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"! In Beyond Katrina by Natasha Tretheway, she talks about the destruction of the wetlands. After reading this I wanted to learn more about the destruction of the wetlands and the different disasters that contributed to Hurricane Katrina. Hurricane Katrina: The Man-Made Destruction Could some of Hurricane Katrinas devastation been prevented? Hurricane Katrina was a

natural disaster yet, even some man made disasters contributed to Katrina. According to thelawdictionary.org a man made disaster is deliberate or negligent human actions directly and principally caused one or more identifiable disastrous events (What is MAN-MADE DISASTER?). The MRGO funnel, also known as the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet, helped channel the water from Hurricane Katrina right into Gulf. The destroying of the wetlands made Mississippi more vulnerable because their fist line of defense against a hurricane has been destroyed. These are just a few of the man made disasters in Mississippi. If they never happened, the devastation of Hurricane Katrina wouldnt have been so tragic. Hurricane Katrina left 81 billion dollars of property damage in Mississippi and Louisiana on August 29th, 2005 (11 Facts About Hurricane Katrina). Katrina was the most costly hurricane in U.S. history. The devastation left 100,000 people homeless and more than 1,500 dead. Even to this day there are 705 people that are still recorded as missing. 90,000 sq. miles of land was destroyed during Katrina. In New Orleans, the levees that were placed there could only withstand a category 3 hurricane with the winds of 111-129 mph. Katrina was classified as a category 5 hurricane. Her wind reached a maximum of 175 mph and the water was up to 20 ft. Once Hurricane Katrina hit, the levees could not support themselves and collapsed (11 Facts About Hurricane Katrina).

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(Broken Levees) Since 1812 levees have been used in the state of Mississippi to help with the flooding in the wetlands (Tibbetts 40). Since then, the wetlands have been drained to prevent any diseases and to increase civilization in the state of Mississippi. Today, there are high levees preventing the flow of water. With these levees in place, barrier islands, wetlands, and floodplains have been destroyed. When you lose wetlands and flood-plains, you lose their natural services including storage capacity during floods, and when you lose coastal wetlands, you lose wave and storm protections, says Sandra Postel (Tibbetts 43). With the wetlands gone, there is no first defense against a hurricane. The rapid loss of the wetlands for the purpose of levees has caused much attention called Coast 2050 (Coast 2050). Coast 2050 is a plan to protect and sustain the resources for further generations (Coast 2050).

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(Storm surge during Hurricane Katrina) The destruction of the wetlands was not the only factor helping to channel the hurricane (Frequently Asked Questions About The MRGO). The MRGO funnel had its role as well. The MRGO is a navigation channel that runs from New Orleans to the Gulf. In shorter terms, its a short cut from one to the other. The Army Corps of Engineers constructed it in the 1960s. Since it was built the MRGO has been nothing but trouble. The construction of the MRGO has destroyed natural storm buffers(Robert Bea, Gary Shaffer, John Day, Chad Morris, Duncan Fitzgerald, Andrew Milanes 2). About 27,600 acres of the wetlands were destroyed and an additional 38,000 acres became higher salinity habitats. During Hurricane Katrina, the levees that were surrounded by the wetlands were still intact and the levees that werent, were exposed to open water, like by the MRGO, were not. The storm surge was also increased by the support of the MRGO because the south and north bank levees formed a funnel. This funnel brought the floodwaters right to the center of New Orleans. The height and velocity of the storm surge was

! increased because of the funnel and the levees and floodwalls failed because of it (Frequently Asked Questions About The MRGO). When Hurricane Katrina landed, it brought high floods, strong winds and great

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devastation. Structures such as the MRGO funnel and the action of destroying the wetlands made the devastation twice as overwhelming. The MRGO funnel channeled the surge throughout New Orleans to the Gulf, and the wetlands which could have helped retard the speed of the storm, were destroyed to make levees. These levees that were set in place were but an effort wasted as they could not withstand a hurricane higher than a category 3. With the wetlands gone, there was no first line of defense against hurricanes. However, since the disaster there have been some precautionary measures set in motion. Many people have been trying to get rid of the MRGO funnel as it has rarely been used by the public and has caused more harm than good. In addition, since the disaster, all repairs to the massive waterway raised taxes (Frequently Asked Questions About The MRGO). Mississippi has come up with a plan to protect their natural resources. This precautionary measure has come to be known as Coast 2050. This is to help control the massive land loss in Mississippi (One Voice, One Mission). Hopefully, these plans will one day assure the people of Mississippi that they will have safety and peace of mind.

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Work Cited "Coast 2050."gulfbase.Pittman Phil.n.d. Web. April 13 2014

Emmett Mayer III. Storm surge during Hurricane Katrina Photograph. SpringerImages. N.d. Web. April 13th, 2014

FEMA. Broken Levees Photograph. berkeley.edu. Web. April 13, 2014

"Frequently Asked Questions About The MRGO."mrgomustgo.n.p.n.d. Web. April 13, 2014

Grunwald, Micheal"Katrina: A man made disaster"Time. 12/6/2010, Vol. 176 Issue 23, p70-74. 5p. 6 Color Photographs.web.Apr 13 2014.

Robert, Bea, Gary, Shaffer, John, Day, Chad, Morris, Duncan, Fitzgerald, Andrew, Milanes."How a Navigation Channel Contributed to Most of the Flooding of New Orleans During Hurricane Katrina" Public Organization Review. Dec2009, Vol. 9 Issue 4, p291-308. 18p. 1 Color Photograph, 3 Charts, 10 Graphs, 2 Maps.web.April 13 2014.

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"One Voice, One Mission"Coast2050.n.p.n.d. Web. April 13 2014

Tibbetts, John.LouisianasWetlands:A Lesson in nature appreciation.Environmental Health Perspectives. Jan2006, Vol. 114 Issue 1, pA 40. 4p. 1 Color Photograph.web.April 13 2014.

What is MAN-MADE DISASTER? thelawdictionary.org. n.p., n.d. Mon 31 March. 2014.).

"11 Facts about Huricane Katrina"National Geographic.n.d. Web. April 13 2014