Hurricane Katrina: Counting the Ecological Cost

Hurricane Katrina has had a devastating impact on the environment of south-east Louisiana, experts report almost a year after the violent storm smashed the city of New Orleans, causing floods that killed nearly 2000 people. Researchers say poor land management and badly planned infrastructure had exacerbated the extent of the ecological devastation.

Over 24 hours on 29 August 2005, Hurricane Katrina destroyed more than 200 square kilometres (77 square miles) of wetlands east of the Mississippi River, reported Carlton Dufrechou, head of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation in Metarie, Louisiana, US. Freshwater marsh plants were rolled up like a carpet by the storm, Gary Shaffer at Southeastern Louisiana University told New Scientist.