Most folks think of Hurricane Katrina when the topic of the most powerful hurricane ever comes up. When people truly take into account the destruction of every hurricane in history, it’s no surprise that Hurricane Katrina is the popular answer. The storm was so brutal that the citizens of New Orleans are still picking up the pieces from the event, nearly 20 years later.
Those who didn’t make it out in time were forced to deal with wind speeds that reached 174 mph. That’s nearly the record for hurricanes to reach land in the United States. New Orleans is considered one of the most important cities in the United States. There are tons of ports in the city and millions of people flock there every year for various events. Katrina caused more than $160 billion in damage once it officially made landfall.
The destruction wasn’t only done to the buildings. There were roughly 1,400 deaths because of the storm. That’s not including deaths that came in later years because of the damage the storm caused. Storms should always be taken seriously. Technology has evolved to a point today where these types of numbers shouldn’t ever be repeated. For more weather content, click here to read about the most obscure weather phenomena that might become more common.
To dig deeper into the most powerful hurricane in history ever, 24/7 Tempo consulted weather-related sources. These include NBC New York, Hurricane Science, and WeatherWorks.
How fast was Hurricane Katrina?
An average hurricane has wind speeds of around 120 mph. The water from the ocean is swept up and the rain floods the streets. Trees and trash fly around while people are looking for ways to stay safe. Anyone who’s ever survived a hurricane will tell you the stress and anguish they felt while the winds propelled various things throughout the air is second to none. Imagine a storm where these winds seemed normal.
That’s just what happened during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The wind speeds reached 174 mph, meaning everything could be lifted. The average tornado has wind speeds of 300 mph. That means the hurricane winds were closer to a tornado than they were to zero mph. The winds by itself would have caused severe damage to anything in the path of the storm. There was rain and water that added more to the chaos, which is part of the reason why the damage was so costly.
How much damage did Hurricane Katrina cause?
Hurricane Katrina is considered the most damaging hurricane in terms of finances. That storm caused more than $161 billion in damage, some of which is still being cleaned up nearly 20 years later. Finances aren’t the only way Hurricane Katrina destroyed the city. Millions of folks lost their homes, businesses, and places they grew accustomed to visiting. However, the New Orleans Saints offered their indoor stadium as a place where folks could take refuge.
As time went on, the relationship between the city and the New Orleans Saints grew. Football was always engrained in the city, but the way the team stepped up for everyone took it to a new level. In February 2010, the Saints won Super Bowl XLIV against the heavily favored Indianapolis Colts. The win took place less than five years after the storm and gave millions of people something to gather around. Sadly, not everyone in New Orleans got to see the Saints lift the Lombardi Trophy.
What was the death toll of Hurricane Katrina?
It’s astonishing when anyone sees the death toll caused by Hurricane Katrina. Nearly 1,400 people lost their lives because of the storm. Not all of them were immediate, either. Some folks were trapped inside their homes and didn’t have access to food and water. Others were swept away by the extreme floods and drowned. Plenty of people safely made it out of the city before it was too late, thankfully.
The eight days that the storm was active in New Orleans were some of the darkest in history. The storm ranks as the third worst in terms of death toll in United States history. The two leaders are the Great Galveston Hurricane and the Lake Okeechobee Hurricane. These storms took place in 1900 and 1928, respectively. There was far less technology and warning signs in place, which is part of the reason the death toll was so high.
How high was the flooding caused by Hurricane Katrina?
Hurricane Katrina caused some of the worst flooding in history. In fact, by the end of the storm on August 31, nearly 80% of New Orleans was underwater. That’s including the tall buildings and structures found in one of America’s largest cities. Floods reached heights of around 30 feet in height. While the city was built with hurricanes in mind, nobody thought of a storm this bad hitting the city.
Millions of folks weren’t able to work for months while their offices and storefronts were cleaned up. Tons of money was donated to the restoration efforts. Whenever there’s a storm in the forecast, it’s vital to take it seriously. The last thing anyone should want is to experience what the folks of New Orleans, and the rest of the southeastern part of the United States did during Hurricane Katrina. For more weather content, click here to read about the eight weirdest weather stories in history.
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