Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
New Orleans
(a)
(c)
Figure 8.26 Hurricane Katrina. (a) Satellite image of Hurricane
Katrina shortly before it struck Louisiana. Note the incredibly well-
defined eye, which developed when the storm reached maximum
strength. (b) Extensive damage along the Mississippi coast was
caused by a combination of strong winds and storm surge, which
in some places was over 9 m (30 ft) high. (c) Failure of protective
levees in New Orleans caused widespread flooding.
(b)
Although most storms are deflected northeasterly when
they reach the midlatitudes, Sandy was drawn to the west
by the midlatitude low, causing a landfall along the coast of
southern New Jersey. Northern New Jersey and New York
City (particularly Long Island and Staten Island) were blasted
(Figure 8.27c) by strong winds and a 4-m high (13-ft) storm
surge that resulted, in part, because the storm struck at precisely
the highest tide of the month. This surge flooded the subway
system in the area (Figure 8.27d) and devastated coastal com-
munities on the barrier islands that front the mainland. About
5  million people lost electrical power. Over 18 cm (7 in.) of
rain fell in many places, causing rivers to swell dangerously.
Because Sandy had combined with an early winter storm, up to
0.6 cm (2 ft) of snow fell in the Appalachian Mountains to the
west. This heavy snowfall was driven in large part by orograph-
ic processes. Strong winds were felt as far away as Michigan.
Overall, Sandy caused about $50 billion in damage, which
makes it the second costliest storm ever in the United States,
and killed 185 people along its path.
In contrast to the federal government's response to
Hurricane Katrina, its reaction to Sandy was swift. Ironically,
the storm hit just a few days before the 2012 presidential elec-
tion, which greatly intensified the spotlight. President Obama
quickly declared much of the eastern seaboard a Federal
Disaster area, which meant that FEMA descended rapidly
onto the scene to deliver clothing, food, and shelter. As of
late April, 2013, however, thousands remained homeless and
many coastal communities were struggling to recover from
the effects of Sandy. The impact of this hurricane raised con-
sciousness about the vulnerability of the greater New York
area to catastrophic storms and fueled a national debate about
the relationship of hurricanes to global climate change. As we
will discuss in Chapter 19, one of the projected impacts of a
warming world is rising sea levels. Assuming such changes
occur in the future, the impact of storms such as Sandy will
be even greater.
The intensity of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Sandy,
as well as other large tropical storms, underscores the need for
 
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