the U.S. just prior to Katrina were in the range of $2.50 per US gallon ($0.66/L). During this time the average price of gas per US gallon has reached a new all time high. The rapid price increase exacerbated the oil price increases of 2004 and 2005.

Wage issues

On September 9, 2005 President George W. Bush issued proclamation 7924, "To Suspend Subchapter IV of Chapter 31 of Title 40, United States Code, within a Limited Geographic Area in Response to the National Emergency Caused by Hurricane Katrina", which indefinitely suspended the Davis-Bacon Act.[http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/09/20050908-5.html] This law mandates that workers on federal construction projects be paid at least the prevailing local wage. There are also rumours of suspension of the McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act. [http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/news/nation/12641578.htm] Some critics feel that allowing the government to pay less than the prevailing rate will increase the poverty in the area through lower wages.[http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/10/opinion/10sat2.html?incamp=article_popular_5] [http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-golden12sep12,1,6949079.column?coll=la-utilities-business&ctrack=1&cset=true] How the many victims of Katrina will cope with wage reductions is unknown [http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050913/ap_on_go_co/katrina_bankruptcy_2]. The economic loss will force many survivors into bankruptcy. Those with jobs will have to pay if their income is $100 over the states' median income. Louisiana and Mississippi have some of the lowest [http://www.census.gov/hhes/income/income02/statemhi.html] median incomes in the nation requiring Katrina victims to pay creditors. In most US states, people with similar incomes will pay nothing. On October 26, 2005, President Bush reinstated the