In 2005, Hurricane Katrina smashed into the Gulf Coast, resulting in an estimated 1,245 deaths and damage estimated at $108 billion. Seven years later, the East Coast was pummeled by Hurricane Sandy, one of the largest and most destructive storms ever to strike the area. Even with the advances in forecasting and hurricane preparation, these storms showed how destructive weather-related events can still be.
Katrina formed as a tropical depression in late August 2005. It strengthened as it approached land and went from a tropical storm to a Category 3 hurricane. Nine hours later it was classed as a Category 5 storm. At its height, it was sustaining winds of 175 miles per hour. After passing over New Orleans and other parts of Louisiana, it continued into Mississippi as a Category 3, and by the time it reached Tennessee, it had slowed to a tropical depression.
On August 28 the mayor of New Orleans, Ray Nagin, ordered the mandatory evacuation of the city, the first in US history. But although many obeyed the order, others remained, determined to ride out the storm. The city relied heavily on a system of levees, most of which had been kept in poor repair. The storm broke through them, and water poured into New Orleans. Eighty percent of the city was flooded. Lake Pontchartrain was badly polluted by waste carried by the floodwaters.
Those who had remained in the city fled to the Superdome sports venue, which became a temporary home for thousands. Conditions within the Superdome rapidly deteriorated, as people suffered from heat exhaustion and the plumbing system broke down under heavy use. Six people inside the Superdome died, although unofficial reports put the number much higher.
Eventually, after several weeks, order began to arise from the chaos. But the federal and state governments were widely blamed for the extent of the disaster. Michael Brown, President Bush’s appointee to head the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), was forced to resign in disgrace, and the events surrounding Katrina badly damaged the Bush administration’s standing with the American people.
Hurricane Sandy ranks second in the history of damaging storms. It struck the East Coast in October 2012 after beginning as a tropical depression in the Caribbean. By the time it reached Cuba, it had strengthened to a Category 3 hurricane. It weakened and then strengthened again, passing along the US coast.
Storm warnings caused widespread evacuations in many states, which helped keep the death toll relatively low (233 people were killed). Nonetheless, the damage caused by the storm was extensive, estimated at $75 billion. Damage was greatest in New Jersey and New York. In New Jersey much of the Jersey Shore was heavily impacted, and thousands of buildings were leveled. In New York City many of the city’s subways had to be closed because of flooding when the East River burst its banks.