Name______Date ______
Period ____
Hurricane Katrina: The Storm that Drowned a City
Vocabulary:
Tropical Depression- a cyclone in a tropical region that is more intense than a disturbance but less than a storm, with wind speeds of 38 mph or less.
Stratosphere- the region of the upper atmosphere, from about 10 miles above earth and extending up to about 30 miles above the earth; characterized by little vertical change in temperature.
Tropical Storm- An organized system of strong thunderstorms with a defined surface circulation and maximum sustained winds of 39–73 mph.
Storm Surge- an abnormal rise in the level of the sea along a coast caused by the onshore winds of a severe cyclone.
Eye- the approximately circular region of relatively light winds and fair weather found at the center of a severe tropical cyclone.
Levee- an embankment designed to prevent the flooding of a river.
Movie Questions:
1. What state is the National Hurricane Center located in?
2. Katrina first formed as a tropical wave off the coast of what continent?
3. What was Hurricane Pam and when did it “strike?”
4. What source do thunderstorms draw their heat from?
5. A hurricane forms from a center of ______pressure. Strong winds
shoot ______. The storm turns ______.
6. What fraction of tropical storms become hurricanes?
7. What technology has improved hurricane forecasting?
8. What do Air Force Hurricane Hunters do? What are some things that they measure?
9. How is GPS (Global Positioning Satellite) used to measure a storm?
10. How many categories of hurricanes are there? Which number represents the worst storm?
11. What is the cause of 90% of deaths in a hurricane?
12. What category was Hurricane Katrina when it hit Florida?
13. New Orleans sits between two bodies of water and is compared to what ordinary dinner table item?
14. How many feet below sea level is the city of New Orleans?
15. If New Orleans is below sea level, how does the city remain dry?
16. Why were levees built in New Orleans?
17. In the great flood of 1927, what was done to protect New Orleans from being flooded?
18. What group is in charge of maintaining and repairing levees?
19. What are the two types of levees?
20. After Hurricane Betsy in 1965, Congress gave money to upgrade levees to withstand a hurricane of what category?
21. Since hurricanes spin in a counterclockwise direction, the greatest wind and storm surge is on what side of the storm?
22. How do wetlands help protect the city from hurricanes and storm surge?
23. Why are wetlands disappearing?
24. How fast are the wetlands disappearing?
25. How much time does it take to evacuate a city like New Orleans?
26. Before Katrina hit, the mayor of New Orleans did what for the very first time in the city’s history?
27. Where did Katrina make landfall?
28. What happened when the storm surge moved up the intercoastal waterway towards the city?
29. The night after Katrina hit, people woke up in the middle of the night and found what?
30. What percent of New Orleans was underwater after Katrina?
31. Since roads were inaccessible, how did the Army Corps of Engineers begin repairing the levees?
32. After the levees were repaired the water was pumped out of the city. How long did it take for New Orleans to be dry again?
33. Why was the rescue effort described as chaotic?
34. How many homes were damaged beyond repair?
35. By how many feet did the storm surge overtop the levees? What category storm were the levees designed for?
36. In the downtown area of New Orleans the levees were not overtopped, they were undermined. Describe what this means:
37. In recent years hurricane frequency has not increased, but hurricane ______has. The number of Category 4 or 5 storms has almost ______.
38. One hurricane = ______atomic bombs.
39. The likely cause for increased hurricane intensity is what?
40. What is being done in New Orleans to reduce the risk of future storms?
41. What was the death toll from Hurricane Katrina? How many people were left homeless because of this storm?