The Disaster of Engineering Failure -Hurricane Katrina Tragedy - Case Study Example

THE DISASTER OF ENGINEERING FAILURE DISASTER SELECTED -HURRICANE KATRINA TRAGEDY INTRODUCTION Hurricane Katrina, the deadly and costliest wind killed hundreds of innocent people in the United States of America. Hurricane Katrina is said to be the 3 rd powerful one in the history. Originated in on August 23, it devastated much of the north-central Gulf Coast. As the levee system catastrophically failed; most severe loss of life and property damage was occurred in New Orleans, Louisiana. As the levee system failed there came the destructive flood even after the storm had moved inland. The devastated Katrina destroyed everything in Mississippi and in Alabama. Imagine the intensity of Katrina! Formed over the Bahamas on August 23, 2005, Katrina as a Category 1 hurricane it crossed southern Florida. There it caused some deaths and flooding. Then it was becoming one of the strongest hurricanes on record while it was at sea. Then she weakened for some time before making her landfalls. Hundreds of innocent people were killed in this deadly storm in Louisiana and Mississippi State. (Brown, Aaron. Katrina overturned 3 states, August 29, 2005. Retrieved on 2008-02-18) Before making its second and third landfalls, Katrina, weakened for some time. Katrina destroyed the Mississippi cities of Waveland and other adjacent places. And also the powerful wind readily caused very serious damages along the Gulf Coast. When it passed through New Orleans, 75% of the city was flooded. And many areas of neighbouring parishes are also breached flooding along with. It is estimated that around 1,836 people lost their lives in the wind and in the subsequent floods. The storm is estimated to have been responsible for $81.2 billion in damage, making it the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history, and may be in the world too. Katrina strongly intensified after entering the Gulf. Termed as category five, it frequently gathered momentum on August 28 and attained it’s maximum by 12.30 noon, with maximum sustained winds of 175 280 km/h. Its minimum central pressure was 902 mbar. At the time Katrina became the fourth most intense Atlantic hurricane. The pressure measurement made her for that title. Its second approach was by 6.00 pm on August 29. The central pressure pf the storm was 920 mbar at that time. There came its third attack over Louisiana with the wind speed of 190-200km/hr. (http://www.realtruth.org/articles/355-wawucgu.html) Then its strength downgraded to the 230 A km-2A km near Mississippi. Then it was downgraded to a tropical depression near Tennessee. EVOLUTION OF KATRINA The path of Katrina Over the western Caribbean Sea on November 1there was an area of cloudiness. Since it was a low-level circulation began to form, the area of disturbed weather was declared Tropical Depression Twenty-One on November 3.It was located 150 mi (240 km) south of the Cayman Islands. After becoming a storm, Katrina's centre was over Grand Cayman Island. It started to accelerate in a north-easterly direction, on November 5. A NOAA reconnaissance aircraft recorded it as a minimal central barometric pressure of 980 mbar and intensifying winds of 85 135 km/h. But quite significantly, Katrina started to weaken when it approached Cuba; it had weakened into a 115-km/h tropical storm, and the pressure had risen to 995 mbar .Then some time later, Katrina moved eastward, and passed over the Bahamas during the afternoon of November 6.At that time, the wind speed was only 95 km/h and a forward speed of 40 km/h. Then it had merged with a frontal system over the southwest Atlantic Ocean. (http://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/PublicSafety/Hurricane_Katrina_Recovery.shtml) Preparations Between 62 and 150 thousand residents, along with 120,000 heads of cattle in Cuba were evacuated when Katrina was a 120-km/h hurricane. Besides, the Bahamas posted a hurricane watch on their area. It was told to the shipping interests that to keep cover in the Bahamas and in the Florida areas. The preparation part includes actions taken before a tropical cyclone strikes to mitigate the damage and personal danger causing such a strong wind. As far as the personal preparedness part is concerned, individuals can take, anywhere from hours to months before a storm may strike, that reduces the damage a cyclone can do to their possessions and improves their chances of coming through the storm safely. Mitigation of hurricane uses the policy adherence and enforcement to make buildings and other property of the public more resistant to the effects of tropical cyclones. HEAVY RAIN Pictures of Canadian states and different parts of the U.S.A From this picture it can be seen the states where heavy rain resulted due to the wind. DEATH RATE IN STATES In Ohio 2 In Mississippi 238 In Georgia 2 In Kentucky 1 In Louisiana 1577 In Florida 14 In Alabama 2 Total number of killed 1,836 People Missing 705 NEW ORLEANS’ NORTH WEST Economic effects caused by the wind The economic effects of Katrina were beyond words. that made a total shut-in oil production from the Gulf of Mexico. Katrina destroyed almost $5 billion forestry industry Moreover; thousands of local residents were left unemployed. Petroleum refineries were closed. Besides this, almost 1.4 Acres of wild jungle area were completely eliminated by the wind. Many protected species were gone. In fact, the national economy was once again challenged after the demolition of World Trade Centre. Environmental effects See the change of position of Chandeleur islands. The beach erosion was one among the serious problems of the wind. (Refer: Murphy Oil Spill (Chalmette, La) There in Dauphin Island the sand was transported across the island into the Mississippi Sound, pushing the island towards land. Katrina‘s storm pushed across the land plates of Chandeleur. Most fatal was the destruction of the environmental adaptation of many wild species. The migratory species of birds and wild animals were also gone. WHY IT IS A DISASTER OF ENGINEERING FAILURE? There was a lot of time to take precautionary measures to fight with this deadly wind. It is shameful that a country like USA were not able to take it in the right time. Even though they have all necessary equipments with modern infrastructure, they could have taken all steps to prevent this disaster. When the hurricane hit the fan, the citizens of this country, looked to their government to serve and protect them. Whether it was fire-fighters risking their lives to run into burning buildings, police officers maintaining the rule of law, or disaster-relief agencies providing food and water, they expected that the system they support with tax dollars would help them in their times of need. In the Gulf Coast, anguished Americans have waited four long days for their government to kick into action as thousands of people languished in the streets, desperate for food and water. FEMA, the Department of Homeland Security, the Senate, Congress, and President Bush have all shown an appalling lack of leadership, an appalling reluctance to take immediate and decisive action to aid the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Evacuation process failure Critics have noted that while the local government gave a mandatory evacuation order 22 hours before the storm hit, they did not make provisions to evacuate the large numbers of citizens unable to evacuate themselves. For example, Walter Maestri, head of emergency preparedness for Jefferson Parish, stated that Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) officials had promised that within 48 hours of a hurricane, they would provide assistance with transporting evacuees from the city. However, when Katrina hit, it was mainly left up to individuals to find their own way out of the city. Emergency response failure Criticism of the local, state, and federal government response was widespread in the media, as reports continued to show hunger, deaths, and lack of aid.Thr Govt. failed to give all necessary helps to the needy in time.It is believed that the raise of death toll could be the result of this flaw in timely help. Federal government failure President Bush signed a $10.5 billion relief package within four days of the hurricane,Within 1-2 days of the hurricane, National Guard troops arrived with relief of food, water, and medicine, and participated in security and rescue operations.However, members of the United States Congress and others charged that the relief efforts were slow because most of the affected areas were poor. There was also concern that many National Guard units were short staffed in Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama because they were currently on a tour of duty in Iraq. As a result of the slow response by the federal government to the hurricane, New Orleans top emergency management official called the effort a, national disgrace, and questioned when reinforcements would actually reach the increasingly desperate city. New Orleans emergency operations chief Terry Ebbert blamed the inadequate response on the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). He says that it was not a FEMA operation. He had not seen a single FEMA guy anywhere . FEMA had been there for three days, without any command and control. Besides, many police, fire and EMS organizations from outside the affected areas were reportedly stymied in their efforts to send help and assistance to the area. Official requests for help through the proper chains of command were not forthcoming. Local police and other EMS workers found the situation traumatic; at least two officers committed suicide, and many more deserted. A report by the Appleseed Foundation, a public policy network, found that local entities (nonprofit and local government agencies) were far more flexible and responsive than the federal government or national organizations. The federal response was often constrained by lack of legal authority or by ill-suited eligibility and application requirements. In many instances, federal staff and national organizations did not seem to have the flexibility, training, and resources to meet demands on the ground. Presidential role President Bush observes damage from Hurricane Katrina over New Orleans, August 31. Initial reports of leaked video footage of top-level briefings held before the storm claimed that this video contradicted Bush’s earlier statements that no one anticipated the breach of the levees. Transcripts revealed that Bush was warned of possible overtopping of the levees.( http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/katrina/) How the Government responded The role of disaster management in every disaster is seemed to be very significant. According to the investigators, the planning part turns to be inadequate. Most of the problems were due to the inadequate planning and communication failure. As a responsible and accountable Government, the federal Government should have taken the very effective steps. That they hadn’t. taken. Background A Vertical cross-section of New Orleans: It shows the maximum levee height of 23 feet at the Mississippi river on the left and 17.5 feet at Lake Pontachartrain on the right. (Refer: Drainage in New Orleans and Hurricane preparedness for New Orleans) Along the Mississippi River, there were native people settled on the high ground. Eventually these all developments extended to nearby Lake Pontchartrian built upon to fill to bring them above the average lake level. The commercial waterways were extended from the lake to downtown The state decided to close these waterways since there was a new Industrial Canal for waterborne commerce after 1940. The water table was drastically lowered by the city's drainage system and some areas settled up to 8 feet, once these waterways were closed. The US Army Corps built a levee system after 1965, around a much larger geographic footprint that included previous marshland and swamp. Elevation of the city is between 1 and 2 feet below sea level here. In 1965, Congress gave the US Army Corps of Engineers sole authority to design and construction of the flood protection in Greater New Orleans in the Pontchartrain Hurricane Protection Project. Once the projects were complete it was the local interests' role for its maintenance. This Mandate was projected to take 13 years to complete when authorized. The project was between 60-90% complete and the projected date of completion was estimated to be 2015 When Katrina struck in 2005. Flood walls and levees catastrophically failed throughout the metro area on August 29, 2005. Below design thresholds there were many collapsed. Erosion of the earthen levee walls caused others to collapse after a brief period of overtopping. The American Society of Civil Engineers has been calling since April 2007, the flooding of New Orleans as the worst engineering catastrophe in US History. Shaded in grey is the Sketch of New Orleans indicating the locations of the principal breaches in the levees/floodwalls (dark blue arrows) Locations of deaths are shown in red. Canal levee breach in New Orleans, Louisiana, on August 31 2005 can be seen here. The inundated Lakeview neighbourhood can be seen on the right and the largely dry Metairie side on the left. At various times throughout the day, many of the Army Corps-built levee failures were reported on Monday, August 29, 2005.They got 28 complaint reports on levee failures in the first 24 hours. More than 50 were reported in the coming days. When the day Katrina hit a breach in the Industrial Canal occurred at approximately 9:00 AM CST. A breach at the Canal levee was also reported shortly after 9:00am CST by the local fire officials. It is estimated that 66% to 75% of the city was now under water. Investigations When we consider the investigations regarding Hurricane Katrina, it is very clear that it is an engineering failure tragedy in the sense that the flood wall protection, drainage clearance systems etc were not working properly. It is quite unbelievable that the authorities were sleeping in the passive pensive mood without taking any serious steps. That is the ridiculous part when we consider the issues. Five investigations were carried out in the 17 months following Katrina. The Army Corps of Engineers’ was the only federally ordered study. The University of California at Berkeley and the Louisiana State University were conducted two major independent studies. Including overtopping of levees and floodwalls by the storm surge and many other factors were in the investigation report. (http://www.hurricane-katrina.org/) Criticisms According to the experts, it is believed that the energency responsefrom the Government and other main agencies were relatively poor.People did not get proper timely help from the authorities, as they were supposed to do.The inefficiency of the FEMA officials also seen very poor. It is very disgraceful that the disaster management system could not act even after hours.It is quite shameful that it could have avoided if timely precaution were taken.It is shameful that they were not able to take proper arrangements well in advnce, since there was a lot of time avaailable.That means the federal Government failed to give protection to their citizens.It is very disgaaceful that all these incidents are happening in a country like the U.S.A.In fact, this is a worst tragedy that could have avoided if timely steps were taken. Floodwall design Indicating a design or construction flaw, all investigators focused on the canals. Because evidence shows they were breached even though water did not flow over their tops. Levees and flood walls in other parts of the city, such as along the Industrial Canal, were topped by floodwaters first, then breached or eroded, says the eyewitness and other evidences. It is evident that the flaw in the design and its construction and the inability to maintain properly are the key engineering failures which made the disaster more badly. (See the Picture of the flood wall canal levee. The cracks in the wall joints can be noticed.) Hurricane Tragedy: Army Corps of Engineers Admits their Fault Army Engineers Corps’ official, Lt. Gen. Carl Strock testified before the U. S. Senate Subcommittee on Energy and Water that they had problems with the design of the structure. It was on April 5, 2006. He also agreed that prior to August 29, 2005, the U.S. AEC weren’t able to understand the system failure. But investigators refused to accept this theory. (http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2005/katrina.htm) ESSENTIAL ENGINEERING GOALS WHEN HITTING A DISASTER: There should be Disaster committee driven by some engineering goals to alleviate the miseries of common man when a disaster hits. The scope of engineering goals provide solutions to large-scale humanitarian problems in the relief phase of a disaster.The aspirations are to be captured in the following goals: 1. To alleviate human suffering and help save lives through the efficient use of IT during a disaster. 2. To enhance collaboration between diverse set of actors from Emergency Management, Government, NGOs, INGOs, spontaneous volunteers and victims themselves in responding effectively to a disaster 3. To empower the victims and their next of kin and better enable them to help themselves. 4. To protect victim data and reduce the opportunity for data abuse. 5. To provide a Free and Open Source solution end-to-end available to everyone. Subsequent phases are to be planned to extend the scope to the prevention, rehabilitation and reconstruction phases. While considering all these major points, at least the after disaster management can do properly. REFERENCES: 1. O'Connor, John Kennedy. The Eurovision Song Contest - The Official History. Carlton Books, UK. 2007 2. Bush, George W. on FEMA satement on Lousiana on August 27, 2005. Retrieved on 2008-02-18 3. Stewart, Stacy (August 26, 2005), forum on Katrina5:00 p.m. EDT. National Hurricane Centre. Retrieved on 2008-02-18 4. Brown, Aaron. Katrina overturned 3 states, August 29, 2005. Retrieved on 2008-02-18 5. http://www.realtruth.org/articles/355-wawucgu.html 6. http://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/PublicSafety/Hurricane_Katrina_Recovery.shtml 7. http://www.hurricane-katrina.org/ 8. http://www.nytimes.com/pages/national/nationalspecial/ 9. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9107338/ 10. http://coastal.er.usgs.gov/hurricanes/katrina/ 11. http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/katrina/ 12. http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2005/katrina.htm 13. http://www.guardian.co.uk/gall/0,,1558667,00.html Read More