HURRICANE KATRINA WORKSHOP

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS

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Northeastern University, December 2nd, 2005

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OVERVIEW

Hurricane Katrina, a strong category 4 storm, hit the southern US on August 29, 2005 and caused widespread death and destruction, making it one of the most deadly and costly natural disasters in US history. The discussion during and immediately after the event focused primarily on emergency response, disaster preparedness, loss of human life and recovery efforts. However, also associated with Hurricane Katrina and contributing to the disaster were environmental pollution and ecological degradation, which have not been at the forefront of discussion.
The environmental impacts of Hurricane Katrina are the focus of this workshop:
What was the extent and severity of the flooding and associated pollution? What were the pollutants of concern? What were the major sources of pollutants? What caused them to “activate”? Can measures be taken to prevent or minimize environmental impacts of hurricanes? Are there synergistic effects among various pollutants in events like these that are not typically seen in individual accidents? Hurricane Katrina ranks amongst the most deadly and costly disasters in US history. Does the environmental damage also rank high (e.g. Exxon Valdez, Three Mile Island)? What is the role of “precursors”, like the disappearance of coastal wetlands or the subsistence of ground in New Orleans?

Some of these questions were answered from a panel of experts, on December 2nd at Northeastern University during a one-day workshop.

The results of the Workshop, sponsored by Henry David Thoreau Foundation and Co-sponsored by Northeastern College of Engineering and Dept. of Civil & Environmental Engineering, are presented here!

THE SPEAKERS AND THE PRESENTATIONS

Ferdi Hellweger, Assistant Professor In Civil and Environmental Engineering at Northeastern University, organized the workshop with the collaboration of the Environmental Engeneering Class II, as part of the ENVIROPOLIS program.

To view Prof. Hellweger presentation click here!

Tim Wall, vice president of the Environmental Management Division at CDM and Firas Makarem, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) market leader at CDM as well, presented the "CDM's Response to Katrina".

To view this presentation click here! To see the abstract click here.

Tim Wall on the left and Firas Makarem on the right.

Hatice Sengul, a master student from Tulane University, presented the results on a study that she conducted with her Prof. Laura Steinberg regarding the "Contamination from Industrial Facilities due to Hurricane Katrina".

To view this presentation click here! To see the abstract click here.

Dr. Jennifer Woertz, is an assistant professor in the Department of Civil Engineering and Geological Sciences at the University of Notre Dame. Her presentation focused on the problem of Mold in the aftermath of Katrina.

To view the presentation "Got Mold. Wish I had sold..." click here! To see the abstract click here.

Dr. Miriam Aschkenasy, is an attending physician in Department of Emergency Medicine at the Boston Medical Center and an assistant professor at the Boston University Medical Center. She worked with Oxfam America to conduct an environmental public health assessment after the affects of Hurricane Katrina.

To view her presentation on "Hurricane Katrina and Public Health" click here! To see the abstract click here.

Ivor van Heerden, deputy director of the Louisiana State University Hurricane Center and director of the Center for the Study of Public Health Impacts of Hurricanes in Baton Rouge, was our lunchtime keynote speaker.

To view his presentation "Louisiana Hurricane Realities: Computer Models, Levees and Wetlands" click here!

Andrew Whitehead, is an assistant professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge.

To view his presentation "Ecotoxicological and functional genomic responses of Killifish in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina" click here! To see the abstract click here.

Michael LaMontagne, is an assistant professor of microbiology at McNeese State University in Lake Charles, LA. He is working with Dr. Brian Fry, a professor in the Department of Oceanography and Coastal studies at Louisiana State University to determine the "impacts of Hurricane Katrina on the water quality and bacterial communitiesin and around Lake Pontchartrain".

To view his presentation click here! To see the abstract click here.

Linda Amaral Zettler, is an Assistant Research Scientist in the Bay Paul Center at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole. She also holds an assistant professorship in the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department at Brown University.

She presented a work on "Microbial pathogens in lake Pontchartrain as as results of Hurricane Katrina floodwaters: the known, the unknown and the unknowable".

To see the abstract click here.

Al Hindrichs, works for the
Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LADEQ) in the Water Quality Assessment Division. Following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita have been coordinating water quality data management and assessment efforts in the affected areas.

To view his presentation click here! To see the abstract click here.

To see the students's workshop page click here.

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