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One of the most devastating disasters in America history, Hurricane Katrina by Ko, Yoonjin 200700121
You must have heard about Hurricane Katrina before which was happened in six years ago. Hurricane Katrina was a devastating category 4 hurricanes, that hit the Gulf of Mexico and various Southern regions of the United States at the end of August, 2005, causing some of the worst damage in American history, estimated at $100 billion. I found some numbers to show its disastrous impact on New Orleans from the BBC.
America, the leading country of all countries around the world, couldn't deal with Hurricane Katrina swiftly and suffered from a huge amount of losses. What were the causes of this disaster and the aftermath of the hurricane? To find out the causes of the hurricane, let's think about why New Orleans is so vulnerable? New Orleans is sandwiched between Lake Pontchartrain and the Mississippi River, most of the city is located below sea level. Therefore, once a flood would submerge, New Orleans is underwater. Marshes, fresh and saltwater swamps of mud and diverse plant life, divide New Orleans from the Gulf of Mexico, but in some places, the gulf has receded 32 to 48 kilometers closer to New Orleans. So when the Hurricane Katrina came to the Gulf of Mexico, New Orleans was very much easy target for it. Then what happened in the aftermath of the hurricane? There was looting of shops, because people had no food or water for many days, violence was everywhere. The media jumped on showing pictures of black people running riot, giving the impression that this is how black people are when there are no laws and when the system breaks down. Also, there were even claims of rape of babies, though this was never verified. Police and military at one point were even allowed to shoot if people were caught looting. However, most of "looting" was clearly for survival (food, water, shelter), people were allowed to continue. There were so many poor people lived in New Orleans, mostly black people. So that was why media and political commentators also commented like perhaps if there were so many white people in such a situation, maybe the social situation would never have deteriorated so much. However, what I thought terrible was the rich were able to flee, but the poor, most typically black people, were unable to do so but suffered the worst of the hurricane's destructive power in the world's richest and most powerful country. New Orleans is still on its way to recover from Hurricane Katrina. Thanks for all the efforts that volunteers from all around the world and its citizen have put, New Orleans is recovering most of its external losses and the number of foreign visitors is gradually increasing again. According to the local authority's statistic, city's total outcome, compared to the one five years ago, increased $9 billion and its population reached to 354,850 people which are about 80% from its usual number.
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Saturday, April 23, 2011
Cause and effect of Hurricane Katrina(200700121)
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1. What I like about this piece of writing is the way you wrote your hook. It really drew readers to your writing I think.
ReplyDelete2. Your main point seems to be the Cause and effect of Hurricane Katrina.
3. These particular words or lines struck me as powerful:
1) ‘What were the causes of this disaster and the aftermath of the hurricane? To find out the causes of the hurricane, let's think about why New Orleans is so vulnerable?’ => This part impressed me a lot because I could feel that your writing skill is really high. It seemed really professional because the style you wrote gave a feeling as if you are a journalist of a newpaper or magazine.
2) ‘Then what happened in the aftermath of the hurricane?’=> This part was great because the word ‘then’ here made a really smooth transition to the next paragraph. Although the word then is too monotonous in many cases, you used the word really well.
3) The part that you put the exact number at the last paragraph, conclusion was also great. It made your writing more trustworthy and reliable, as well as making it look mor professional.
Second Draft
ReplyDeleteOne of the most devastating disasters in America history, Hurricane Katrina
by Ko, Yoonjin 200700121
You must have heard about Hurricane Katrina before which was happened in six years ago. Hurricane Katrina was a devastating category 4 hurricanes, that hit the Gulf of Mexico and various Southern regions of the United States at the end of August, 2005, causing some of the worst damage in American history, estimated at $100 billion. I found some numbers to show its disastrous impact on New Orleans from the BBC.
90,000 square mile disaster zone — equivalent to area of Great Britain
10,000 originally feared dead — revised down by government
60 nations have offered aid as well as UN, NATO and WHO
13 states now have a state of emergency in force
America, the leading country of all countries around the world, couldn't deal with Hurricane Katrina swiftly and suffered from a huge amount of losses. What were the causes of this disaster and the aftermath of the hurricane? To find out the causes of the hurricane, let's think about why New Orleans is so vulnerable?
New Orleans is sandwiched between Lake Pontchartrain and the Mississippi River, most of the city is located below sea level. Therefore, once a flood would submerge, New Orleans is underwater. Marshes, fresh and saltwater swamps of mud and diverse plant life, divide New Orleans from the Gulf of Mexico, but in some places, the gulf has receded 32 to 48 kilometers closer to New Orleans. So when the Hurricane Katrina came to the Gulf of Mexico, New Orleans was very much easy target for it.
Then what happened in the aftermath of the hurricane? There was looting of shops, because people had no food or water for many days, violence was everywhere. The media jumped on showing pictures of black people running riot, giving the impression that this is how black people are when there are no laws and when the system breaks down. Also, there were even claims of rape of babies, though this was never verified. Police and military at one point were even allowed to shoot if people were caught looting. However, most of "looting" was clearly for survival (food, water, shelter), people were allowed to continue.
There were so many poor people lived in New Orleans, mostly black people. So that was why media and political commentators also commented like perhaps if there were so many white people in such a situation, maybe the social situation would never have deteriorated so much. However, what I thought terrible was the rich were able to flee, but the poor, most typically black people, were unable to do so but suffered the worst of the hurricane's destructive power in the world's richest and most powerful country.
New Orleans is still on its way to recover from Hurricane Katrina. Thanks for all the efforts that volunteers from all around the world and its citizen have put, New Orleans is recovering most of its external losses and the number of foreign visitors is gradually increasing again. According to the local authority's statistic, city's total outcome, compared to the one five years ago, increased $9 billion and its population reached to 354,850 people which are about 80% from its usual number.