Hurricane Rita
| Category 5 hurricane ( SSHWS ) | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
| Emergence | September 18, 2005 | |
| resolution | September 26, 2005 | |
|
Peak wind speed |
|
|
| Lowest air pressure | 895 mbar ( hPa ; 26.4 inHg ) | |
| dead | 7 direct, 113 indirect | |
| Property damage | US $ 10 billion (2005) | |
|
Affected areas |
Bahamas , Florida , Cuba , Yucatán , Louisiana , Texas , Mississippi , Arkansas | |
| Season overview: Atlantic hurricane season 2005 |
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The Hurricane Rita of the Atlantic hurricane season of 2005 was the strongest hurricane , since the start of regular records of mid-19th century in the Gulf of Mexico has been observed, and the third-strongest hurricane in the Atlantic Ocean . It comprised a size that approximates the Federal Republic of Germany . Rita achieved average wind speeds of up to 290 km / h and was thus temporarily classified with level 5 in the highest category of the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale . On September 24, 2005 at 2:38 a.m. local time, Rita - weakened to level 3 - reached the coast on the border between Texas and Louisiana near the town of Sabine Pass.
Hurricane Rita occurred in the extremely stormy year 2005. It was the second time since the alphabetical names for hurricanes were introduced in 1953 that the letter R in the name sequence was reached - previously this was only the case with Hurricane Roxanne in 1995 .
Storm course
Hurricane Rita formed on Sunday September 18, 2005 from the 18th Tropical Depression west of the Bahamas . On September 19, Florida cyclone Rita continued to gain strength in the warm coastal waters and was upgraded to a level 2 hurricane. In the southern USA , fear of new devastation after Hurricane Katrina grew . In New Orleans , Mayor Ray Nagin stopped the return of residents who had been evacuated a few weeks earlier. The storm intensified on September 20, becoming the ninth strongest hurricane of the 2005 season and wreaked havoc in northern Cuba .
After the US state Florida got off relatively lightly, Rita gained strength and threatened Texas . The hurricane reached wind speeds of over 250 km / h on September 21. Within a few hours, Rita was upgraded to a category five hurricane. New Orleans was preparing for the possibility that Rita could turn north and cause serious damage again a few weeks after the devastating Hurricane Katrina. The city therefore had to be evacuated again. US President George W. Bush asked the population threatened by the hurricane to flee on Wednesday afternoon (local time). "We have to be prepared for the worst," said Bush.
With winds of 265 kilometers per hour, Rita was stronger than Hurricane Katrina on September 22nd. According to meteorologists , Rita was perhaps the worst cyclone that has ever threatened Texas . The National Hurricane Center stated the most likely location for shore leave to be on the central Texas coast between Galveston and Corpus Christi . Some media have already compared Rita to the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 , the deadliest natural disaster in US history, based on the likely train path and expected storm forces . As millions of people fled the hurricane, the streets of Texas and Louisiana saw huge traffic jams on Friday, September 23rd. Meanwhile, Hurricane Rita changed direction slightly. Instead of Houston , the port city of Port Arthur and Lake Charles , located further east in Louisiana, were threatened.
On Saturday, September 24th, at 02:38 am local time, Hurricane Rita hit the mainland near Sabine Pass on the Louisiana-Texas border. Up to this point, "Rita" has been downgraded from the highest to the third highest category on the five-point Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale .
Although flooding occurred in many areas, the damage was less than feared. The cyclone swept over the US Gulf Coast with heavy rains and gusts of wind of up to 200 km / h. He drove a tidal wave 2 to 6 m high in front of him. During the day, “Rita” was downgraded to Category 1 storm.
Preparations for the hurricane
Authorities ordered around 1.3 million people on the Gulf Coast to get to safety from the hurricane. The entire Texan coast was at risk, but other parts of the coast were also considered threatened. The flight to the north caused long traffic jams on the motorways, although the oncoming lanes were also temporarily opened for traffic to the north. US President George W. Bush , accused of poorly managing the crisis in coping with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina , declared a state of emergency in Texas and Louisiana . The NASA closed its floor headquarters in Houston, oil companies such as BP and Shell put temporarily numerous oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico and refineries shut along the Gulf Coast. Also, nuclear reactors were shut down as a precaution.
Effects
The effects were not as bad as feared. In particular, the oil industry in the Gulf of Mexico was not as badly affected as initially feared. Strong winds and torrential rains nevertheless caused very severe local damage.
... in energy supply
While "Rita" raged over parts of Texas and Louisiana on the US Gulf Coast, the production of natural gas was according to the authorities at 47% below normal values. On September 26, 2005, around 300,000 households in Louisiana were still without electricity; in Texas it was around 450,000.
"We can all do something to save energy," said US President George W. Bush. In the White House, the lights are switched off earlier, the PC and fax machines have to be switched off in the evening, and if someone leaves their car, they get a free ticket for the subway.
population
The forced evacuation was ordered by “Rita”. Previously, thousands of people had voluntarily left the affected parts of the country. 24 people died in a hurricane refugee bus when it exploded.
politics
The president announced cuts in the federal budget. The expenditure for the reconstruction work on the Gulf Coast would have to be financed through cuts in the non-security-relevant areas. Kathleen Blanco, Governor of Louisiana, applied to the federal government for $ 34 billion in reconstruction aid. Most of the hurricane victims were black people and poor people who could not get to safety in time. The government would have acted faster if those affected had been rich whites, accused some black politicians of the government. Condoleezza Rice , Foreign Minister, contradicted these allegations ; she said that no one was left alone because of their race.
Cuba
The streets of the capital Havana were under water after heavy rains. There were power cuts and hundreds of thousands of people had to be evacuated from the endangered areas in northern Cuba.
| rank | hurricane | season | Min. Air pressure hPa ( mbar ) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wilma | 2005 | 882 |
| 2 | Gilbert | 1988 | 888 |
| 3 | " Labor Day " | 1935 | 892 |
| 4th | Rita | 2005 | 895 |
| 5 | Everyone | 1980 | 899 |
| 6th | Camille | 1969 | 900 |
| 7th | Katrina | 2005 | 902 |
| 8th | Mitch | 1998 | 905 |
| dean | 2007 | 905 | |
| 10 | Maria | 2017 | 908 |
| Source: HURDAT | |||
Texas
Contrary to initial fears, the coastal city of Galveston was not fully hit by Hurricane Rita. The hurricane passed Galveston in the east, while the prevailing north wind caused a weak, 2 m high tidal wave that withstood the existing dyke wall. At the beginning of the hurricane, a fire broke out in the city center, but the fire department was able to put it out before it spread any further.
The megacity of Houston got off lightly. Fallen trees and traffic light masts as well as dented windows were the predominant damage.
The cities of Beaumont and Port Arthur were very badly damaged , mainly by the strong winds and precipitation. Torn trees and the wind itself damaged numerous buildings. Port Arthur was also largely flooded.
Louisiana
The worst damage was recorded in Louisiana . A tidal wave up to 6 m high hit the coast. Places like Cameron, Hackberry and Holly Beach were almost completely destroyed. The city of Lake Charles was flooded meters high, triggered by heavy rainfall. The insurance losses are enormous. Between $ 3 billion and $ 6 billion. However, each person in the affected area only gets $ 500-1000. The money can only be used to pay for the clean-up work. If the money has been used up by the insurance, new purchases must be paid for independently. Since many people do not have this money, nothing can be renewed.
New Orleans , which had been badly damaged by Hurricane Katrina a few weeks earlier , was only hit by foothills and was far less affected than initially feared. The repopulation had already been stopped on September 22, 2005 because the dykes, some of which had only been poorly repaired, were so damaged that they were partially at risk of destruction even with low exposure to Rita. The heavy rains caused by the foothills broke a dike that had previously only been poorly repaired, and over 30 streets of the slum Ninth Ward were flooded again.
Other states
Rita, now downgraded to a tropical depression , caused several tornadoes in the states of Mississippi and Arkansas , causing local damage.
Total damage and deaths
The total damage was estimated at around $ 8-11 billion . About 2 million people suffered from power outages. Hurricane Rita is blamed for 119 deaths (as of October 3, 2005). Only six of them were caused directly by the hurricane (tornadoes: 1, fallen trees: 3, in Florida two drowned by surf back currents with increased swell by the distant hurricane). Most of the deaths were caused indirectly, such as car accidents and accidents while cleaning up. In Texas, for example, twenty mostly elderly and disabled people died when the bus that was supposed to evacuate them went up in flames due to a mechanical defect.
Environmental damage caused by hurricane "Rita"
At the end of September, hurricane "Rita" raged over the south coast of the USA. The consequences are devastating: the environment has been badly damaged. Oil pipelines have broken, contaminating the water and poisoning many animals. Entire towns were flooded and destroyed. The animals cannot find enough food or drown. Forest areas have been destroyed by objects flying around and the abundance of water. The forest areas have to be replanted. The sewer system has been contaminated, poisoning lakes and rivers. Building materials are mixed with the water and thus get into the earth. The damage runs into the millions.
Economic consequences of "Rita"
After Hurricane Katrina, Rita kept oil prices rising. And Texas is the center of the American refinery. Although “Rita” was rapidly losing strength on the mainland, the storm brought important refineries to a standstill in the United States. For fear of devastating hurricane consequences, 16 oil refineries on the US Gulf Coast had already been closed on Friday. Even before “Rita” arrived, 23% of US refineries were paralyzed. Nevertheless, the oil price on the New York oil exchange Nymex initially fell after the hurricane was downgraded to storm category 4. However, experts warned: “Oil prices will continue to rise! There has already been a severe hurricane season, but this is the most devastating one for the petroleum industry! "
Stock market consequences after Rita
On the afternoon of the arrival of hurricane “Rita”, the leading index Dax fell by 0.59% (to 4847 points). At the same time, the MDax lost 0.6% and dropped back to 6862 points. The TecDax lost 0.98% and fell back to 600 points.
swell
- ↑ As of September 23, 2005
- ↑ September 27, 2005 ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ / Stand. October 4th, 2005 ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ www.ftd.de/Stand: September 21, 2005
- ↑ www.stern.de/Stand: September 23, 2005
- ↑ www.spiegel.de/Stand: October 5, 2005
- ↑ / As of September 26, 2005
- ↑ www.stern.de/Stand: September 5, 2005
- ^ National Hurricane Center: Atlantic hurricane best track (Hurdat) ( English ) Hurricane Research Division. Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations Office of Oceanic & Atmospheric Research. April 2018. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
See also
Web links
Wikinews: Category: Hurricane Rita - in the news
- National Hurricane Center
- Information about Hurricane Rita at Naturgewalten.de