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In 2005, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita caused widespread destruction and displacement in parts of Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi. This research evaluates determinants of displacement and, conditional on being displaced, the duration of displacement for households living in areas affected by these hurricanes. Hurdle Models, which assume that different processes govern zero outcomes (i.e., no displacement) and positive outcomes (i.e., amount of time displaced), are used to model the likelihood of household displacement and its duration as a function of socioeconomic characteristics, hurricane-caused property and neighborhood damage, social support, and financial assistance. Results show that mobile home residence, marital status, educational attainment, the presence of children, and property and neighborhood damage affect the likelihood and expected length of displacement among sample respondents. Financial assistance and social support are also correlated with displacement and its duration, but endogeneity concerns complicate the interpretation of these results. The findings highlight the diversity of factors that slow households' return following displacement and underscore the need for additional research on the role of social capital in determining hazard-related outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our attempts to gain knowledge from studying the effects of a single windstorm might be complicated by one or more other events that pass through the same system before it recovers from prior damage. In this article, we had the opportunity to examine permanent plots affected by two consecutive catastrophic storms of comparable intensity within a short time frame (less than a decade). We compared tree damage patterns resulting from Hurricane Rita in 2005 and Hurricane Ike in 2008, which struck the same five forest plots (40 m × 50 m each; 1 ha total) established in the Big Thicket National Preserve of southeast Texas. The results showed that the post-Rita forest structure was characterized by intense damage to short, shade-tolerant stems and increased canopy openness. Hence, trees damaged by Ike were, in general, taller, more shade intolerant, and more spatially distant from their undamaged counterparts than trees damaged by Rita. These contrasting damage patterns indicate that Ike affected the plots differently to a normal windstorm occurring in isolation (after a long absence of prior windstorms). We anticipate that the cumulative, compounded effects of these two storms will potentially have long-lasting footprints on the structure and function of the study forest. The need to account for compounding disturbance interactions in forest research and management will grow, because many atmospheric scientists predict increases in both the intensity and frequency of hurricanes in conjunction with future climate change scenarios. Key Words: Big Thicket, disturbance interaction, forest structure, hurricane, spatial point pattern analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mass care on an epic scale -- we thought we had seen it all during Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Ike and then Sandy. However, catastrophic scales reached a new level during Hurricane Harvey. How did the response and recovery to Harvey differ from previous hurricane events and what lessons were (and were not) learned? This paper examines the impact on the delivery of medical care to the vulnerable populations in Harvey's path. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The weather that day was an absence of weather. I donned my favorite tank top and a wraparound skirt that covered half of my newly tanned white legs, left home [...]

The structure of coherent turbulence in an eyewall replacement cycle in Hurricane Rita (2005) is presented from novel airborne Doppler radar observations using the Imaging Wind and Rain Airborne Profiler (IWRAP). The IWRAP measurements and three-dimensional (3D) wind vector calculations at a grid spacing of 250m in the horizontal and 30m in the vertical reveal the ubiquitous presence of organized turbulent eddies in the lower levels of the storm. The data presented here, and the larger collection of IWRAP measurements, currently are the highest-resolution Doppler radar 3D wind vectors ever obtained in a hurricane over the open ocean. Coincident data from NOAA airborne radars, the Stepped Frequency Microwave Radiometer, and flight-level data help to place the IWRAP observations into context and provide independent validation. The typical characteristics of the turbulent eddies are the following: radial wavelengths of ~1-3 km (mean value is ~2 km), depths from the ocean surface up to flight level (~1.5 km), aspect ratio of ~1.3, and horizontal wind speed perturbations of 10-20ms-1. The most intense eddy activity is located on the inner edge of the outer eyewall during the concentric eyewall stage with a shift to the inner eyewall during the merging stage. The evolving structure of the vertical wind shear is connected to this shift and together these characteristics have several similarities to boundary layer roll vortices. However, eddy momentumflux analysis reveals that high-momentum air is being transported upward, in contrast with roll vortices, with large positive values (~150m² s-2) found in the turbulent filaments. In the decaying inner eyewall, elevated tangential momentum is also being transported radially outward to the intensifying outer eyewall. These results indicate that the eddies may have connections to potential vorticity waves with possible modifications due to boundary layer shear instabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers the question of why the pattern of national media coverage surrounding Hurricane Rita in Southeast Texas emerged as it did. This coverage is noteworthy because, unlike other hurricanes, a media feeding frenzy did not occur. One possible explanation is that local political culture influenced national media coverage of Hurricane Rita, and we address this using original survey data collected from residents of Southeast Texas in the aftermath of the storm. The responses provided by residents indicate their actions created an environment in which a feeding frenzy was unlikely to transpire. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent hurricanes have focused on lives and properties lost, however, additional mental health concerns may emerge in these post-disaster settings. Post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) are particularly problematic for minorities due to pre-disaster disparities. Scholars must thus examine the antecedents of PTSS to support these and other vulnerable individuals and communities. This study examined racial disparities regarding active and avoidant coping, prayer, and subsequent relative contribution of each to PTSS following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita among social work student-practitioners. Using secondary data, results revealed that minority students (n = 233) used coping via prayer more often than their non-minority peers (n = 124; t = 7.18, p <.000; d = 0.76). Moderate, positive relationships emerged between avoidant coping and PTSS for both groups (r =.58-.63, p<.01), though prayer did not emerge as inversely related to PTSS as anticipated. Avoidant coping accounted for the largest variation in PTSS for both groups (β =.35-.51, p<.001). Sampling, survey methods, and PTSS measures limit generalizability and temper findings. Directions for future research include use of PTSS measures that account for severity and cultural context and examination of coping measure psychometrics. Practice implications include enhanced publicity regarding social services available to student-practitioners on college campuses and within the community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Yao, Q.; Liu, K.-B., and Ryu, J., 2018. Multi-proxy Characterization of Hurricane Rita and Ike Storm Deposits in a Coastal Marsh in the Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge, Southwestern Louisiana. In: Shim, J.-S.; Chun, I., and Lim, H.S. (eds.), Proceedings from the International Coastal Symposium (ICS) 2018 (Busan, Republic of Korea). Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 85, pp. 841–845. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. In 2005 and 2008, Hurricanes Rita and Ike made landfalls as category 3 and 2 hurricanes to the west of Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge (RWR) in southwestern Louisiana. In 2013, three ~30 cm sediment monoliths dominated by brown clay were recovered along a ~30 m transect perpendicular to the shoreline from the RWR. Each monolith contains two distinct light-colored calcareous storm deposits that are attributable to these two landfalling hurricanes. Loss-onignition and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyses were performed on all three sediment monoliths to study the sedimentological and geochemical characteristics of these two storm deposits. The geochemical results show that the storm deposits are characterized by higher-than-average values of Ca, Sr, Zr, and carbonates and low percentages of water and organics. In addition, remote sensing images show that the rate of average shoreline retreat at the RWR is ~14.5 m/yr from 1998 to 2017, and 19 m/year and 25.5 m/yr during the Hurricane Rita and Ike years, respectively. Both loss-on-ignition and XRF results also show that despite being a stronger storm, the Hurricane Rita layers are much thinner than those of Hurricane Ike in all monoliths. Remote sensing data support our interpretation that Hurricane Rita caused significant shoreline erosion and coastal recession in 2005, rendering the sampling locations at least 30 m closer to the ocean and thereby more susceptible to storm surges when Hurricane Ike struck in 2008. Thus, these results suggest that site-to-sea distance is an important factor in determining the thicknesses of storm deposits in coastal wetlands, particularly along shorelines undergoing rapid marine transgression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermodynamic retrievals can derive pressure and temperature information from kinematic measurements in regions where no in situ observations are available. This study presents a new retrieval technique called SAMURAI-TR (Spline Analysis at Mesoscale Utilizing Radar and Aircraft Instrumentation-Thermodynamic Retrieval) that derives three-dimensional fields of pressure and density potential temperature from multiple-Doppler radar data using a variational approach. SAMURAI-TR advances existing methods by 1) allowing for a horizontal variation in the reference-state definition and 2) representing the retrieved quantities of pressure and temperature as three-dimensional functions consisting of a series of finite-element cubic B-splines. The first advancement enables the retrieval to explicitly account for the large radial gradient of the mean thermodynamic state in tropical cyclones and other rapidly rotating vortices. The second advancement allows for specification of the three-dimensional pressure and temperature gradients as pseudo-observations from Doppler-derived winds, effectively linking the vertical levels without the use of the thermodynamic equation or a microphysical closure. The retrieval uses only the horizontal and vertical momentum equations, their derivatives, and low-pass filters. The accuracy and sensitivity of the retrieval are assessed using a WRF simulation of a tropical cyclone. SAMURAI-TR has good accuracy compared to prior techniques and retrieves pressure to within 0.25 hPa and temperature to within 0.7 K RMSE. The application of the method to real data is demonstrated using multiple-Doppler data from Hurricane Rita (2005). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study suggests a new framework that empirically quantifies the temporally disaggregate economic impacts. Utilizing only secondary data, including post-event information on concurrent demand and value-added changes in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the framework is used to identify the technological changes in production that actually occurred after a major disruption. Two methodologies are developed for the framework and data analysis: a quasi-experimental model and an economic model. The Holt-Winters time-series approach is used to estimate normal economic trends under the assumption that the two hurricanes had not occurred, and the results are compared to actual trends. The gaps between the estimated and actual trends represent the direct impacts. We utilized the flexible national interstate economic model to construct a month-to-month supply-side version of the national interstate economic model and measure the total economic impacts of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita by month, state and industry, including adaptations. The new framework, which provides estimates of economic impact adaptation process and resilient results, refines the often substantially overstated impacts provided by the application of conventional economic models. The suggested approach can be used to address questions about the effects of time, distance, and industry linkages, and hence the dynamics of conflict activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study extends previous research by testing the protective action decision model (PADM) on hurricane evacuation decisions during Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. An examination of this mediation model shows that a household's evacuation decision, as predicted, is determined most directly by expected wind impacts and expected evacuation impediments. In turn, expected wind impacts and expected hydrological impacts are primarily determined by expected storm threat and expected rapid onset. Finally, expected storm threat, expected rapid onset, and expected evacuation impediments are determined by households' personal characteristics, their reception of hurricane information, and their observations of social and environmental cues. These results are generally consistent with the PADM and reinforce the importance of testing multistage multiequation models of hurricane evacuation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hurricane evacuations in coastal counties have been reviewed and analyzed for the role of household preparedness and decisions before and during a disaster. However, one of the several emerging problems in the hurricane evacuation is transportation. Transportation issues have become more important in coastal evacuations as traffic problems impinge on people's ability to get out of harm's way and ultimately influence their decisions to evacuate. To add to the complexity, when families evacuate in multiple vehicles, it leads to additional vehicular traffic on roads and increased pressure on the transportation systems. However, little has been investigated on the characteristics that influence a household's decision to evacuate in one or multiple vehicles. The outcome from such an analysis can help both the emergency managers and the transportation planners to targets groups that report taking more vehicles to develop policies that result in efficient evacuation. This study investigates the responses of evacuees surveyed after Hurricane Rita in the counties of Galveston, Brazoria and Harris County. The ordinary least square regression analysis revealed that access to transportation characteristics of a household such as number of registered vehicles in a household and number of eligible drivers was positively and significantly related to evacuating in more vehicles. Meanwhile, the risk of reaching destination safely was negatively related to taking more vehicles for evacuation even though both the risk index and deterrence index were positively significant. The time of decision and evacuation did not report any statistical significance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the long-held assumptions of evacuation research is that households constitute the basic unit for decision making and ultimately evacuation itself. Most disaster researchers collect their data and build their models around the assumption that household decision making and ultimately evacuation are undertaken as a single unit. Recently it has been suggested that family and household evacuation patterns may be undergoing change and that there is an increasing trend of households using more than one vehicle to evacuate. This study addresses these potential changes directly by focusing on the issue of whether households actually stay together when evacuating versus splitting with groups leaving at different times. This investigation of households evacuating due to Hurricane Rita revealed that 9.3% of households evacuated in multiple groups at different times, with nearly 17% of households in highly vulnerable areas such as Galveston, Texas, splitting compared with 7.3% among shadow evacuee households. The findings suggest that location in highly vulnerable areas, concerns about reaching destinations safely, income, and having multiple vehicles were important determinants of splitting, with additional sociodemographic factors displaying marginal significance as well. Consequences for future research, modeling, and data collection are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An organization's external environment, such as an environmental shock, is of great concern to public management scholars because it influences the behavior and ability of public managers to improve organizational performance. In this study, we examine how collaborative networking with the purpose of preparing for a natural disaster moderates the negative impact of Hurricane Rita on school performance in Texas. Our data consists of survey responses from Texas superintendents who were surveyed shortly after Hurricane Rita about their pre-hurricane disaster preparedness including collaborative networking behavior. Using this dataset, we use a collaborative networking measure that incorporates both the frequency of contact with various groups and the intensity of those interactions. Findings reveal that collaborative networking to prepare for natural disasters moderates the negative impact of a natural disaster on organizational performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, the author shares her experience of learning spoken Maya language and discusses disaster caused by Katrina hurricane in New Orleans. Topics include accessibility to food, shelter and safety provided by governors to people during hurricane; problems caused to people in Houston due to Hurricane Rita which resulted in traffic fleeing; and decision made by the people to leave city after hurricane due to factors such as employment and housing problems.

In coastal areas, hurricanes impact avian habitat through wind damage, storm surge often with dramatic increases in salinity, and flooding. Working wetlands are agricultural lands used to cultivate rice and crawfish (and other aquaculture species) and provide many of the habitat services of natural wetlands. We surveyed the Mouton Cove area of lower Vermilion Parish, Louisiana in 2004 and 2007, prior to and after the passing of Hurricane Rita in early October 2005. While we found large numbers of bird species in surveys following the hurricane, changes in species composition reflected the reduction in working wetland habitat as a result of salt contamination of soils. Forested areas were impacted by winds and flooding with an apparent reduction in species associated with that habitat. It appeared to us that the avian diversity was not permanently impacted and was well on the way to recovery by 2007. We recorded 225 species of birds in 2004 and 231 species in 2007 with the core species remaining the same. The most obvious changes in abundance (percentage +/-) were: -15.1% for wading birds, +7.1% for shorebirds, and +5.8% for blackbirds and allies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social work students’ post-disaster coping while in the field is an important workforce issue with ethical implications. The current study utilized secondary data collected in a previous study examining post-disaster alcohol and other drug (AOD) use among social work student volunteers (N = 416) in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita (HKR). The current sample included participants from the original study who responded to a single-item measure of AOD use as a negative coping mechanism (N = 290). The present study examined potential explanatory variables of AOD use in the aftermath of HKR, including demographic (age, gender, and race) and psychosocial characteristics (hurricane-related stressors, previous traumatic stressors, and post-traumatic stress). The multivariate logistic regression model distinguished between students who never or rarely used AOD and those who used AOD often to cope with HKR, accounting for 24% of model variance. Social work students who report post-disaster AOD use may risk experiencing additional, trauma-related vulnerabilities, should be further assessed, and provided necessary specialized supports to enable their well-being and to prevent impaired practice. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

ABSTRACT A model of post-disaster migration responses and income consequences poses that damage severity and individual resilience affect moving decisions. Forced moves are linked to little resilience relative to damage incurred and post-move income reductions. The empirical analysis analyzes households affected by hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Using American Community Survey data, unobserved heterogeneous income damages are framed as treatment, with the moving decision being the treatment decision. An endogenous switching regression addresses self-selection issues. The results suggest that movers encountered double victimization: (1) they were forced to move and their income declined; (2) low-income households were more severely affected than the average. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Superstorm Sandy, the 2008 Iowa Hoods, and Hurricanes Katrina and Rita all supply recent reminders that US. cities can no longer adopt an ad hoc approach to threats presented by climate change and natural hazards. The stories detailing long-term recovery Horn these disasters underscore that federal, state, and local governments are struggling to appreciate the legal tools and institutions necessary to implement the large-scale infrastructure, housing, and community development programs that climate change and more frequent natural disasters demand. This Article calls for development of a tool allowing succinct evaluation of the range of community capacities that will figure critically in the implementation of long-term disaster recovery efforts. On completion, this assessment tool will provide a "snapshot" of a local government's resiliency--its capacity to address and bounce back from disaster-related challenges. Building on recent environmental, land use, and local government law scholarship, this Article recommends creation of, and outlines several key indicators for, a City Resilience Index (CRI). The CRT evaluates cities' legal resources, focusing on whether a local government possesses the necessary legal and institutional "toolkit" to pursue redevelopment initiatives essential to managing the challenges presented by natural hazards and climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita struck the US Gulf Coast in 2005, leading to the largest mass evacuation in US history and straining the region's transportation infrastructure and services. This case study addresses the topic of disaster response to transportation unmet needs through an unprecedented spatial and longitudinal analysis of transportation-related disaster 2-1-1 call data collected in real-time, allowing for the investigation of unmet transportation needs by location and disaster phases. The authors analyze 25,205 transportation-related calls logged in Texas' 25 regional 2-1-1 Area Information Centers from August 1 to December 31, 2005, including a baseline period before Hurricane Katrina, evacuation and landfall, and 3-months recovery post-Hurricane Rita. The spatial results show that transportation unmet needs were concentrated in Texas' major metropolitan areas, especially in Houston-Galveston, and along highway evacuation routes. However, after controlling for population size, areas close to the landfall site and evacuation destinations had greater unmet transportation needs. Longitudinally, transportation unmet needs surged during evacuation and immediate disaster response then returned to baseline levels during recovery. Based on the results of the case study analyzing Texas 2-1-1 call data of unmet transportation needs, strategies and policies for improving mass evacuation and transportation support ser- vices are proposed and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to reveal the trend in highway construction costs following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in Louisiana. The means of measuring highway construction cost was the Louisiana Highway Construction Index, an index made up of the cost of labor, equipment, and six major materials used in highway construction. Data from projects let by the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development from the second quarter of 2003 to the second quarter of 2007 were used to track the change in construction costs. Index values from hurricane-impacted areas (GO Zones) were compared with those in Non-GO Zones. The indices revealed that two quarters after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the highway construction cost jumped about 20% statewide and 51% in GO Zone. Two years after the hurricanes, the cost has stabilized to around 30% increase over the pre-Katrina and Rita period. This study provides valuable information for the state agency to estimate cost escalation in ongoing projects and to estimate future disaster response to highway construction costs. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0000015 CE Database subject headings: Highway and road construction; Construction costs; Hurricanes; Louisiana.

In this article I trace the mutation of the enterprise zone model into a post-disaster recovery tool, using a case of the implementation of the Gulf Opportunity (GO) Zone in Louisiana. From 2006 to 2011, the GO Zone program provided tax incentives to individuals and businesses in the United States Gulf Coast area affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Drawing on government reports and analyses, I show that the implementation of GO Zone tax incentives was fraught with intense conflict and ignited political battles over the spatial delineation of policy. In analyzing a range of mutation activities, I show that GO Zone program implementation pitted less-damaged areas against more severely damaged cities--biasing the allocation of bonds and incentives toward wealthy economic sectors, thereby effectively bypassing heavily damaged areas such as New Orleans. Overall, I find that competition and emulation were the dominant mechanisms of policy mutation, both of which operated through a confluence of political struggle and ideational contestation. I conclude the paper by arguing for greater critical research into the conflictual, contested, and contradictory dynamics of policy mutation across shifting socio-spatial landscapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Problem, research strategy, and findings: The process of long-term recovery, if done well, can minimize post-disaster disruption, address problems that existed before the disaster struck, and improve the future resilience of a community. The U.S. government, however, historically has lacked a systematic approach to supporting community recovery. This study describes the history of federal policies for supporting community recovery after disasters, with particular attention to the roles of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). We conclude by considering the new National Disaster Recovery Framework (NDRF). This historical review suggests that the federal government needs to emphasize the following: providing resources for community recovery planning; facilitating increased flows of information after disasters; streamlining FEMA assistance to public agencies; explicitly working to reduce the barriers between FEMA and HUD; and incorporating equity into recovery policies. Recovery policies also need to include incentives to achieve substantive goals of rebuilding in a way that is sustainable, equitable, cost-effective, and timely, and that reduces the chances of future disasters. Takeaway for practice: Local community planners can draw several lessons from this historical account. First, they should become aware of the various post-disaster programs now, before disaster strikes. Second, knowledge of post-disaster policies and programs will enable planners to use them creatively and effectively if disaster strikes. Third, in the midst of reconstruction, planners need to continually seek opportunities to promote betterment and resilience to natural hazards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita hit the coast of Louisiana in 2005 and killed more than 2000 people. The two storms resulted in a significant spike in particulate matter (PM2.5) levels across the state of Louisiana. This report focuses on PM2.5 samples collected in 2005 from two monitoring sites in the neighboring cities of Baton Rouge and Port Allen, Louisiana. Inductively coupled plasma (ICP) revealed the presence of PM2.5-adsorbed representative and Fenton-active transition metals. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analyses revealed the presence of 23 PAH compounds. Endotoxins were also detected. Metals and endotoxins were extracted with water. PAH were extracted with dichloromethane. In order to assess cytotoxicity, aqueous PM2.5 extracts were introduced to A549 Human Epithelial Lung Carcinoma Cells. Results indicated decreased cell viability in a dose-dependent manner, with an LC50 of 235 µg/ml and 250 µg/ml, respectively, for the two sites featured here. Endotoxins alone were not cytotoxic. The concentration of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and released LDH activity increased following exposure of A549 cells to aqueous PM2.5 extracts. Fluorescence microscopy revealed apoptotic and necrotic cell death mechanisms. ELISA revealed increased secretion of primary pro-inflammatory cytokines, IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-α. Global PCR gene expression revealed up-regulation of proteins associated with the cytokine storm; e.g. interleukins, chemokines, and TNF-α. Global antibody microarray was consistent with an inflammatory response, with up-regulation of cytokines involved in the down-field activation of the caspase cascade and kinase pathways. The up-regulation of metal-redox sensitive transcription factors, NF-κβ and AP-1, is consistent with a cell death mechanism initiated by Fenton-active transition metal redox catalysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To assess possible impacts on Lake Pontchartrain fishes from the 2005 hurricanes, we compared trawl, beach seine, and gillnet collections taken before (2000-2003, 2005) and after (2006-2009) to determine if significant assemblage changes occurred. We also compared basic environmental variables to test for hurricane-related changes. Significant post-hurricane changes in fish assemblages occurred in trawl (analysis of similarity (ANOSIM), R < 0.090, p < 0.05) and beach seine (ANOSIM, R < 0.120, p < 0.05) collections across all seasons. Gillnet assemblages exhibited changes in only one season (ANOSIM, R = 0.045, p < 0.05). These consistently low global R values (all R < 0.120) across all gears suggest only minor compositional changes in species. When peak abundance periods were compared for individual species, Gulf menhaden ( Brevoortia patronus) declined in trawl collections after the hurricanes (Friedman's test, χ = 6.00, p = 0.014) but increased in gillnet collections (Friedman's test, χ = 5.00, p = 0.025). Hardhead catfish ( Ariopsis felis) increased in trawl collections, but Gulf pipefish ( Syngnathus scovelli), naked gobies ( Gobiosoma bosc), and rough silverside ( Membras martinica) all declined in beach seine samples and Atlantic croakers ( Micropogonias undulatus), Spanish mackerel ( Scomberomorus maculatus), and sand seatrout ( Cynoscion arenarius) all declined in gillnet samples. In general, salinity increased and water clarity and dissolved oxygen decreased after the hurricanes. While the overall composition of Lake Pontchartrain fish assemblages remains stable, the significant decline of some species and changes in certain environmental variables are cause for concern. Future monitoring should determine if all elements of this estuary will recover from these impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]