Reflections on Hurricane Katrina: 20 Years Later
FOX Weather Hurricane Specialist Bryan Norcross reflects on the devastating impacts of Hurricane Katrina 20 years later. The storm made landfall in southeastern Louisiana and southern Mississippi, bringing catastrophic damage and loss of life. As Norcross recalls, “Twenty years ago this morning I was handling the weather for the CBS Early Show from Miami. We were carefully watching as Katrina made landfall in southeastern Louisiana and southern Mississippi.”
At the time, Norcross and his team were cautiously optimistic that the levees and flood walls protecting New Orleans would hold up well enough to avoid a disaster. However, the storm surge forecasts were quite accurate, with predictions of the water rising as high as 28 feet above the normal tide level—3-4 feet higher than in Hurricane Camille, which had devastated the Mississippi Gulf coast 36 years earlier.
Just seconds before Norcross was set to do the weather segment, a report came in from WWL radio via the internet that there was a levee failure in the Lower Ninth Ward. The news marked the beginning of a catastrophic series of events, as the Gulf of Mexico poured into the eastern part of New Orleans, causing widespread flooding and destruction.
New Orleans, UNITED STATES: A plea for help appears on the roof of a home flooded in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, Louisiana, 04 September 2005. New Orleans began counting its dead 04 September as US troops turned to the gruesome task of harvesting bloated corpses from the hurricane-torn city’s flooded streets and homes.
(ROBERT GALBRAITH/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
The Aftermath and Lessons Learned
The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina was marked by epic failures to manage the disaster, despite heroic efforts by thousands of people. The scale of the devastation was unimaginable, with the storm causing over 1,800 deaths and $125 billion in damages. As Norcross notes, “After Hurricane Andrew in 1992, I never imagined I would see pain and anguish like we saw in the suburbs south of Miami again in the United States. But Katrina was worse. Unimaginably, the scale was even bigger.”
The lesson learned from Hurricane Katrina is the importance of imagining the worst possible scenario and planning for worse than that. As Norcross emphasizes, “It’s much easier to scale a plan back than it is to create a new plan when the crisis is underway.” This approach can help mitigate the impacts of future disasters and save lives.
Current Tropical Outlook
The National Hurricane Center is currently monitoring a potential development area off the coast of Africa. The disturbance is forecast to move into the Atlantic about Sunday, with low odds of developing into a tropical depression. The various computer models are in agreement about the timing and track of the disturbance, but atmospheric conditions are generally unsupportive of significant development.
The tropical outlook for the Atlantic.
(Bryan Norcross / FOX Weather)
Katrina’s Wrath: 20 Years Later
Tonight at 9 PM ET on FOX Weather, you can watch all four parts of the special series, Katrina’s Wrath: 20 Years Later. The series explores the disaster as it unfolded, the vibrant city that still bears the scars today, and the future. If you’re not sure how to get FOX Weather on your TV, tablet, computer, or phone, go to foxweather.tv. We are always on and always free.
For more information and analysis from Bryan Norcross, visit Here
Image Source: www.foxweather.com
