Effects of Hurricane Katrina in Mississippi - Impact Synopsis

Impact Synopsis

The Gulf Coast of Mississippi suffered near total devastation from Hurricane Katrina on August 28–29, with hurricane winds, 28-foot (9 m) storm surge, and 55-foot (17 m) sea waves pushing casino barges, boats and debris into towns, and leaving 236 people dead, 67 missing, and an estimated US$125 billion in damages. Since Katrina made landfall below central Mississippi, 30 miles (48 km) east of New Orleans at 6:10 a.m., the storm's powerful, right, front quadrant covered coastal Mississippi and southern Alabama, increasing wind and flood damage. After making initial landfall in Louisiana, four hours later Katrina made another landfall north at the state line (near the mouth of the Pearl River) and passed over submerged towns around Bay St. Louis as a Category 3 hurricane with winds over 120 mph (192 km/h) and 28-foot (9 m) surge. Battered by wind, rain and storm surges, some beachfront neighborhoods were leveled entirely, with flooding 6–12 miles (10–19 km) inland, crossing Interstate-10 (I-10) in some places.

Winds reached hurricane-force in Hancock and Harrison County by 2 a.m., and winds intensified. As Katrina passed 30 miles (48 km) east of central New Orleans, with 57 mph (91 km/h) winds, by 10 a.m., landfall in Mississippi increased hurricane-force winds in an area of 600,000 Mississippi residents, covering several counties (see Figure KW10: Katrina Wind Speed map): Hancock, Harrison, Jackson County, Pearl River County, Stone, Walthall, Marion, Lamar County, Forrest County, and Perry County (see Map of Counties). Other counties to see a strong hurricane force impact of Katrina were Covington County, Jefferson Davis County, Simpson County, Smith County, Hinds County, Rankin County, and Scott County. Katrina maintained a high wind capacity of 80–85 mph in cities like Mendenhall, Magee, Jackson, Brandon, and Forest in Mississippi. Those cities contained much tree damage, roof and patio damage, power line damage, and much thrown debris. In Jackson, streets were cleared off due to the intense strong winds and rains that carried throughout the entire day. During this 10 a.m. timeframe, hurricane-force winds continued over the barrier islands and Louisiana peninsula nearby; however, for the remainder of Louisiana, the winds were subsiding into gale-force winds after 10 a.m. when Katrina was becoming primarily a Mississippi hurricane.

Several casinos, which were floated on barges to comply with Mississippi land-based gambling laws, were washed hundreds of yards inland by waves. According to MSNBC, a 28-foot (9 m) storm surge came ashore wiping out 90% of the buildings along the Biloxi-Gulfport coastline. A number of streets and bridges were washed away, including the bridge sections of U.S. Highway 90. In particular, the roadway portion of the U.S. Highway 90 bridge between Bay St. Louis and Pass Christian was completely destroyed by the storm; only the support structure was left.

The three counties most affected by the storm were Hancock County, Harrison County, and Jackson County, although almost all counties had damage, and 47 counties were declared full disaster areas. Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) officials also recorded deaths in Hinds, Warren, and Leake counties. About 800,000 people through the state experienced power outages, which is almost a third of the population.

The three coastal counties of Mississippi, populated by about 400,000 people (almost the population of central New Orleans), had been mostly evacuated before Katrina flooded the 100-mile (160 km) region. Katrina's storm surge was the most extensive, as well as the highest, in the documented history of the United States; large portions of Hancock County, Harrison County, and Jackson County were inundated by the storm surge, affecting most of the populated areas. Surge covered almost the entire lower half of Hancock County, destroying the coastal communities of Clermont Harbor and Waveland, and much of Bay St. Louis, and flowed up the Jourdan River, flooding Kiln. In Harrison County, Pass Christian was completely inundated, along with a narrow strip of land to the east along the coast, which includes the cities of Long Beach and Gulfport; the flooding was more extensive in communities such as D'Iberville, which borders Back Bay. Biloxi, on a peninsula between the Back Bay and the coast, was particularly hard hit, especially the low-lying Point Cadet area.

In Jackson County, storm surge flowed up the wide river estuary, with the combined surge and freshwater floods cutting the county in half. Over 90% of Pascagoula, the easternmost coastal city in Mississippi, was flooded from surge. Other Jackson County communities such as Porteaux Bay and Gulf Shores were destroyed, and St. Martin was hard hit, along with Ocean Springs, Moss Point, Gautier, and Escatawpa.

Two destroyers that were under construction at Litton-Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula were damaged, as well as the Amphibious assault ship USS Makin Island.

Surveying the damage the day after Katrina's passing, Mississippi governor Haley Barbour called the scene indescribable, saying "I can only imagine that this is what Hiroshima looked like 60 years ago." The mayor of Biloxi, A.J. Holloway, told the Biloxi Sun Herald, "This is our tsunami." Relief and rebuilding efforts initially focused on restoring power and clearing communities of debris up to eight feet (2.4 m) in depth.

Many historic buildings were destroyed in Mississippi, including the cottages and second-story porches around the Beauvoir mansion, home of Jefferson Davis. Hundreds of irreplaceable Civil War-era artifacts from the Jefferson Davis home and museum were either lost or destroyed.

The lower three floors of many high-rise casinos and hotels were gutted. (See details below).

Along with countless others affected by the hurricane, U.S. senator Trent Lott lost his Pascagoula home, and the boyhood home of Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre was also totally destroyed.