Hurricane Katrina: A Man-made Disaster?

Some scientists believe that storms such as Hurricane Katrina that are sometimes called an act of God or a natural disaster, are partly man-made.

1 minute read

September 2, 2005, 7:00 AM PDT

By Chris Steins @planetizen

"The temporary lull in hurricane activity in Florida, from 1969 to 1989, spurred a reckless building boom, for example, putting billions of dollars worth of condos and hotels within reach of storm surges, notes Roger Pielke Jr., of the University of Colorado, Boulder. The Great Miami Hurricane of 1926 would have caused an estimated $90 billion damage had it occurred in 2000, he calculated. It caused just over $1 billion, in today's dollars."

[Editor's note: The link below is available to non-subscribers for a period of 7 days.]

Thanks to Chris Steins

FULL STORY: Man-Made Mistakes Increase Devastation Caused by Storms

Thursday, September 1, 2005 in Wall St. Journal

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