What was the impact of Hurricane Katrina economically, environmentally and on humans?

The impact of Hurricane Katrina is still being felt 5 years later. At least 1,836 people lost their lives in the actual hurricane and in the subsequent floods, making it the deadliest U.S. hurricane since the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane; total property damage was estimated at $81 billion (2005 USD), nearly triple the damage wrought by Hurricane Andrew in 1992.
The economic effects of the storm were far-reaching. The Bush Administration sought $105 billion for repairs and reconstruction in the region, which did not account for damage to the economy caused by potential interruption of the oil supply, destruction of the Gulf Coast’s highway infrastructure, and exports of commodities such as grain. Katrina damaged or destroyed 30 oil platforms and caused the closure of nine refineries; the total shut-in oil production from the Gulf of Mexico in the six-month period following Katrina was approximately 24% of the annual production and the shut-in gas production for the same period was about 18%. The forestry industry in Mississippi was also affected, as 1.3 million acres (5,300 km²) of forest lands were destroyed. The total loss to the forestry industry from Katrina is calculated to rise to about $5 billion. Furthermore, hundreds of thousands of local residents were left unemployed, which will have a trickle-down effect as fewer taxes are paid to local governments. Before the hurricane, the region supported approximately one million non-farm jobs, with 600,000 of them in New Orleans. It is estimated that the total economic impact in Louisiana and Mississippi may exceed $150 billion.

Katrina redistributed over one million people from the central Gulf coast elsewhere across the United States, which became the largest diaspora in the history of the United States. Houston, Texas, had an increase of 35,000 people; Mobile, Alabama, gained over 24,000; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, over 15,000; and Hammond, Louisiana received over 10,000, nearly doubling its size. Chicago received over 6,000 people, the most of any non-southern city. By late January, 2006, about 200,000 people were once again living in New Orleans, less than half of the pre-storm population. By July 1, 2006, when new population estimates were calculated by the U.S. Census Bureau, the state of Louisiana showed a population decline of 219,563, or 4.87%. Additionally, some insurance companies have stopped insuring homeowners in the area because of the high costs from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, or have raised homeowners’ insurance premiums to cover their risk.

I have a job interview tomorrow with the Canadian Ministry of Labour for a student position as an ‘Emergency Management Assistant’. What kind of questions would you reckon might be asked? Thanks!

Here is a list of some of the most common employment interview questions:

• What are your major weaknesses?
• What type of work experience do you bring to this job?
• What do you see yourself doing in 5-10 years?
• Why do you want to work for us?
• What assets do you bring to this company?
• Discuss a project or undertaking in which you have been successful, why do you believe you succeeded.
• Discuss something at which you did not succeed, what you learned from the experience.
• If you have supervised others, how do you think your staff would describe your management style?
• How do you feel about working in stressful situations?
• Would you describe yourself as a thinker or an action taker?
• Describe a goal you have set for yourself in the past and the steps you took to accomplish it.
• Pick someone in the business or professional world that you admire- why do you respect this individual?
• What do you do for fun? What are your personal interests?
• Describe the type of manager you would like to work for.

The blog articles offer great information about how to prepare before the interview, what to do and not to do during the actual interview, and action you need to take after the interview.

Good luck!