Atlantic Records

1 -- rank of Hurricane Wilma in Atlantic storm intensity on record¹

12 -- Atlantic hurricanes so far this season, tying a record set in 1969²

21 -- named storms so far this season, tying a record set in 1933²

145 -- wind speed of Wilma at press time, in miles per hour³

140 -- wind speed of Hurricane Katrina as it hit Louisiana, in miles per hour⁴

18 -- states included in federal disaster declarations after Katrina⁵

90,000 -- area covered by federal disaster declarations after Katrina, in square miles⁵

94,525 -- area of United Kingdom, in square miles⁶

350 -- length of levee system in New Orleans, in miles⁷

350 -- length of bus ride from New Orleans Superdome to Houston Astrodome, in miles⁸

80 -- percent of New Orleans left under water by levee breaches⁹

0 -- number of people President Bush said "anticipated the breach of the levees"¹⁰

5 -- number of parts in the 2002 New Orleans Times-Picayune series predicting fallout from a major hurricane, including breached levees¹¹

363,000 -- number of people left jobless following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita²⁰

$44 billion -- estimated damages caused by Hurricane Andrew in 1992 (in 2005 dollars)¹²

$100-$200 billion -- estimated total economic losses caused by Katrina¹³, ¹⁶

$8 billion -- estimated damages caused by Hurricane Rita¹⁴

$62 billion -- emergency relief provided by Congress so far to Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama in response to Katrina and Rita¹⁷

$1.1 billion -- total amount sent to states annually by the Department of Homeland Security to combat terrorism¹⁸

$180 million -- total amount sent to states annually by Homeland Security -- which was given control of the Federal Emergency Management Agency after 9/11 -- to combat natural disasters¹⁸

560 -- major natural disasters declared by the federal government since 1995¹⁸

2 -- major terrorist attacks since 1995 (Oklahoma City and 9/11)¹⁸

1,281 -- deaths attributed to Hurricane Katrina, at press time¹³

113 -- deaths attributed to Hurricane Rita¹⁴

1,153 -- deaths attributed to Hurricane Stan¹⁵

8,000 -- deaths attributed to the deadliest U.S. hurricane of the 20th century, a Category 4 that hit Galveston, Texas, in 1900¹⁹

6 -- weeks left in this year's hurricane season²


Sources:

1. "Weaker Wilma Starts Raining on Cancun," MSNBC.com, 20 Oct 2005.
2. "Record-Tying Hurricane Wilma Intensifies," CNN.com, 18 Oct 2005.
3. "Hurricane Wilma Public Advisory," National Hurricane Center, National Weather Service.
4. "Hurricane Katrina Stronger Than Andrew at Landfall," USA Today, 31 Aug 2005.
5. "President Approves Emergency Declaration for Alabama," Federal Emergency Management Agency, 10 Sep 2005.
6. The World Factbook: United Kingdom, Central Intelligence Agency.
7. "New Orleans Levees Not Built for Worst-Case Events," National Geographic News, 02 Sep 2005.
8. "New Orleans Mayor Orders Looting Crackdown,", Associated Press, 01 Sep 2005.
9. "Floodwaters, Tensions Rise in New Orleans," CNN.com, 31 Aug 2005.
10. "Bush Insists Help Is on the Way," BBC News, 01 Sep 2005.
11. "Washing Away," The Times-Picayune Special Report, June 2002.
12. "Costliest U.S. Hurricanes 1900-2004 (adjusted)," National Hurricane Center, National Weather Service.
13. "Hurricane Katrina," Wikipedia.
14. "Hurricane Rita," Wikipedia.
15. "Hurricane Stan," Wikipedia.
16. "The True Cost of Katrina," San Francisco Chronicle, 27 Sep 2005.
17. "Blanco Pledges Katrina Accountability," Associated Press, 18 Oct 2005.
18. "Experts: Focus on Terrorism Delays FEMA Response to Katrina," Knight Ridder News Service, 02 Sep 2005.
19. "Deadliest U.S. Hurricanes," MSNBC.com.
20. "Rita and Katrina Leave 363,000 Unemployed, Boosting Jobless Rate," The Oregonian, 07 Oct 2005.