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To order presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution to colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire about permissions/licensing, please go to: <!-- /react-text --><a href="http://www.torontostarreprints.com/" data-reactid="54">www.TorontoStarReprints.com</a></p><!-- react-empty: 55 --><div data-reactid="56"><!-- react-empty: 57 --><!-- react-empty: 58 --></div><article class="article container-gutters " data-reactid="59"><meta itemprop="description" content="The similarities are striking, as are the images. Here’s how the two devastating storms compare." data-reactid="60"/><meta itemprop="articleSection" content="World" data-reactid="61"/><meta itemprop="thumbnailUrl" content="https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/world/2017/08/29/is-hurricane-harvey-as-bad-as-katrina-heres-what-we-know/katrina10.jpg.size.custom.crop.93x70.jpg" data-reactid="62"/><meta itemprop="datePublished" content="2017-08-29" data-reactid="63"/><meta itemprop="dateModified" content="2017-08-29" data-reactid="64"/><meta itemprop="mainEntityOfPage" content="https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2017/08/29/is-hurricane-harvey-as-bad-as-katrina-heres-what-we-know.html" data-reactid="65"/><span itemprop="publisher" itemscope="" itemtype="https://schema.org/Organization" data-reactid="66"><span itemprop="logo" itemscope="" itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject" data-reactid="67"><meta itemprop="url" content="https://www.thestar.com/assets/img/thestar-logo.png" data-reactid="68"/><meta itemprop="width" content="277" data-reactid="69"/><meta itemprop="height" content="44" data-reactid="70"/></span><meta itemprop="name" content="Toronto Star" data-reactid="71"/><link itemprop="sameAs" href="https://www.thestar.com" data-reactid="72"/></span><div class="breadcrumb-header clearfix full-bleed" data-reactid="73"><div class="breadcrumb-header__gutter news" data-reactid="74"></div><div class="clearfix sticky-replace sticky-replace--narrow" data-sticky-replace="true" data-reactid="75"><div class="sticky-replace__body" data-reactid="76"><nav class="breadcrumb-header__nav" data-reactid="77"><ol class="clearfix" data-reactid="78"><li data-reactid="79"><span data-reactid="80"><span data-reactid="81"><a href="/news.html" data-reactid="82">News</a></span></span></li><li data-reactid="83"><span data-reactid="84"><span data-reactid="85"><a href="/news/world.html" data-reactid="86">World</a></span></span></li></ol></nav></div></div></div><div class="article__loader" data-reactid="87"><div class="small-12 inset columns center" data-reactid="88"><div class="row" data-reactid="89"><div data-reactid="90"><div class="show-for-small-only alpha__big-box " data-reactid="91"><div class="alpha__big-box__body" data-reactid="92"><div class="big-box banner-ad" data-reactid="93"><!-- react-empty: 94 --></div></div></div><header class="article__header" data-reactid="95"><h1 class=" article__headline" itemprop="headline" data-reactid="96">Is hurricane Harvey as bad as Katrina? Here’s what we know</h1><div class="article__subheadline" data-reactid="97"><p data-reactid="98">The similarities are striking, as are the images. Here’s how the two devastating storms compare.</p></div></header></div></div><div class="hero" data-reactid="99"><figure data-reactid="100"><div class="youtube" data-reactid="101"><div class="youtube__body" data-reactid="102"><div id="star-video-mainart-0" data-reactid="103"></div></div></div></figure></div></div><div data-reactid="104"><div class="row" data-reactid="105"><div class="small-12 inset columns" data-reactid="106"><div class="article__body clearfix article-story-body" data-reactid="107"><div class="alpha alpha--big-box show-for-medium-up" data-reactid="108"><!-- react-empty: 109 --></div><div class="show-right-rail" data-reactid="110"><div class="article__meta" data-reactid="111"><div class="inset" data-reactid="112"><div class="article__byline" data-reactid="113"><span data-reactid="114">By </span><span class="article__author" data-reactid="115"><span data-reactid="116"><span itemprop="author" itemscope="" itemtype="https://schema.org/Person" data-reactid="117"><span class="article__author-name" itemprop="name" data-reactid="118">Shaila Dewan</span></span></span></span><span class="article__author" data-reactid="119"><br data-reactid="120"/><span data-reactid="121"><span itemprop="author" itemscope="" itemtype="https://schema.org/Person" data-reactid="122"><span class="article__author-name" itemprop="name" data-reactid="123">John Schwartz</span></span></span><span data-reactid="124"><span class="article__author-credit" data-reactid="125">The New York Times</span></span></span></div><div class="article__published-date" data-reactid="126">Tues., Aug. 29, 2017</div></div><div class="clearfix share-toolbar " data-reactid="127"><div class="gutter-icon" data-reactid="128"><span class="staricon staricon-share" data-reactid="129"></span></div><div class="share-toolbar__body" data-reactid="130"><div class="clearfix sticky-replace sticky-replace--inset" data-sticky-replace="true" data-reactid="131"><div class="sticky-replace__body" data-reactid="132"><ul class="share-toolbar__primary clearfix" data-reactid="133"><li data-reactid="134"><a href="#" title="Share on Facebook" data-reactid="135"><span class="staricon staricon-facebook" data-reactid="136"></span></a></li><li data-reactid="137"><a href="#" title="Share on Twitter" data-reactid="138"><span class="staricon staricon-twitter" data-reactid="139"></span></a></li><li data-reactid="140"><a href="#" title="Share with email" data-reactid="141"><span class="staricon staricon-email-outlined" data-reactid="142"></span></a></li><li data-reactid="143"><a href="#" title="More share options" class="share-toolbar-more" data-reactid="144"><span class="staricon staricon-more-dots" data-reactid="145"></span></a></li></ul></div></div><!-- react-empty: 146 --></div></div></div></div><div data-reactid="147"><p>A late August hurricane menacing the Gulf Coast. Residents plucked from rooftops. A convention centre repurposed as an emergency shelter. <a onContextMenu="theStarLinkClick(event, this, false)" onclick="theStarLinkClick(event, this, false)" href="https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2017/08/29/trump-travelling-to-texas-for-briefings-on-harvey-recovery.html">A test of a presidency</a>.</p><p>Although <a onContextMenu="theStarLinkClick(event, this, false)" onclick="theStarLinkClick(event, this, false)" href="https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2017/08/29/with-three-dead-and-rescue-crews-overwhelmed-houston-chief-expects-death-toll-to-go-up-historically.html">it is still unfolding</a>, Harvey, now a tropical storm, evokes comparisons to hurricane Katrina in 2005. </p><p>Here&#x2019;s a quick rundown of what we know about similarities and differences between the two.</p><p><strong>The cities</strong></p><p>Katrina: Before the storm, New Orleans &#x2014; with its distinctive Creole-Acadian-French-Haitian-Vietnamese cultural m&#xe9;lange &#x2014; was a small city of about 455,000 people that lay in large part below sea level, ostensibly protected by a system of levee walls. Its population never fully recovered from the evacuation and destruction and remains below 400,000.</p></div><div class="show-for-small-only alpha__big-box " data-reactid="148"><div class="article-continued" data-reactid="149"><div class="article-continued__heading" data-reactid="150">Article Continued Below</div></div><div class="alpha__big-box__body" data-reactid="151"><div class="big-box" data-reactid="152"><!-- react-empty: 153 --></div></div></div><div data-reactid="154"><p>Harvey: Houston is a sprawling, car-dependent, diverse city, low-lying but not below sea level. It has a population of more than two million people, with a system of bayous and waterways to manage flooding.</p></div><figure class="image" data-reactid="155"><div class="image__body " data-reactid="156"><img src="https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/world/2017/08/29/is-hurricane-harvey-as-bad-as-katrina-heres-what-we-know/katrina10.jpg.size.custom.crop.1086x724.jpg" alt="Fires burn in parts of New Orleans early on Sept. 3, 2005, days after the city was hit by hurricane Katrina." sizes="(min-width: 1086px) 1086px, 100vw" srcset="https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/world/2017/08/29/is-hurricane-harvey-as-bad-as-katrina-heres-what-we-know/katrina10.jpg.size.custom.crop.320x213.jpg 320w, https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/world/2017/08/29/is-hurricane-harvey-as-bad-as-katrina-heres-what-we-know/katrina10.jpg.size.custom.crop.480x320.jpg 480w, https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/world/2017/08/29/is-hurricane-harvey-as-bad-as-katrina-heres-what-we-know/katrina10.jpg.size.custom.crop.640x426.jpg 640w, https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/world/2017/08/29/is-hurricane-harvey-as-bad-as-katrina-heres-what-we-know/katrina10.jpg.size.custom.crop.800x533.jpg 800w, https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/world/2017/08/29/is-hurricane-harvey-as-bad-as-katrina-heres-what-we-know/katrina10.jpg.size.custom.crop.1086x724.jpg 1086w" data-reactid="157"/></div><figcaption data-reactid="158"><!-- react-text: 159 -->Fires burn in parts of New Orleans early on Sept. 3, 2005, days after the city was hit by hurricane Katrina.<!-- /react-text --><span class="image__credit" data-reactid="160"><!-- react-text: 161 -->  (<!-- /react-text --><span class="image__credit__source" data-reactid="162"><!-- react-text: 163 -->VINCENT LAFORET<!-- /react-text --><span data-reactid="164"> / </span><!-- react-text: 165 -->NYT<!-- /react-text --></span><!-- react-text: 166 -->)<!-- /react-text --><!-- react-text: 167 -->  <!-- /react-text --></span></figcaption></figure><div data-reactid="168"><p><strong>The storms</strong></p><p>Katrina: It made landfall near the Louisiana/Mississippi border on Aug. 29, 2005, as a Category 3 storm and measured 560 kilometres. However, the relatively low classification, based on wind speed, was deceptive because Katrina produced the highest storm surge ever recorded in the United States.</p></div><!-- react-empty: 169 --><div data-reactid="170"><p>Harvey: It made landfall in Rockport, Texas, on Friday as a Category 4 storm, measuring 320 kilometres across, but was quickly downgraded. As of Monday, it was expected to linger for days, causing National Weather Service to warn, &#x201c;This event is unprecedented and all impacts are unknown.&#x201d;</p></div><figure class="image" data-reactid="171"><div class="image__body " data-reactid="172"><img src="https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/world/2017/08/29/is-hurricane-harvey-as-bad-as-katrina-heres-what-we-know/katrina4.jpg.size.custom.crop.850x567.jpg" alt="Workers bring a family to dry land in the Meyerland neighborhood of Houston on Sunday." sizes="(min-width: 850px) 850px, 100vw" srcset="https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/world/2017/08/29/is-hurricane-harvey-as-bad-as-katrina-heres-what-we-know/katrina4.jpg.size.custom.crop.320x213.jpg 320w, https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/world/2017/08/29/is-hurricane-harvey-as-bad-as-katrina-heres-what-we-know/katrina4.jpg.size.custom.crop.480x320.jpg 480w, https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/world/2017/08/29/is-hurricane-harvey-as-bad-as-katrina-heres-what-we-know/katrina4.jpg.size.custom.crop.640x426.jpg 640w, https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/world/2017/08/29/is-hurricane-harvey-as-bad-as-katrina-heres-what-we-know/katrina4.jpg.size.custom.crop.850x567.jpg 850w" data-reactid="173"/></div><figcaption data-reactid="174"><!-- react-text: 175 -->Workers bring a family to dry land in the Meyerland neighborhood of Houston on Sunday.<!-- /react-text --><span class="image__credit" data-reactid="176"><!-- react-text: 177 -->  (<!-- /react-text --><span class="image__credit__source" data-reactid="178"><!-- react-text: 179 -->ALYSSA SCHUKAR<!-- /react-text --></span><!-- react-text: 180 -->)<!-- /react-text --><!-- react-text: 181 -->  <!-- /react-text --></span></figcaption></figure><div data-reactid="182"><p><strong>Deaths and damage</strong></p><p>Katrina: One of the deadliest hurricanes ever to strike the United States, Katrina was responsible for 1,833 deaths, and some bodies were untouched for days. The storm inflicted more than $100 billion (U.S.) in damage, with most of it caused by wind, storm surge and the failure of the levees. Katrina also left three million people across the region without power.</p><p>Harvey: Local officials have reported at least 10 deaths in Texas since the storm began, but heavy rains and flooding are expected to continue at least through Friday. Most of the damage could be caused by flooding.</p><p>As for the economy, the Gulf region&#x2019;s capacity as an oil and gas hub &#x2014; Houston accounted for 2.9 per cent of the nation&#x2019;s gross domestic product in 2015 &#x2014; does not appear to have been seriously compromised, and economists were predicting that the storm&#x2019;s cost would be less than half that of Katrina&#x2019;s. So far in Texas, there are 300,000 people without power.</p></div><figure class="image" data-reactid="183"><div class="image__body " data-reactid="184"><img src="https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/world/2017/08/29/is-hurricane-harvey-as-bad-as-katrina-heres-what-we-know/katrina9.jpg.size.custom.crop.850x581.jpg" alt="The 17th Street levee in New Orleans after it was breached by the winds and storm surge brought by hurricane Katrina." sizes="(min-width: 850px) 850px, 100vw" srcset="https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/world/2017/08/29/is-hurricane-harvey-as-bad-as-katrina-heres-what-we-know/katrina9.jpg.size.custom.crop.320x218.jpg 320w, https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/world/2017/08/29/is-hurricane-harvey-as-bad-as-katrina-heres-what-we-know/katrina9.jpg.size.custom.crop.480x328.jpg 480w, https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/world/2017/08/29/is-hurricane-harvey-as-bad-as-katrina-heres-what-we-know/katrina9.jpg.size.custom.crop.640x437.jpg 640w, https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/world/2017/08/29/is-hurricane-harvey-as-bad-as-katrina-heres-what-we-know/katrina9.jpg.size.custom.crop.850x581.jpg 850w" data-reactid="185"/></div><figcaption data-reactid="186"><!-- react-text: 187 -->The 17th Street levee in New Orleans after it was breached by the winds and storm surge brought by hurricane Katrina.<!-- /react-text --><span class="image__credit" data-reactid="188"><!-- react-text: 189 -->  (<!-- /react-text --><span class="image__credit__source" data-reactid="190"><!-- react-text: 191 -->VINCENT LAFORET<!-- /react-text --></span><!-- react-text: 192 -->)<!-- /react-text --><!-- react-text: 193 -->  <!-- /react-text --></span></figcaption></figure><div data-reactid="194"><p><strong>Rainfall</strong></p><p>Katrina: Rain was not the main problem with Katrina, which yielded 12 to 25 centimetres of rainfall in a 48-hour period.</p><p>Harvey: By contrast, Harvey brought a deluge, with up to 130 centimetres of rain predicted by the time the storm moves on for good later this week &#x2014; more than Houston receives in a year.</p></div><figure class="image" data-reactid="195"><div class="image__body " data-reactid="196"><img src="https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/world/2017/08/29/is-hurricane-harvey-as-bad-as-katrina-heres-what-we-know/katrina2.jpg.size.custom.crop.850x540.jpg" alt="The flooded streets of New Orleans on Aug. 31, 2005, after Hurricane Katrina hit the city." sizes="(min-width: 850px) 850px, 100vw" srcset="https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/world/2017/08/29/is-hurricane-harvey-as-bad-as-katrina-heres-what-we-know/katrina2.jpg.size.custom.crop.320x203.jpg 320w, https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/world/2017/08/29/is-hurricane-harvey-as-bad-as-katrina-heres-what-we-know/katrina2.jpg.size.custom.crop.480x304.jpg 480w, https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/world/2017/08/29/is-hurricane-harvey-as-bad-as-katrina-heres-what-we-know/katrina2.jpg.size.custom.crop.640x406.jpg 640w, https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/world/2017/08/29/is-hurricane-harvey-as-bad-as-katrina-heres-what-we-know/katrina2.jpg.size.custom.crop.850x540.jpg 850w" data-reactid="197"/></div><figcaption data-reactid="198"><!-- react-text: 199 -->The flooded streets of New Orleans on Aug. 31, 2005, after Hurricane Katrina hit the city.<!-- /react-text --><span class="image__credit" data-reactid="200"><!-- react-text: 201 -->  (<!-- /react-text --><span class="image__credit__source" data-reactid="202"><!-- react-text: 203 -->VINCENT LAFORET<!-- /react-text --></span><!-- react-text: 204 -->)<!-- /react-text --><!-- react-text: 205 -->  <!-- /react-text --></span></figcaption></figure><div data-reactid="206"><p><strong>Evacuation</strong></p><p>Katrina: The mandatory evacuation of New Orleans was announced a day before the storm hit. An estimated 100,000 people remained stuck in the city. A few weeks later, in another chaotic evacuation, more than 100 people died leaving the Houston area to escape hurricane Rita.</p><p>Harvey: Houston did not call on residents to evacuate and is now urging those who can to shelter in place. However, as the rain continued Monday, a growing number of other jurisdictions &#x2014; like Bay City, which expected three metres of water downtown &#x2014; urged residents to leave.</p></div><figure class="image" data-reactid="207"><div class="image__body " data-reactid="208"><img src="https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/world/2017/08/29/is-hurricane-harvey-as-bad-as-katrina-heres-what-we-know/katrina8.jpg.size.custom.crop.850x567.jpg" alt="Rays of sunlight make their way through the damaged roof of the New Orleans Superdome which was being used to gather those evacuated from their homes following hurricane Katrina." sizes="(min-width: 850px) 850px, 100vw" srcset="https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/world/2017/08/29/is-hurricane-harvey-as-bad-as-katrina-heres-what-we-know/katrina8.jpg.size.custom.crop.320x213.jpg 320w, https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/world/2017/08/29/is-hurricane-harvey-as-bad-as-katrina-heres-what-we-know/katrina8.jpg.size.custom.crop.480x320.jpg 480w, https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/world/2017/08/29/is-hurricane-harvey-as-bad-as-katrina-heres-what-we-know/katrina8.jpg.size.custom.crop.640x426.jpg 640w, https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/world/2017/08/29/is-hurricane-harvey-as-bad-as-katrina-heres-what-we-know/katrina8.jpg.size.custom.crop.850x567.jpg 850w" data-reactid="209"/></div><figcaption data-reactid="210"><!-- react-text: 211 -->Rays of sunlight make their way through the damaged roof of the New Orleans Superdome which was being used to gather those evacuated from their homes following hurricane Katrina.<!-- /react-text --><span class="image__credit" data-reactid="212"><!-- react-text: 213 -->  (<!-- /react-text --><span class="image__credit__source" data-reactid="214"><!-- react-text: 215 -->Tyler Hicks<!-- /react-text --></span><!-- react-text: 216 -->)<!-- /react-text --><!-- react-text: 217 -->  <!-- /react-text --></span></figcaption></figure><div data-reactid="218"><p><strong>Assistance</strong></p><p>Katrina: The storm displaced more than one million people and damaged or destroyed 275,000 homes. Almost one million households received individual assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.</p><p>Harvey: We don&#x2019;t know yet how many people will be forced out of their homes. But the vast majority of homes in Harvey&#x2019;s path are not insured against flooding, according to figures from the National Flood Insurance Program. FEMA officials estimated that 450,000 people were likely to seek federal aid.</p></div><figure class="image" data-reactid="219"><div class="image__body " data-reactid="220"><img src="https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/world/2017/08/29/is-hurricane-harvey-as-bad-as-katrina-heres-what-we-know/katrina6.jpg.size.custom.crop.850x567.jpg" alt="An overturned boat on a flooded street near an intersection in the Meyerland neighborhood of Houston on Monday." sizes="(min-width: 850px) 850px, 100vw" srcset="https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/world/2017/08/29/is-hurricane-harvey-as-bad-as-katrina-heres-what-we-know/katrina6.jpg.size.custom.crop.320x213.jpg 320w, https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/world/2017/08/29/is-hurricane-harvey-as-bad-as-katrina-heres-what-we-know/katrina6.jpg.size.custom.crop.480x320.jpg 480w, https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/world/2017/08/29/is-hurricane-harvey-as-bad-as-katrina-heres-what-we-know/katrina6.jpg.size.custom.crop.640x426.jpg 640w, https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/world/2017/08/29/is-hurricane-harvey-as-bad-as-katrina-heres-what-we-know/katrina6.jpg.size.custom.crop.850x567.jpg 850w" data-reactid="221"/></div><figcaption data-reactid="222"><!-- react-text: 223 -->An overturned boat on a flooded street near an intersection in the Meyerland neighborhood of Houston on Monday.<!-- /react-text --><span class="image__credit" data-reactid="224"><!-- react-text: 225 -->  (<!-- /react-text --><span class="image__credit__source" data-reactid="226"><!-- react-text: 227 -->TAMIR KALIFA<!-- /react-text --></span><!-- react-text: 228 -->)<!-- /react-text --><!-- react-text: 229 -->  <!-- /react-text --></span></figcaption></figure><div data-reactid="230"><p><strong>The take-aways so far</strong></p><p>Katrina: Evacuation chaos and mostly unfounded panic over riots and violence made issues of race, poverty and government failures impossible to ignore. The breaches of the levees compounded those problems and represented an engineering failure of grave proportions.</p><p>Harvey: Harvey will likely sharpen an ongoing debate over whether Houston, a city driven by real estate, has overbuilt at the expense of flood control. While Katrina showed a failure to build well, Harvey &#x2014; depending on how it plays out &#x2014; might come to represent a warning about climate change.</p></div><!-- react-empty: 231 --><div class="advisers-cta show-for-small-only" data-reactid="232"><a class="advisers-cta__container" href="https://www.thestaradvisers.com/R.aspx?a=1022&amp;as=lu0hZ3JS9p" target="_blank" data-reactid="233"><div class="advisers-cta__body" data-reactid="234"><p class="advisers-cta__heading" data-reactid="235"><span class="advisers-cta__heading-highlight" data-reactid="236">Do you want to help shape</span><br data-reactid="237"/><!-- react-text: 238 -->the Toronto Star&#x27;s future<!-- /react-text --><span class="advisers-cta__heading-qm" data-reactid="239">?</span></p><p class="advisers-cta__text" data-reactid="240">Join our team of readers who are passionate about journalism and share your views.</p></div><div class="advisers-cta__button-container" data-reactid="241"><div 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window.theStarPreloadedJson=[["feed:",{"mainart":{"duration":"","fullWindowYoutube":false,"uploadDate":"","thumbnailSize":"","description":"","youtubeid":"6D5FzChUHsk ","type":"youtube","title":"","thumbnailUrl":"","thumbnailurl":"/content/dam/thestar/news/world/2017/08/29/is-hurricane-harvey-as-bad-as-katrina-heres-what-we-know/katrina10.jpg"},"keywords":["oc:entities/city/h/o/u/houston","oc:socialtag/g/e/o/geography_of_the_united_states","oc:socialtag/h/u/r/hurricane_katrina","oc:socialtag/a/t/l/atlantic_hurricane_season","oc:socialtag/_2/_0/_0/_2005_atlantic_hurricane_season","ng:h/u/r/hurricane_katrina","ng:n/a/t/natural_disasters","ng:w/e/a/weather","ng:n/e/w/new_orleans","ng:h/o/u/houston","ng:u/s/n/u_s_news","ng:h/u/r/hurricane_harvey","ng:f/l/o/flooding"],"TorstarTags":["15"],"publisheddate":"Tues., Aug. 29, 2017","lastreplicatedepoch":1504034903265,"type":"StoryWithVideo","body":[{"type":"text","text":"<p>A late August hurricane menacing the Gulf Coast. Residents plucked from rooftops. A convention centre repurposed as an emergency shelter. <a onContextMenu=\"theStarLinkClick(event, this, false)\" onclick=\"theStarLinkClick(event, this, false)\" href=\"https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2017/08/29/trump-travelling-to-texas-for-briefings-on-harvey-recovery.html\">A test of a presidency</a>.</p><p>Although <a onContextMenu=\"theStarLinkClick(event, this, false)\" onclick=\"theStarLinkClick(event, this, false)\" href=\"https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2017/08/29/with-three-dead-and-rescue-crews-overwhelmed-houston-chief-expects-death-toll-to-go-up-historically.html\">it is still unfolding</a>, Harvey, now a tropical storm, evokes comparisons to hurricane Katrina in 2005. </p><p>Here&#x2019;s a quick rundown of what we know about similarities and differences between the two.</p><p><strong>The cities</strong></p><p>Katrina: Before the storm, New Orleans &#x2014; with its distinctive Creole-Acadian-French-Haitian-Vietnamese cultural m&#xe9;lange &#x2014; was a small city of about 455,000 people that lay in large part below sea level, ostensibly protected by a system of levee walls. Its population never fully recovered from the evacuation and destruction and remains below 400,000.</p>"},{"type":"ad","display":"small-only","pos":"1","sizes":[[300,250]],"interstitial":true,"name":"MobileMiddleArticleBigBox"},{"type":"text","text":"<p>Harvey: Houston is a sprawling, car-dependent, diverse city, low-lying but not below sea level. It has a population of more than two million people, with a system of bayous and waterways to manage flooding.</p>"},{"fullWindowMainart":false,"type":"image","url":"/content/dam/thestar/news/world/2017/08/29/is-hurricane-harvey-as-bad-as-katrina-heres-what-we-know/katrina10.jpg","caption":"Fires burn in parts of New Orleans early on Sept. 3, 2005, days after the city was hit by hurricane Katrina.","credit":"VINCENT LAFORET","source":"NYT","origImageSize":"1200x800","forceoriginal":false},{"type":"text","text":"<p><strong>The storms</strong></p><p>Katrina: It made landfall near the Louisiana/Mississippi border on Aug. 29, 2005, as a Category 3 storm and measured 560 kilometres. However, the relatively low classification, based on wind speed, was deceptive because Katrina produced the highest storm surge ever recorded in the United States.</p>"},{"type":"articleRelated","display":"medium-up"},{"type":"text","text":"<p>Harvey: It made landfall in Rockport, Texas, on Friday as a Category 4 storm, measuring 320 kilometres across, but was quickly downgraded. As of Monday, it was expected to linger for days, causing National Weather Service to warn, &#x201c;This event is unprecedented and all impacts are unknown.&#x201d;</p>"},{"origImageSize":"1199x800","fullWindowGenericImage":false,"lastmodified":1511747929654,"forceoriginal":false,"caption":"Workers bring a family to dry land in the Meyerland neighborhood of Houston on Sunday.","type":"genericimage","credit":"ALYSSA SCHUKAR","url":"/content/dam/thestar/news/world/2017/08/29/is-hurricane-harvey-as-bad-as-katrina-heres-what-we-know/katrina4.jpg"},{"type":"text","text":"<p><strong>Deaths and damage</strong></p><p>Katrina: One of the deadliest hurricanes ever to strike the United States, Katrina was responsible for 1,833 deaths, and some bodies were untouched for days. The storm inflicted more than $100 billion (U.S.) in damage, with most of it caused by wind, storm surge and the failure of the levees. Katrina also left three million people across the region without power.</p><p>Harvey: Local officials have reported at least 10 deaths in Texas since the storm began, but heavy rains and flooding are expected to continue at least through Friday. Most of the damage could be caused by flooding.</p><p>As for the economy, the Gulf region&#x2019;s capacity as an oil and gas hub &#x2014; Houston accounted for 2.9 per cent of the nation&#x2019;s gross domestic product in 2015 &#x2014; does not appear to have been seriously compromised, and economists were predicting that the storm&#x2019;s cost would be less than half that of Katrina&#x2019;s. So far in Texas, there are 300,000 people without power.</p>"},{"origImageSize":"1200x820","fullWindowGenericImage":false,"lastmodified":1508885276926,"forceoriginal":false,"caption":"The 17th Street levee in New Orleans after it was breached by the winds and storm surge brought by hurricane Katrina.","type":"genericimage","credit":"VINCENT LAFORET","url":"/content/dam/thestar/news/world/2017/08/29/is-hurricane-harvey-as-bad-as-katrina-heres-what-we-know/katrina9.jpg"},{"type":"text","text":"<p><strong>Rainfall</strong></p><p>Katrina: Rain was not the main problem with Katrina, which yielded 12 to 25 centimetres of rainfall in a 48-hour period.</p><p>Harvey: By contrast, Harvey brought a deluge, with up to 130 centimetres of rain predicted by the time the storm moves on for good later this week &#x2014; more than Houston receives in a year.</p>"},{"origImageSize":"1200x763","fullWindowGenericImage":false,"lastmodified":1507929936818,"forceoriginal":false,"caption":"The flooded streets of New Orleans on Aug. 31, 2005, after Hurricane Katrina hit the city.","type":"genericimage","credit":"VINCENT LAFORET","url":"/content/dam/thestar/news/world/2017/08/29/is-hurricane-harvey-as-bad-as-katrina-heres-what-we-know/katrina2.jpg"},{"type":"text","text":"<p><strong>Evacuation</strong></p><p>Katrina: The mandatory evacuation of New Orleans was announced a day before the storm hit. An estimated 100,000 people remained stuck in the city. A few weeks later, in another chaotic evacuation, more than 100 people died leaving the Houston area to escape hurricane Rita.</p><p>Harvey: Houston did not call on residents to evacuate and is now urging those who can to shelter in place. However, as the rain continued Monday, a growing number of other jurisdictions &#x2014; like Bay City, which expected three metres of water downtown &#x2014; urged residents to leave.</p>"},{"origImageSize":"1200x801","fullWindowGenericImage":false,"lastmodified":1509126412058,"forceoriginal":false,"caption":"Rays of sunlight make their way through the damaged roof of the New Orleans Superdome which was being used to gather those evacuated from their homes following hurricane Katrina.","type":"genericimage","credit":"Tyler Hicks","url":"/content/dam/thestar/news/world/2017/08/29/is-hurricane-harvey-as-bad-as-katrina-heres-what-we-know/katrina8.jpg"},{"type":"text","text":"<p><strong>Assistance</strong></p><p>Katrina: The storm displaced more than one million people and damaged or destroyed 275,000 homes. Almost one million households received individual assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.</p><p>Harvey: We don&#x2019;t know yet how many people will be forced out of their homes. But the vast majority of homes in Harvey&#x2019;s path are not insured against flooding, according to figures from the National Flood Insurance Program. FEMA officials estimated that 450,000 people were likely to seek federal aid.</p>"},{"origImageSize":"1200x800","fullWindowGenericImage":false,"lastmodified":1511202489395,"forceoriginal":false,"caption":"An overturned boat on a flooded street near an intersection in the Meyerland neighborhood of Houston on Monday.","type":"genericimage","credit":"TAMIR KALIFA","url":"/content/dam/thestar/news/world/2017/08/29/is-hurricane-harvey-as-bad-as-katrina-heres-what-we-know/katrina6.jpg"},{"type":"text","text":"<p><strong>The take-aways so far</strong></p><p>Katrina: Evacuation chaos and mostly unfounded panic over riots and violence made issues of race, poverty and government failures impossible to ignore. The breaches of the levees compounded those problems and represented an engineering failure of grave proportions.</p><p>Harvey: Harvey will likely sharpen an ongoing debate over whether Houston, a city driven by real estate, has overbuilt at the expense of flood control. While Katrina showed a failure to build well, Harvey &#x2014; depending on how it plays out &#x2014; might come to represent a warning about climate change.</p>"},{"type":"articleRelated","display":"small-only"},{"type":"newsletterbox"},{"type":"text","text":""}],"assetTags":["hurricane_katrina","atlantic_hurricane_season","flooding","hurricane_harvey","new_orleans","natural_disasters","houston","houston","u_s_news","_2005_atlantic_hurricane_season","hurricane_katrina","weather","geography_of_the_united_states"],"seoKeywords":"Hurricane Katrina,natural disasters,weather,New Orleans,Houston,U.S. news,Hurricane Harvey,flooding","promo":[],"related":{"pubdays":0,"strategy":0},"seoHead":"Is hurricane Harvey as bad as Katrina? Here’s what we know","headline":"Is hurricane Harvey as bad as Katrina? Here’s what we know","subheadline":"The similarities are striking, as are the images. Here’s how the two devastating storms compare.","canonicalUrl":"https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2017/08/29/is-hurricane-harvey-as-bad-as-katrina-heres-what-we-know.html","seoDescription":"The similarities are striking, as are the images. 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They bought an old Airstream to serve as the home of main character Rooster Byron.","url":"/content/dam/thestar/entertainment/stage/2018/02/13/theyre-turning-a-toronto-theatre-into-an-english-forest-for-the-play-jerusalem/crowsnest.jpg"},"labelkicker":"Stage","lastmodified":"02 14 2018","publishedepoch":"1518542855032","lastmodifiedepoch":"1518637143767","publishdate":"02 13 2018","abstract":"Sons of Anarchy's Kim Coates stars in Jerusalem, at Streetcar Crowsnest, as a countercultural folk hero who lives in a battered trailer in the forest.","type":"Story","headline":"They’re turning a Toronto theatre into an English forest for the play Jerusalem","url":"/entertainment/stage/2018/02/13/theyre-turning-a-toronto-theatre-into-an-english-forest-for-the-play-jerusalem.html","breadcrumbs":[{"label":"Entertainment","relurl":"/entertainment","url":"https://www.thestar.com/content/thestar/entertainment.html"},{"label":"Stage","relurl":"/entertainment/stage","url":"https://www.thestar.com/content/thestar/entertainment/stage.html"}]}}],["hottopics:",{"promo":[],"canonicalUrl":"https://www.thestar.com/navigation/items.html","seoDescription":"","seoRobots":"","seoHead":"Menu Items","section":"Menu Items","mastHead":"Menu Items","seoKeywords":"","items":[{"heading":"Featured Topics","links":[{"name":"The Roof Over Your Head","link":"https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/homes-housing.html"},{"name":"Olympics","link":"https://www.thestar.com/sports/olympics.html"},{"name":"Bruce McArthur","link":"https://www.thestar.com/news/bruce-mcarthur.html"},{"name":"Star Projects","link":"https://www.thestar.com/projects.html"},{"name":"Book Reviews","link":"https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/reviews.html"},{"name":"Trust ","link":"https://www.thestar.com/trust.html"},{"name":"#StarWeather","link":"https://www.thestar.com/news/starweather.html"}],"type":"columnlist"}],"breadcrumbs":[{"label":"navigation","relurl":"/navigation","url":"https://www.thestar.com/content/thestar/navigation.html"},{"label":"Menu Items","relurl":"/navigation/items","url":"https://www.thestar.com/content/thestar/navigation/items.html"}]}],["breakingnews:",{"breakingnews":{}}],["secondbreakingnews:",{"breakingnews":{}}]]
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