by Aaron
Hoover
Total number of single-family homes, mobile homes, and apartments
destroyed by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita:
355,889
American Red Cross, Katrina and Rita Disaster Assessment
(10/30/05)
Total number of damaged dwelling units:
538,007
American Red Cross, Katrina and Rita Disaster Assessment
(10/30/05)
Number of occupied emergency trailers and mobile homes as of early
December: 38,440
The New York Times, Op-Chart, "Rebuilding Progress"
(12/7/05)
Number of evacuated families in hotels: 41,953
The New York Times, Op-Chart, "Rebuilding Progress"
(12/7/05)
Number of temporary "blue roofs" installed on damaged homes by the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Louisiana as of mid-November:
70,000
New Orleans CityBusiness, "Blue Roof Program Coming to a Close
in 34 Louisiana Parishes" (11/14/05)
Cost per average 1,500-square-foot roof:
$2,500
JLC, "Top-Dollar Tarps" (12/05)
Estimated tons of debris in Southeast Louisiana following Katrina:
22 million
The Times-Picayune, "Three Decades Worth of Trash"
(11/16/05)
Estimated tons in New Orleans alone: 12 million
The Times-Picayune, "Three Decades Worth of Trash"
(11/16/05)
Tons of garbage generated in New Orleans in an average year:
350,000
The Times-Picayune, "Three Decades Worth of Trash"
(11/16/05)
Total number of ruined refrigerators processed for recycling in New
Orleans as of mid-November: 131,925
The Times-Picayune, "Ruined Refrigerators Have Become a
Familiar, Even Evocative Sight" (11/27/05)
Estimated number of vehicles damaged by Katrina floodwaters:
350,000
The Times-Picayune, "Three Decades Worth of Trash"
(11/16/05)
Number of open public schools in New Orleans before Katrina:
116
The New York Times, Op-Chart, "Rebuilding Progress"
(12/7/05)
Number of open public schools after Katrina as of early December:
The New York Times, Op-Chart, "Rebuilding Progress"
(12/7/05)
Number of construction jobs lost in Louisiana and Mississippi from
August through September: 27,000
Houston Chronicle, "Five Questions with Ken Simonson"
(11/16/05)
Unemployment rate in New Orleans before Katrina:
5.8%
The New York Times, Op-Chart, "Rebuilding Progress"
(12/7/05)
Unemployment rate after Katrina: 15.5%
The New York Times, Op-Chart, "Rebuilding Progress"
(12/7/05)
Number of mold spores per cubic meter measured in some flooded New
Orleans homes: 3 million
The Times-Picayune, "The Same Old Same Mold"
(10/29/05)
"Very high" levels of outdoor mold spores per
cubic meter as defined by the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma
and Immunology: 50,000 http://www.aaaai.org
Amount charged by professional mold remediators: $10 to $12
per square foot
The Times-Picayune, "The Same Old Same Mold" (10/29/05)
Number of days it took for the National Flood Insurance Program to
empty its coffers following Hurricane Wilma's U.S. landfall on
October 24: 18
The Times-Picayune, "Congress OKs Adding Flood-Insurance
Dollars" (11/19/05)
Total number of flood claims filed following the three hurricanes
as of mid-November: 230,000
The Times-Picayune, "Congress OKs Adding Flood-Insurance
Dollars" (11/19/05)
Percentage increase in price of diesel fuel October 2004 to October
2005: 59
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Contractors Brace for Higher
Prices" (11/29/05)
Post-Katrina and -Rita percentage increases in the price of
polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipe depending on geographic region:
20 to 100
St. Petersburg Times, "Builders Declare Hardship"
(11/26/05)
Increase in the price for a square (10 feet by 10 feet) of
architectural shingles in Louisiana after Katrina:
$10
The Times-Picayune, "No Quick Fixes" (11/19/05)
Rise in Entergy Corp.'s third-quarter earnings despite extensive
damage to its New Orleans unit from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita:
24%Associated Press, "Entergy Profits
Rise Despite Hurricane Damage" (11/1/05)
Rise in Harrah's Entertainment Inc.'s third-quarter profits despite
destruction of its casinos in Biloxi and Gulfport and serious
damage to its Lake Charles casino: 42%
Associated Press, "Harrah's Posts Profit Rise with Caesars
Buy, Despite Hurricanes" (11/3/05)
Total Louisiana state budget deficit following Katrina:
$959 million
Associated Press, "Notes from the Louisiana Legislature's
Special Session" (11/9/05)
Total estimated cost of a major hurricane hitting Miami in 2020 if
current construction and property value trends continue:
$500 billion
The New York Times, "In Study, a History Lesson on the Costs
of Hurricanes" (12/8/05)