Scientific Methodology for Study on Wind and Water Damage During Hurricane Katrina
Methods Used for Hurricane Katrina Research
The damage
inflicted by Hurricane Katrina was by far greater than any other
hurricane in the recorded history of the United States of America.
Why were so many properties destroyed during Hurricane Katrina? While
the institutional reasons (failed levees, destruction of delta wetlands,
etc.) for the vast flooding will be debated for years, the meteorological
causes for the storms intensity can be traced to the following:
- One, the storm hit during high tide
- Two, the intensifying low-pressure Category IV/V storm, Hurricane Katrina, was moving northwest when it hit land
- Three, a blocking high was moving from the west to the east over Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi which resulted in the hurricane changing directions
- Four, the hurricane environment changed from a low friction, wet environment to a high friction, dry environment.
- Five, the combination of the events 1-4 resulted in the extreme high flooding and the released of massive amount of stored energy in the form of downbursts.
During my scientific investigation of properties, I found evidence that led me to conclude that downbursts were happening with great frequency during this hurricane. Downbursts that are less than four kilometers in size are called microbursts. Downbursts can be over four kilometers and are called macrobursts. I have documented a number of microbursts in Mississippi and I believe that macrobursts may have occurred during Hurricane Katrina.