Hurricane Katrina: Social-Demographic Characteristics of Impacted Areas (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
Nov. 4, 2005 |
| Report Number |
RL33141 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Thomas Gabe, Gene Falk, and Maggie McCarty, Domestic Social Policy Division; and Virginia W. Mason, Congressional Cartography Program |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Summary:
On the morning of August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall on the Gulf Coast between
the major cities of New Orleans, Louisiana, to the west, and Mobile, Alabama, to the east. Along
the Gulf Coast and inland in the swath of the storm, Hurricane Katrina impacted hundreds of
thousands of families in three states (Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama) and contributed to the
deaths of more than 1,000 people. While CRS estimates that 5.8 million people in three states may
have experienced hurricane-force winds, the majority rode out the storm safely. Property damage,
loss of life, and sizeable displacement of the population appear to have been largely concentrated
along the Gulf Coast within a 100-mile radius of where the storm made landfall. Within this area,
damage due to high winds and storm surge resulted in significant devastation, but flooding, largely
resulting from breached levees and flood walls, affected the greatest number of people, with much
of New Orleans flooded.
CRS estimates that 700,000 or more people may have been acutely impacted by Hurricane
Katrina, as a result of residing in areas that flooded or sustained significant structural damage. This
estimate is based on geographical analysis of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
flood and damage assessments and year 2000 Census data. The estimates in this report are subject
to the methods and assumptions used. Other agencies and organizations are conducting assessments
using alternative and complementary methodologies; estimates may differ depending upon the
specific methodologies used. In the case of this analysis, the estimates reflect the numbers and
characteristics of people, families, and households in 2000, who lived in areas that suffered damage
or flooding from the hurricane in 2005.
The analysis shows that the Louisiana parishes of Orleans and St. Bernard were especially hard
hit by flooding, with an estimated 77% of Orleans's population affected, and nearly all residents of
St. Bernard. In Mississippi, 55% of Hancock County's population is estimated to have been affected
by flooding and/or structural damage, and in the more populous Harrison County, about 19% of its
population. In Louisiana, an estimated 645,000 people may have been displaced by the hurricane
(based on 2000 Census data), and in Mississippi, 66,000.
Hurricane Katrina had varying impacts on the population. CRS estimates that of the people
most likely to have been displaced by the hurricane, about half lived in New Orleans. Due to the
city's social and economic composition, the storm impacted heavily on the poor and African
Americans. CRS estimates that one-fifth of those displaced by the storm were likely to have been
poor, and 30% had incomes that were below 1½ times the poverty line. African Americans
are
estimated to have accounted for approximately 44% of the storm victims. An estimated 88,000
elderly persons (age 65 and older), many with strong community ties, may have been displaced,
along with 183,000 children, many of whom were just starting the school year when the storm struck.
Katrina's impact on individuals, families, and communities will be felt for years to come, and will
take time to fully comprehend.
This report will not be updated.
