The case studies compared Background to Burma:

Burma is governed by a military junta with the current head of state being Senior General Than Shwe. A military junta is a government led by a committee of military leaders who have absolute control over the countrys internal affairs. The majority of ministry and cabinet posts are held by military officers, with the exceptions being the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Labour, and the Ministry of National Planning and Economic Development, posts which are held by civilians. The regime is widely accused of human rights abuses. It has rejected the 1990 election results and keeps Aung San Suu Kyi in house arrest. They are not open to trade or significant communication with the west and are almost isolationist in their approach to international affairs. Feature Date Area affected Preparation for event Nargis 2 May 2008 Myanmar (Burma) mainly the Irrawaddy delta which is about 3 masl Indian authorities warned Burma about the danger that Cyclone Nargis posed 48 hours before it hit the country's coast.
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Pressure Wind speed Rainfall Storm surge Number of deaths Other social impacts

962 mb 215 km/hr 600 mm which caused landslides in some areas 3.6 m 140,000 (Some because of disease outbreaks in aftermath) Left millions bereaved and displaced. Affected 2.4 million 450,000 houses destroyed including 60% of schools and 75% of health facilities.

Katrina 29 August 2005 USA Louisiana (New Orleans) 51% of NO is at or below sea level 1.2 million evacuated but only those who could afford to move. Most of the poor (black) population was left behind. 120000 people had no private vehicle. Hurricane Pam exercise had accurately predicted what would happen but not acted upon. 902 mb 280 km/hr
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170 mm in 12 hours 7.6 m 53 levee breaches 4081

1.5 million people displaced and still homeless. Lower 9th ward most affected 3 million had no electricity, 14000 stayed in Louisiana

Cost of damage Other economic impacts

$10 billion A lot of peoples livelihoods were wiped out- fishing, farming etc as everything destroyed including 65% of the countrys paddy fields. Relief efforts were slowed for political reasons as Burma's military rulers initially resisted aid Help came from other countries and NGOs.The UK was largest donor- 45 million. Oxfam: provided emergency shelter materials to 53000 families; provided waterrelated support to 64,000 households; distributed water storage containers and hygiene kits; worked with communities to build latrines; Nets and boats were distributed to fishermen and women who lost their means of making a living when the cyclone hit; distributed piglets; set up cash-for-work programmes, and business support to people who had small businesses.

superdome Approx $75 billion 1 /10th of all crude oil consumed in the USA comes from this area so oil prices increased. There was a lot of confusion in the aftermath which led to a slow response. Michael Brown, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency resigned after criticism of handling e.g. FEMA sent hundreds of firefighters who had volunteered to help rescue victims to Atlanta for 2 days of training classes on topics including sexual harassment and the history of FEMA More than 10,000 Army and Air National Guardsmen and 7,200 active-duty troops assisted with some remaining several weeks Many countries donated money

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