THE 2005 ATLANTIC HURRICANE SEASON

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THE 2005 ATLANTIC HURRICANE SEASON

• JUNE 1, 2005 -- NOVEMBER 30, 2005

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THE 2005 HURRICANE SEASON BROKE MANY RECORDS

• Forecasters exhausted their list of 21 proper
  names (Arlene, Bret, Cindy and so on) and had to
  use the Greek alphabet (Alpha, Beta, Gamma,
  Delta, and Epsilon) to name storms for the first
  time.

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TROPICAL STORM EPSILON FORMED IN CENTRAL ATLANTIC
ON 29 NOVEMBER

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THE 2005 HURRICANE SEASON BROKE MANY RECORDS

• In 154 years of record-keeping, 2005 had the most
  named storms (26, including Tropical Storm
  Epsilon, which formed Tuesday, November 29th),
  the most hurricanes (13), the highest number of
  major hurricanes hitting the U.S. (4), and the
  most top-scale Category 5 hurricanes (3).

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THE 2005 HURRICANE SEASON BROKE MANY RECORDS

• Hurricane Katrina was the deadliest U.S.
  hurricane since 1928 (more than 1,300 dead) and
  replaced 1992s Hurricane Andrew as the most
  expensive hurricane on record (34.4 billion in
  insured losses).

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THE 2005 HURRICANE SEASON BROKE MANY RECORDS

• According to the Insurance Services Organization
  (ISO), total insured losses from hurricanes
  reached 47.2 billion in 2005, well above the
  previous record of 22.9 billion set in 2004
  when four hurricanes also hit the U.S.

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HURRICANE WILMA
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HURRICANE WILMA BROKE RECORDS

• Reaching 882 millibars, Hurricane Wilma became
  the most intense Atlantic hurricane on record in
  terms of minimum central pressure.
• When Wilmas top sustained winds increased 180
  km/hr (105 mi/hr) in 24 hours while moving
  through the Caribbean, it became the
  fastest-strengthening storm on record.

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HURRICANE KATRINA
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HURRICANE KATRINA WAS THE MOST DEVASTATING

• Hurricane Katrina inflicted the worst damage and
  societal impacts.
• Thousands of miles of the Gulf Coast from
  Louisiana to Florida were impacted.
• In addition to New Orleans, cities in Mississippi
  such as Biloxi, Waveland, and Gulfport were
  smashed.
• Thousands were evacuated from Louisiana and
  dispersed throughout the USA.

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HURRICANE KATRINA WAS THE MOST DEVASTATING

• Eighty percent of New Orleans was under water
  after its levees failed a day after Katrina made
  landfall, and again one week later as Rita passed
  through the Gulf enroute to landfall at the
  Texas-Louisiana border.

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HURRICANE KATRINA WAS THE MOST DEVASTATING

• The world saw unprecedented misery in real time
• Families stranded in attics, on roofs and
  bridges,
• Hungry and thirsty refugees stranded in the
  Superdome and Convention Center after wind and
  rain penetrated the Superdomes roof.
• Lack of power, water, and sewage services
  exacerbating and slowing emergency operations at
  local, state, and Federal levels.

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HURRICANE KATRINA WAS THE MOST DEVASTATING

• Bodies lay on streets for days or floated in the
  floodwaters.
• Eight functioning hospitals were reduced to two.

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HURRICANE KATRINA WAS THE MOST DEVASTATING

• Hundreds of thousands of people have yet to
  return to their homes in New Orleans, and many
  have no livable home to return to.
• Thousands of businesses were shut down.
• Public schools were closed down until November
  28th.
• Many environmental and health care problems
  remain to be solved

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HURRICANE DENNIS
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HURRICANE RITA
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WILMA, DENNIS, AND RITA WERE LESS DEVASTATING

• Although Wilma, Dennis and Rita, the other
  hurricanes that hit the U.S., were not as deadly
  or destructive as Katrina, each one exposed
  weaknesses
• There were 14-hour traffic jams as Houston and
  Galveston evacuated ahead of Rita.
• Wilma devastated Cancun and stranded 30,000
  tourists, before flooding Havana, Cuba, and
  eventually knocking out power for days to more
  than 6 million people in Florida on Oct. 24.

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RECOVERY FROM 2005 HURRICANE SEASON UNDERWAY

• At present, Congress has approved 62 billion for
  mostly short-term relief aid.
• Estimates put the cost of rebuilding at 200
  billion, or more over a ten-year period.
• The president has ordered the Homeland Security
  Department to review disaster plans for every
  major metropolitan area.
• 2005 is expected to be the NORM for hurricanes
  during the next decade.