Effects of Hurricane Katrina in Florida

The effects of Hurricane Katrina in Florida were in both South Florida and the Panhandle. Katrina made landfall in Miami, Florida with 80 mph winds on August 23. 14 people were killed. Some of these deaths were caused by people crashing into trees.

Preparations

Many living in the area were caught off guard when Katrina strengthened from a tropical storm to a hurricane in one day and struck southern Florida on August 25. National Hurricane Center (NHC) forecasts had correctly predicted the strengthening, however, and hurricane watches and warnings were properly issued nearly 36 and 24 hours, respectively, before hurricane conditions were felt in the area. [" [http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/2005/pub/al122005.public.004.shtml Tropical Storm Katrina Advisory Number 4] ." "National Hurricane Center." August 24, 2005.] [" [http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/2005/dis/al122005.discus.006.shtml Tropical Storm Katrina Discussion Number 6] ." "National Hurricane Center." August 24, 2005.]

Impact

Fourteen fatalities have been reported in Florida. Two of the deaths were from falling trees, one man crashed into a tree, one person died when his boat capsized, one when waves battered his boat, and one man was found floating in the water around Florida City. A family of five out over the southwestern coast of Florida was suspected dead, but found later alive and rescued by the Coast Guard.

Katrina's landfall was in South Florida, where it hit as a Category 1 hurricane. The damage was fairly minimal, and 12 fatalities were reported.Rourke, Matt. " [http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-08-30-katrina_x.htm New Orleans outlook bleak; 100 dead in Miss.] " "USA Today." August 30, 2005.] More than 1 million customers were left without electricity, and damage in Florida was estimated at between $1 and $2 billion (with most of the damage coming from flooding and overturned trees). Rainfall was heavy in places and exceeded 14 inches (350 mm) in Homestead, Florida,and a storm surge of 3 – 5 feet (1.5 m) was measured in parts of Monroe County.It left a million humans without power. [http://www.weather.com/multimedia/videoplayer.html?clip=6584&from=news_tropupdate_video]

Two traffic fatalities related to Katrina were also reported and moderate to locally heavy damage was reported in Florida.

Along the Florida Panhandle the storm surge was typically about five feet (1.5 m) and along the west-central Florida coast there was a minor surge of 1 – 2 feet (0.3 – 0.6 m). In Pensacola, Florida 56 mph (90 km/h) winds were recorded on August 29. The winds caused damage to some trees and structures and there was some minor flooding in the Panhandle. There were two indirect fatalities from Katrina in Walton County as a result of a traffic accident.Knabb, Richard D.; Rhome, Jamie R. " [http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/pdf/TCR-AL122005_Katrina.pdf Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Katrina] ." "National Hurricane Center." December 20, 2005.] In the Florida Panhandle, 77,000 customers lost power. [Associated Press, "Katrina at a Glance" (August 31, 2005), page 4A, "Mobile Register", web: [http://www.al.com/mobileregister/pdf/register083105a.pdf MobileRegister-083105-PDF] .]

Tornado Outbreak and death toll

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