HARVEY VERSUS KATRINA
A late August hurricane menacing the Gulf Coast. Residents plucked from rooftops. A convention centre repurposed as an emergency shelter. A test of a presidency.
Here’s a quick rundown of what we know about similarities and differences between the two. THE STORMS
Katrina It made landfall near the Louisiana/Mississippi border on Aug. 29, 2005, as a Category 3 storm and measured 560 kilometres. The relatively low classification, based on wind speed, was deceptive because Katrina produced the highest storm surge ever recorded in the United States.
Harvey It made landfall in Rockport, Texas, on Friday as a Category 4 storm, measuring 320 km across, but was quickly downgraded. As of Monday, it was expected to linger for days, causing National Weather Service to warn: “This event is unprecedented and all impacts are unknown.”
DEATHS AND DAMAGE
Katrina One of the deadliest hurricanes ever to strike the U.S., Katrina was responsible for 1,833 deaths, and some bodies were untouched for days. The storm inflicted more than $100 billion (U.S.) in damage, with most of it caused by wind, storm surge and the failure of the levees. Katrina also left three million people across the region without power.
Harvey Local officials have reported at least 10 deaths since the storm began, but heavy rains and flooding are expected to continue at least through Friday. Most of the damage could be caused by flooding. EVACUATION
Katrina The mandatory evacuation of New Orleans was announced a day before the storm hit. An estimated 100,000 people remained stuck in the city. A few weeks later, in another chaotic evacuation, more than 100 people died leaving Houston to escape hurricane Rita.
Harvey Houston did not call on residents to evacuate and is now urging those who can to shelter in place. As the rain continued, a growing number of other jurisdictions — such as Bay City, which expected three metres of water downtown — urged residents to leave.
ASSISTANCE
Katrina The storm displaced more than one million people and damaged or destroyed 275,000 homes. Almost one million households received individual assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Harvey We don’t know yet how many people will be forced out of their homes. But the vast majority of homes in Harvey’s path are not insured against flooding. FEMA officials estimated that 450,000 people were likely to seek federal aid.
THE TAKE-AWAYS SO FAR
Katrina Evacuation chaos and mostly unfounded panic over riots and violence made issues of race, poverty and government failures impossible to ignore.
The breaches of the levees compounded those problems and represented an engineering failure of grave proportions.
Harvey Harvey will probably sharpen an ongoing debate over whether Houston, a city driven by real estate, has overbuilt at the expense of flood control. Harvey, depending on how it plays out, might represent a climate change warning. New York Times