Hurricane Katrina: Total Devastation for Mississippi
Following Hurricane Katrina’s landfall on coastal Mississippi on August 28th, 2005, the state would never be the same again. Mississippi bore the brunt of this huge storm, which would become the costliest natural disaster in United States history. Although this state did not receive the same media coverage as the nearby New Orleans area, it suffered more intensive and widespread damage.
The Coastal Zone
Mississippi’s coastal counties suffered some of the most intense damage from Katrina, due to a combination of 125 mile-per-hour winds, huge storm surges, giant waves, and dangerous debris. Hancock County, Harrison County, and Jackson County bore the brunt of the storm surge as Katrina made landfall. The 30-foot surge left these counties nearly completely leveled and 90 percent flooded, with remaining buildings entirely gutted to the third and fourth story. Huge gambling barges effectively became torpedoes, destroying buildings as they were washed up to 500 feet inland by the waves and storm surge. Together, these three counties suffered 189 deaths, nearly three-quarters of the total deaths in Mississippi due to Katrina.
Mississippi Overall
While the coastal zone suffered the most structural destruction and loss of human life, the entire state of Mississippi experienced widespread damage. The entire state was declared a disaster area by President Bush, with the 49 lower counties able to receive full FEMA federal assistance. Katrina was one of the most massive hurricanes in terms of area in U.S. history, with a girth of over 450 miles. This wide area caused all counties in Mississippi to experience structural damage, flooding, and lack of power. Sixty-seven people died outside of the three coastal counties that experienced the worst effects of the hurricane; those who were unable to evacuate were at risk for drowning due to rising flood waters and wind.
An Ongoing Tragedy
Hurricane Katrina affected over 1 million people in Mississippi, a huge amount in a state with just under 3 million residents. Over $4 billion in federal aid has been poured into the recovery effort there to fund temporary housing programs, other housing assistance, debris removal, public utility repair, road repair, emergency services repair, and more. At the height of the temporary housing program, over 40,000 people were living in FEMA trailers or mobile homes, while hundreds of thousands of other citizens received funding for housing assistance. The housing program was finally discontinued in 2009, four years after the disaster. Following Katrina, the coastal counties lost 30-40 percent of their service sector employees, with employment levels only rising to pre-Katrina levels two years later, in 2007. Mental illnesses such as depression, post traumatic stress disorder, and anxiety continue long into the aftermath of the hurricane.
Sources:
Employment Impact of Hurricane Katrina on South Mississippi. (2010) David Butler & Edward Sayre. The University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast.
Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Katrina. (2005) Richard D. Knabb, Jamie R. Rhome, and Daniel P. Brown. National Hurricane Center.
Five Years After Katrina, Billions In Federal Assistance Has Helped Mississippians Recover And Rebuild Safer. (2010) FEMA.
Hurricane Katrina Mississippi Recovery Update. (2009) FEMA.
Coastal Change Hazards: Hurricanes and Extreme Storms. (2010) USGS.