Lili collides with the Gulf Coast

Overview: The hurricane known as Lili was downgraded to a tropical storm when wind speeds dropped below 74 miles per hour—but not before she left thousands of Louisiana residents without lights, phones, power and in many cases, homes. Despite the fact that Lili is weakening as she moves inland, forecasters say the tropical storm still threatens to bring damaging rainfall and high winds to the region.

Where did Hurricane Lili make landfall? What category storm was Lili when it hit land? What category was it at its strongest? What problems did Lili cause for residents of Southern Louisiana? How many Louisiana homes have lost power? What fraction of the state's population has evacuated?

What are the characteristics of a category 2 hurricane? What is the difference between a category 2 hurricane and a category 4 hurricane? You may want to refer to the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale in the links below. Hypothesize what Louisiana residents were spared because of the downgrade in hurricane level.

Inform students that President Bush declared the state of Louisiana a disaster area. Refer them to the Web sites below and have them discuss what it means for the president to declare a disaster area. Organize students into small groups and have them map out the process that follows a disaster area declaration. Then, have them role-play a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) team that has been sent to Louisiana to aid in the response and recovery efforts there. Their job is to make a list of the categories that they feel would need to be addressed. Then, student groups should develop an outline for an assistance plan for the people and the businesses of Louisiana. Based on the figures from past FEMA expenditures, have students predict a cost range and a timetable for their response plan for Louisiana. In a wrap-up discussion, have students assess the federal, state and local processes for disaster recovery and relief.

Point out to students that, in order to understand the power of hurricanes and the damage they can cause, experts must use math.

To experience some of what the experts do, have students work in groups to answer the Math questions on the Hurricane Disaster Math site below.