Effects of Hurricane Katrina in Mississippi

Hurricane Katrina
	Hurricane Katrina at landfall on the Louisiana-Mississippi border
Meteorological history
Formed	August 29, 2005
Dissipated	August 30, 2005
Category 3 major hurricane
	1-minute sustained (SSHWS/NWS)
Highest winds	120 mph (195 km/h)
Lowest pressure	928 mbar (hPa); 27.40 inHg
Overall effects
Fatalities	238 total
Damage	$30 billion (2005 USD)
Areas affected	Mississippi, particularly the Mississippi Gulf Coast
	Part of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season

Hurricane Katrina's winds and storm surge reached the Mississippi coastline on the morning of August 29, 2005.^[1]^[2] beginning a two-day path of destruction through central Mississippi; by 10 a.m. CDT on August 29, 2005, the eye of Katrina began traveling up the entire state, only slowing from hurricane-force winds at Meridian near 7 p.m. and entering Tennessee as a tropical storm.^[3] Many coastal towns of Mississippi (and Louisiana) had already been obliterated, in a single night.^[4] Hurricane-force winds reached coastal Mississippi by 2 a.m.^[1] and lasted over 17 hours, spawning 11 tornadoes (51 in other states^[2]) and a 28-foot (8.5 m) storm surge^[2] flooding 6–12 miles (9.7–19.3 km) inland. Many, unable to evacuate,^[5] survived by climbing to attics or rooftops, or swimming to higher buildings and trees. The worst property damage from Katrina occurred in coastal Mississippi, where all towns flooded over 90% in hours, and waves destroyed many historic buildings, with others gutted to the 3rd story. Afterward, 238 people died in Mississippi, and all counties in Mississippi were declared disaster areas, 49 for full federal assistance.^[6]^[7] Regulations were changed later for emergency centers and casinos. The emergency command centers were moved higher because all 3 coastal centers flooded at 30 ft (9.1 m) above sea level. Casinos were allowed on land rather than limited to floating casino barges as in 2005.

More than one million people in Mississippi were affected, and almost 6 months later, the extent of the devastation in Mississippi was still described as "staggering" in USA Today on February 16, 2006:^[8] "The Mississippi Gulf Coast has been devastated. The extent of the devastation in Mississippi is also staggering. Since Katrina hit, more than half a million people in Mississippi have applied for assistance from FEMA. In a state of just 2.9 million residents, that means more than one in six Mississippians have sought help.

^ ^a ^b Gary Tuchman, Transcript of "Anderson Cooper 361 Degrees" (2006-08-29) 19:00 ET, CNN, CNN.com, web: CNN-ACooper082906: GARY TUCHMAN, CNN Correspondent: Responds to Anderson Cooper that it felt like it would never end, saying winds were at least 100 miles per hour in Gulfport for seven hours, between about 7:00 a.m. and 2:01 p.m. For another five or six hours, on each side of that, they [Gulfport] had hurricane-force winds over 75 miles per hour; much of the city [Gulfport, Mississippi, in Harrison County] of 71,000 was then under water.
^ ^a ^b ^c US Department of Commerce, "Service Assessment: Hurricane Katrina August 23–31, 2005" (June 2006), pp. 10/16, NOAA’s National Weather Service, Silver Spring, MD, web: NWS-Katrina-PDF Archived 2006-07-23 at the Wayback Machine: page 7 (storm surge 26–28 ft), p. 50: "Appendix C: Tornado Reports Associated with Hurricane Katrina" (62 tornadoes).
^ "Tropical Cyclone Report, Hurricane Katrina." (post-analysis) National Hurricane Center. revised August 10, 2006.
^ In Mississippi, towns near the eye-path at night included: Pearlington, Lakeshore, Clermont Harbor, Waveland, Bay St. Louis, Pass Christian, and Long Beach, MS; in Louisiana, the towns included Buras, Triumph, Meraux, and Chalmette, Louisiana.
^ As flood waters rose, many streets became swamped and impassable. Emergency crews rescued over 100 people, from rooftops or trees, in Mississippi.
^ "FEMA-1604-DR Mississippi Disaster Declaration as of 10/27/2005" (map), FEMA, ITS Mapping and Analysis Center, Washington, DC, 2005-10-27, webpage: FEMA-1604-pdf Archived 2005-09-23 at the Wayback Machine.
^ "Information Relating to the Federal Appropriations for Katrina Recovery" (January 6, 2006), Office of the Governor, Mississippi, webpage: "Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour" GBarbour-Rec "Information". Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2006-08-29..
^ "SIX MONTHS AFTER KATRINA: AN OVERVIEW" (short summary), Office of the House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, February 28, 2006, file: HouseGov-Katrina6.

[CNN360Tuchman29-1] Gary Tuchman, Transcript of "Anderson Cooper 361 Degrees" (2006-08-29) 19:00 ET, CNN, CNN.com, web: CNN-ACooper082906: GARY TUCHMAN, CNN Correspondent: Responds to Anderson Cooper that it felt like it would never end, saying winds were at least 100 miles per hour in Gulfport for seven hours, between about 7:00 a.m. and 2:01 p.m. For another five or six hours, on each side of that, they [Gulfport] had hurricane-force winds over 75 miles per hour; much of the city [Gulfport, Mississippi, in Harrison County] of 71,000 was then under water.

[NWSKat-2] US Department of Commerce, "Service Assessment: Hurricane Katrina August 23–31, 2005" (June 2006), pp. 10/16, NOAA’s National Weather Service, Silver Spring, MD, web: NWS-Katrina-PDF Archived 2006-07-23 at the Wayback Machine: page 7 (storm surge 26–28 ft), p. 50: "Appendix C: Tornado Reports Associated with Hurricane Katrina" (62 tornadoes).

[TCRaug-3] "Tropical Cyclone Report, Hurricane Katrina." (post-analysis) National Hurricane Center. revised August 10, 2006.

[4] In Mississippi, towns near the eye-path at night included: Pearlington, Lakeshore, Clermont Harbor, Waveland, Bay St. Louis, Pass Christian, and Long Beach, MS; in Louisiana, the towns included Buras, Triumph, Meraux, and Chalmette, Louisiana.

[5] As flood waters rose, many streets became swamped and impassable. Emergency crews rescued over 100 people, from rooftops or trees, in Mississippi.

[FEMA1604-6] "FEMA-1604-DR Mississippi Disaster Declaration as of 10/27/2005" (map), FEMA, ITS Mapping and Analysis Center, Washington, DC, 2005-10-27, webpage: FEMA-1604-pdf Archived 2005-09-23 at the Wayback Machine.

[HBrecov-7] "Information Relating to the Federal Appropriations for Katrina Recovery" (January 6, 2006), Office of the Governor, Mississippi, webpage: "Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour" GBarbour-Rec "Information". Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2006-08-29..

[HGovKatrina-8] "SIX MONTHS AFTER KATRINA: AN OVERVIEW" (short summary), Office of the House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, February 28, 2006, file: HouseGov-Katrina6.

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