By Heather Darrow
Special Contributor

In the battle between man and nature, nature always seems to emerge the victor. Hurricane Katrina is yet another example of Mother Nature's steel grip. But while many people saw the flooding, they may not realize how far reaching this parent's tentacles extend.

Daphne Babcock

That’s where Daphne Babcock, Collin environmental science professor, and Dr. Donna Cain, Collin biology professor, come into the picture. With Babcock’s background as a consulting hydro geologist and Dr. Cain’s experience at the Atlanta Center for Disease Control (CDC), nearly 200 community members, students and professors were able to visualize Mother Nature’s handiwork in a recent PRC seminar titled, “When it rains it pours! An Assessment of the Environmental Impact of Katrina” and “Microbes, Mosquitoes and Mold― Hurricane Katrina: Infectious Disease.”

Sukanya Subramanian

Hosted by Dr. Sukanya Subramanian, Collin biology professor, and Brett Adams, Collin professor of history, this presentation was the second biannual Knowledge is Power seminar linking academics and current event issues.

What’s Mother Nature got that we haven’t got?

 
Besides time, nature has some intense force. The winds of Hurricane Katrina reached 175 miles per hour, surpassing Hurricane Andrew’s 165 mile per hour winds. Katrina was labeled a category 4 hurricane and impacted the gulf coast region of Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. Katrina was responsible for the death of more than 1,000 people.

“This storm has been labeled the greatest natural disaster to date, [but] when we think about Katrina, it was not a big surprise; they were predicting something like the flooding of New Orleans would occur,” Babcock said.

Can I sell you a parcel of swamp land in Louisiana?

 
The bottom line is that New Orleans sits below sea level on swampland near the east bank of the Mississippi River and the south bank of Lake Pontchartrain. This area is actually coastal wetlands.

Faced with unstable land, engineers added dirt and built levees to hold back the water, but according to Babcock over time the land is still going to sink. Why? Well, one reason is that there are no barrier islands, like Galveston, to keep the water at bay. In addition, the land around New Orleans is disappearing as the water continually erodes the land. Engineers tried to raise the land above sea level using anything they could.

The irony is that in the long run man’s efforts to keep the water from the land are actually defeating his aim. According to Babcock, engineers created structures to keep the land above the water like Gentilly Ridge, primarily a landfill that ultimately needs to have water pumped out of it.

“If you deprive the wetlands of sediment and silt, we lose the land, and the wetlands sink. We are compounding that with the pumping of ground water and drilling. Every 2.5 miles of coastal wetlands reduces the tidal surge from storms by one foot. Louisiana has 40 percent of the costal wetlands in the US. Every year the state loses about 24 square miles of coastal wetlands. These wetlands are disappearing because our policies work against nature and not with it,” Babcock said.

What really happened when Katrina hit?

The levees broke in three places and because much of the land was below sea level, water rushed in from the ocean, Lake Pontchartrain and the Mississippi River.

“They question whether the levees were steep enough or too old, but think about what you are trying to hold back. The storm surge flooding was 20-30 feet above normal tide levels. Basically, it was a three or five foot flood; remember the areas where people were sitting on top of their houses? About 70 percent of New Orleans was under water. The EPA called the flooding and contamination the biggest disaster the agency has ever had to handle,” Babcock said.

Water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink

Well water and even ground water had become contaminated with bacteria leaving storm survivors with a water challenge. However, sea water wasn’t the only problem. According to Babcock, seven million gallons of oil spilled along the Louisiana coastline. In addition, toxic chemicals from industry, as well as lead, arsenic and heavy metals were now in the water. Residents were warned to boil water to drink and to keep water from splashing their skin, if possible.

“The flood water was a toxic soup. Most of us would not want to wade through it, but people were forced to if they did not have a boat,” Babcock said.

What do we do with all of this stuff?

According to Babcock, most of the water was pumped back into Lake Pontchartrain, while rescuers dealt with erupting natural gas fires and tested the soil for contaminants. Besides the extra soil, one major issue the area is facing is what to do with the 22 million tons of debris. Where do you put more than 27,000 drums of hazardous waste; 221,456 refrigerators; 27,920 air conditioners and 111,418 washers and dryers and more?

Get out your microscope; the damage is everywhere.

When raw sewage is unleashed into flowing water, environmental organisms like bacteria and viruses travel to new places. According to Dr. Cain, fecal coliforms, indicator organisms such as E. coli , Salmonella or Shigella that show the presence of human waste, were measured in floodwaters at 110 times the EPA limits. The total bacteria exceeded more than 45,000 times the EPA limits for recreational water. This means there were approximately 5,000 bacteria per milliliter of water.

“If you took one tablespoon of water, that tablespoon would have 100,000 bacteria. There were 220 fecal coliforms per milliliter or 3,000 of these bacteria in a tablespoon of water. The total bacteria in a single handful of soil were 13.5 million units. Normally, you would find 5,000. Bacteria in the water and soil were a huge health concern” Dr. Cain said.

While the Vibrio genus is a normal inhabitant of the gulf coast, people with cuts that waded through the contaminated water were now exposed to Vibrio cholerae which can cause gastroenteritis. In addition, they could come into contact with Vibrio vulnificus which according to Dr. Cain can cause necrotizing faciitis, or flesh-eating, and septicemia, or bacteria in the blood, often a fatal infection.

According to Dr. Cain, only 33 Vibrio cases have been reported. Of those 33 cases, 28 were fatal. Accidental swallowing accounted for 20 percent of the gastroenteritis.

Where’s the DEET?

Mosquitoes love stagnant water, and after the floodwaters receded New Orleans was a perfect habitat for mosquito recreation and procreation. According to Dr. Cain, before the hurricane Louisiana was a hot spot for West Nile Virus. Predictors expected a large spike in the virus’ incidence, but found that the numbers were low because many people left the area. However, there is concern that as people continue to return to the state that the number of cases will eventually hit an all time high.

“Eighty percent of people bitten by mosquitoes with West Nile Virus have no symptoms, and less than one percent is fatal. Prevention includes controlling the mosquito population by limiting the standing water and using pesticides as well as using personal protection like insect repellent and protective clothing,” Dr. Cain said.

The fungus is among us

Mold grows in a moist environment, and it does not only grow on the outside of walls; it produces spores and happily feeds on the inside of drywall.

“Mold has hyphae which are like tentacles that allow the mold to spread out. They can cause allergies, asthma attacks and pneumonia and can be toxic. It is hard to get rid of mold,” Dr. Cain said.

No one seems to know for certain what the final outcome will be from Katrina’s wrath, but two things are certain: knowledge is indeed power, and Mother Nature packs a walloping punch.