New France - Louisiana
Largest Evacuation
August 13 2008, there were reported threats of hurricane Gustav. On September 1, 2008, Hurricane Gustav made landfall in southeast Louisiana.
The federal government took proper, early action where several areas in Louisiana have been designated for evacuation.
This was done to avoid another catastrophic incident that occurred in 2005. ([Null], 2009)
Hurricane Gustav
The brutal memories of Katrina and Rita led people to evacuate during the threats of hurricane Gustav. (Nossiter & Bowley, 2008).
On August 13, 2008, a tropical wave off the African coast formed Hurricane Gustav. The system showed no indications of growth since it passed the Atlantic Ocean, and it was only on August 25th, when it was 153 kilometres north of Bonaire, that it evolved into a tropical depression. As the hurricane came ashore on Cuba's mainland, it reached a peak intensity of 249 km/h winds. (Nossiter & Bowley, 2008).
Hurricane Gustav moved steadily northwest over the Gulf until it came ashore near Cocodrie, Louisiana on September 1 as a Category 2 hurricane with wind speeds of 169 km/h. The storm surge in coastal Louisiana was 2.7-4 m, with the highest waves all along Mississippi River Delta. (US Department of Commerce, 2016)
The figure displays a satellite image of Hurricane Gustav approaching landfall on September 1, 2008,
Largest Evacuation
Emergency preparedness authorities in Louisiana met numerous times on the morning of August 26 to examine forecasts that Gustav will hit the state as a major storm in three to five days when it was still over Haiti. (Nossiter & Bowley, 2008).
The region around New Orleans has made plans for voluntary evacuations to start on Saturday, August 30.
New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin dubbed Gustav "the storm of the century" and "the mother of all hurricanes," and the city of New Orleans was forced to evacuate beginning on August 31 morning. (US Department of Commerce, 2016)
On August 31, The largest evacuation in Louisiana history took place that afternoon, when 1.9 million people, including 200,000 New Orleans residents, fled southern Louisiana.
The figure displays residents fleeing Louisiana.
How it changed Louisiana
It was estimated that Gustav killed roughly 12 people in all, none of them were residents of New Orleans.
In Louisiana, approximately 1.5 million people were without electricity in 1st September. (2008)
Several trees were knocked down in various spots.
800,000 people left without power and ended on the streets. (2008)
The state administration provided tens of thousands of shelter beds for those evacuees in need of housing. (US Department of Commerce, 2016)
After workers had mostly restored electric power and other services, the city of New Orleans had its official reopening date on September . (US Department of Commerce, 2016)
The figure displays the floods caused by hurricane Gustav
References
[Null]. (2010). 2008- Hurricane Gustav20010. Hurricanes. Retrieved November 8, 2022, from http://www.hurricanescience.org/history/storms/2000s/gustav/#:~:text=Fast%20Facts%3A,evacuation%20in%20the%20state's%20history.
USA: Hurricane gustav relents, spares Louisiana the worst; 12 dead - United States of America. ReliefWeb. (2008, September 2). Retrieved November 8, 2022, from https://reliefweb.int/report/united-states-america/usa-hurricane-gustav-relents-spares-louisiana-worst-12-dead
US Department of Commerce, N. O. A. A. (2016, December 2). Hurricane Gustav - September 1, 2008. National Weather Service. Retrieved November 8, 2022, from https://www.weather.gov/mob/gustav#:~:text=Hurricane%20Gustav%20made%20landfall%20in%20southeast%20Louisiana%20on%20September%201st%20in%202008.