The Affects of Hurricane Katrina on the New Orleans Saints

Running head: HURRICANE KATRINA AFFECTS

The affects of Hurricane Katrina on the New Orleans Saints

Abstract

Since it's history New Orleans has been on a highway to danger due to it's geographically location and as the city grew many high visibility businesses joined it on that road, including the National Football League's New Orleans Saints. This paper will outline the parallel histories of the city of New Orleans, their football team and the meteorological conditions specific to that area up until they all collided on the fateful morning of August 29 2005.

THE AFFECTS OF HURRICANE KATRINA ON THE NEW ORLEANS SAINTS.

History of New Orleans and it's geography

New Orleans was founded in 1718 by Jean Baptiste Le Moyne, sieur de Bienville, and named for the regent of France, Philippe II, duc d'Orleans. Between this time and 1803 Louisiana and New Orleans had been under both Spanish and French rule. Finally in 1803 the young United States purchased the land from France for roughly fifteen million dollars (LSM4) in a deal that is appropriately known as the Louisiana Purchase. Nine years after this transaction, the territory of Louisiana became the eighteenth state of the union. (LSM5)

New Orleans is located between the Gulf of Mexico, the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain, with the city itself being at an average of six feet below sea level. Natural and manmade levees keep the bodies of water back and on course. If one were to describe the geography of the area in layman's terms the best description would be that of a bowl (Weather). The city of New Orleans sits in the center and the levees make up the sides of the bowl to attempt to keep out the bodies of water.

History of New Orleans Water Management System

Due to it's geographically location New Orleans has always had a problem with water and flooding. The natural flood cycle throughout the years had built up natural levees but once the population of the area began to grow it became clear that something else had to be done to prevent the complete flooding of the city.

New Orleans' early settlers also built artificial levees to help them fight the power of Mother Nature (Slate). As time passed and engineering technology advanced so did the New Orleans' water management solutions. One of these solutions is The Lake Pontchartrain, La., and Vicinity Hurricane Protection Project (LP&V-HPP) was authorized by the Flood Control Act of 1965 and the Water Resources Development Acts of 1974, 1986, 1990, and 1992. (USACE) This project includes but is not limited to the following:

"New levee north of Airline Highway (U.S. 61) from the Bonnet Carrй Spillway East Guide Levee to the Jefferson-St. Charles Parish boundary

Floodwall along the Jefferson-St. Charles Parish line

Enlarged levee along the Jefferson Parish lakefront

Enlarged levee along the Orleans Parish lakefront

Parallel protection (levees, floodwalls, and flood proofed bridges) along three outfall canals (17th Street, Orleans Avenue, and London Avenue)

Levees from the New Orleans lakefront to the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW)

Enlarged levees along the GIWW and Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet (MR-GO)

New levee around the Chalmette Area." (USACE)

All of these items were designed with the idea of keeping New Orleans safe for a catastrophic situation. However this project, like most projects are dependent on federal funding. In the months to a year proceeding Hurricane Katrina, budgetary funds were reallocated away from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and diverted into the war fund (Counter Punch, Roberts)

History of the New Orleans Saints and the Louisiana Superdome

The New Orleans Saints were admitted into the National Football League (NFL) on November 1, 1966. Their first game was held on September 17th 1967 and played in Tulane Stadium. For the next seasons they would continue to play in the decrepit stadium before finally moving in 1975 to the Louisiana Superdome. (Sports Encyclopedia)

Ground for the Louisiana Superdome was broke in August of 1971 after then mayor of Louisiana attended a baseball game in the astrodome in the neighboring state of Texas. Legend has it that he commented to those in attendance with him "I want one of these, only bigger". (Wikipedia) He received his wish and within four years the 269,000 square foot (Superdome), Superdome rose to life on the grounds of the old Girod Street Cemetery, which dated back to 1822. Despite the new home the Saints' performance did not rise to the occasion and soon after rumors of a curse began to circulate. The curse is to have said to be "a punishment for desecrating this City of the Dead" (Bourbon Street Journal).

Close calls with nature and warning shots

Hurricane Katrina was not the first storm to affect New Orleans and the surrounding area. Historical data from the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows that between the years of 1852 and 2004 there were sixteen category three or higher storms that came within one hundred nautical miles of the city (Geology). Based on that information alone one could deduce that in the upcoming years New Orleans would once again find itself in the path of a massive storm.

Hurricane Katrina

For the first time in it's history on the morning of August 28th a mandatory evacuation went out for New Orleans in preparation for Katrina's arrival. Later that evening the first reports of water toppling the Lake Pontchartrain levees in Kenner (Think). It was also about this time that the first of the refugees began arriving at the Superdome which had been opened as a refuge of last resort. Katrina officially made landfall early on the morning of the 29th as a category four storm on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale. Roughly a hour after landfall reports about a pumping station failure begins to filter in. Then around noon that day the vital 17th street canal levee gave way (Think). As the day progressed many of the parishes of New Orleans were under water and those who ignored the mandatory evacuation now found themselves trapped in attics or stranded on