Hurricane Katrina: This Perfect Storm Still Gets Our Attention!
Five years after Hurricane Katrina made landfall on the Gulf coast (Monday, August 29, 2005), I`m still not
completely sure exactly what happened. And so we go back through the plethora of data, galleries of photographs, meteorological records, news footage and personal testimonies in search of answers to the mysteries of this Perfect Storm.
My favorite data source for Katrina is the documentary film by Spike Lee, When the Levee Broke. I`ve seen it at least three times, and will view it again later this week. And now Spike Lee has a new one that aired last night on HBO and a second installment can be seen tonight, If God is Willing and Da Creek Don`t Rise. Some of the older footage is included, but much of this is about the rebuilding of New Orleans.
An NPR story covers many of the excellent television specials that are out this week on Katrina. One that I missed last night, but which maybe will be shown again, is the National Geographic Channel`s Witness: Katrina. This two hour special gathers images and video recordings from Gulf citizens, who have their own personal account to tell. Wednesday (8/25) PBS`s Frontline will have one called Law and Disorder, which concludes that the shooting of a young man was probably done by the New Orleans police.
Yes, I feel a need to study Katrina, and this week is a good time to hit the DVR button or to collect articles from the internet. One fascinating site, that comes from the scientific perspective, is the NASA archive on Katrina. The satellite images of Katrina, as it evolved and progressed, give you data on rainfall, flooding and storm surge. Katrina literally altered the physical shape of the Gulf coast. These maps capture the metamorphosis as it happens.
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