For the past 30 years, the annual death toll from hurricanes in the United States has averaged fewer than 50 persons, mostly in part because of the advanced warning provided by the National Weather Service. Why then did Hurricane Katrina result in over 1,500 deaths?

Answer 1

Hurricane Katrina slammed into Mississippi and Louisiana in 2005. As Katrina moved into the Gulf of Mexico, it intensified to a Category 5 strength, and headed toward the upper Gulf Coast. Evacuation orders were given to residents living in low-lying areas, including the city of New Orleans. Hundreds of thousands of people moved to higher ground but, unfortunately, many thousands of others either refused to leave their homes or had no means of leaving and were forced to ride out the storm. Tragically, more than 1500 people died in southeast Louisiana, many as a result of catastrophic flooding across the New Orleans area that occurred when several levees broke and parts of the city were inundated with water more than 20 feet deep. In addition, more than 200 people were killed along the Mississippi coast, where a giant storm surge of up to 27 feet pushed well inland.