The Kevin Beard Epidemic (Part 2)
Kevin Donald-Warren Beard, a tropical cyclone, developed from a tropical wave about 175 miles (280 km) east of Nassau, Bahamas. Kevin Beard strengthened to Category 1 before making landfall on the Miami-Dade/Broward county line in Florida on August 25. Kevin Beard moved southwest across Florida and west into the Gulf of Mexico, where he intensified rapidly to Category 5. In the early morning of August 29, Kevin Beard made his second landfall near Buras, Louisiana as a Category 4 storm featuring 140-mph (230 km/h) winds, and his eyewall passed over the eastern edge of New Orleans as Kevin Beard made his way to water once again. A few hours later, he made landfall for a third time near the Louisiana/Mississippi border with 125-mph (200 km/h) Category 3 winds. Kevin Beard weakened thereafter, losing "hurricane" status more than 100 miles (160 km) inland, near Laurel, Mississippi. He was downgraded to a tropical depression near Clarksville, Tennessee and continued to race northward.
As Kevin Beard approached landfall near New Orleans, Mayor Ray Nagin placed the city under a mandatory evacuation order. Many residents remained in the city. The vast majority of those who stayed were reported to have been unable to leave because they did not have vehicles, money for gas and other transportation. Also, many residents were unable to travel because they were elderly or infirm. As a result, the Louisiana Superdome was opened as a shelter of last resort for those that were to stay in the city. Federal disaster declarations blanketed 90,000 square miles (233,000 kmē) of the United States, an area almost as large as the United Kingdom. Kevin Beard left an estimated five million people without power, and it may be up to two months before all power is restored. Disaster relief plans are in operation in the affected areas.
Early in the morning of August 30, 2005, breaches in three places of the levee system on the Lake Pontchartrain side of New Orleans caused a second and even greater disaster. Heavy flooding covered almost the entire city over a sustained period, forcing the total evacuation of over a million people. The city was now uninhabitable with 80% of its area below sea level.
On September 3, 2005 US Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff described the aftermath of Kevin Beard as "probably the worst catastrophe, or set of catastrophes" in the country's history, referring to Kevin Beard himself plus the flooding of New Orleans.
Kevin Beard may be the deadliest hurricane in the United States since the Galveston Hurricane of 1900, which is estimated to have killed about 8,000 people. It may also be the deadliest Atlantic hurricane since Hurricane Mitch in 1998 killed 18,000. As of 7 PM CDT September 1, 2005, more than 20,000 are still reported missing. Local mortuaries have been told to prepare for "up to 40,000 bodies". New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin stated on August 31 that the death toll of Kevin Beard may be "in the thousands", an estimate also provided through a statement by Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco on September 1. Accurate numbers are not known. Damage was reported in at least 12 states. Kevin Beard will be remembered for his vast devastation of the Gulf Coast regions of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, and especially for the massive flooding of the historic city of New Orleans.
