David J. Bertuca cypher Hurricane Katrina Disaster
August 2005 and Ten Years Later...

A Select Guide to Resources

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New Orleans
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"KATRINA WILL LIKELY BE RECORDED AS THE WORST NATURAL DISASTER IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES...PRODUCING CATASTROPHIC DAMAGE AND UNTOLD CASUALTIES IN THE NEW ORLEANS AREA AND ALONG THE MISSISSIPPI GULF COAST... AND ADDITIONAL CASUALTIES IN SOUTH FLORIDA. THE EXTENT OF THE PHYSICAL AND HUMAN DEVASTATION FROM THIS HURRICANE CANNOT YET BE ESTIMATED..."--National Hurricane Center - Tropical Weather Summary.

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Below are links to the event, the aftermath, news and relief activities, science pages on hurricanes and storms, and other resources. This page can be used to study the entire series of events, as well as current updates. Also see: Latest Reports for more current news and information on the region, relief efforts, more. See: Recovery efforts mapped (2006).

This page has also been designed as a model for disaster planning and emergency management. Some sections are no longer relevant to Katrina, but are retained for use in future disasters.

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New! Ten Years Later
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bulletEvents & History (also News, Latest info)
bulletSpecial News Coverage pages
bulletImages, Maps, and Video
bulletRelief Efforts & Contacts

bulletHurricane Science
bulletHurricane Awareness & Preparedness
bulletFor Kids
bulletWhat Caused These Disasters?

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New Orleans before hurricane
New Orleans August 31, 2005
Satellite photographs of New Orleans, before and after the hurricane.
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Events & History

Best General Resources & Latest Reports

Local News

For current stories, not Katrina-related

Special Pages by News Services (with links to good resources)

News Services (for Updates)

World

New York Times BBC Reuters CNN

Images, Maps, GIS (Check all sites for images and maps)

Images

Maps

  • Hurricane Katrina Mapping Responseimage (LSU World Health Organization Collaborating Center for Remote Sensing and GIS for Public Health). Louisiana State University is close to the situation and has been compiling images, GIS, and links to maps and imagery of all types.
  • Radar Loop of the hurricane as it hits Louisiana (Slidell, LA radar station).
  • Katrina Satellite and Radar photos (Goddard Space Flight Center). Shows before and after comparison images, radar and map images of the storm, and an animation showing the levels of the water in New Orleans during the storm surge.

Other News & Photo Sources

Relief Efforts and Contacts

This section no longer pertains directly to Katrina relief, however it may be useful in a future disaster and is left as a model for planners.

See also: Special Ways to Help truck delivering supplies

How to Contact States for Help, Information, Assistance Finding Relations

This section no longer pertains to Katrina, however it will be useful should another hurricane disaster hit the region.

Official State Contacts

Ten Years Later

One Year Later2006 link

Though most of the sites on this page include current relief efforts and restoration data, here aresamples of some of the damaged cities and towns and how they are coping a year after the storms.

Hurricane Science

Damaged Bridge Spans, Biloxi, MSDamage Reports and Data

Hurricane Awareness & Preparedness

Severe Weather Warning Centers

Disaster Preparation

For Kids

Additional Sources for References

  • U.S. Serial Set Digital Collection. This has many documents pertaining to previous New Orleans hurricane disasters, some of which include maps. Available online to some institutions, but also the print editions can be located in most U.S. Government Depository libraries. A sample of some relevant map titles include:
    • Improvement of Mississippi River levee in front of New Orleans (1882).
    • Atchafalaya, Lafourche & Pontchartrain Levee Districts (1895).
    • Sketch map of New Orleans Land Company tract, New Orleans, La.,
      showing arrangement of ditches and levees
      (1910).
    • Report on interim hurricane survey of Mississippi River Delta at and below New Orleans, La. (1962).
    • Report on interim hurricane survey of Lake Pontchartrain and
      vicinity, La.
      (1965).

boats at intersectionCauses and Perceptions of Katrina, Rita

Natural or man-made disasters create a variety of responses from people as to "why did this happen?" Below are a few sample articles (ranging from scholarly to spiritually) on the wide range of "reasons" for the hurricanes. These are provided simply for discussion and do not reflect views of the page author.

  • God, Cosmos, Katrina and Rita. An article on what people believe causes great disasters. " The desire to assign cosmic significance to the arrival of hurricanes Katrina and Rita is an example of humankind's ages-old need to find reason within chaos, according to University at Buffalo anthropologist Phillips Stevens Jr., Ph.D., a renowned expert on the origins, nature and meaning of cults, superstitions and cultural identities."
  • Is Global Warming Fueling Katrina? (Time article).
  • Perceptions, rumors, and other "beliefs" fuel the debate. These below are just a few examples.

Special Ways to Help

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David J. Bertuca, Map Librarian, University at Buffalo Libraries

Last modified: 8 September 2015
URL: http://www.acsu.buffalo.edu/~dbertuca/hurricane-katrina.html
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