Hurricane Katrina 2005 Atlantic hurricane season Hurricane Katrina was the eleventh named tropical storm, fourth hurricane, third major hurricane, and first Category 5 hurricane of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. ... 1Storms of at least tropical storm strength (>39 mph) 2Systems of at least tropical depression strength (>25 mph) The 2005 Atlantic hurricane season officially began June 1, 2005, and will officially last through to November 30, 2005. ...

Timeline Economic effects Damage to infrastructure Political effects Criticism of gov't response Social effects Effects by region Effects on Mississippi Effects on New Orleans N.O. hurricane preparedness Superdome—Astrodome Civil disturbances Infrastructure repairs Disaster relief International response Canadian response Dutch response French response Mexican response Russian response Singaporean response Swedish response Alternative theories Historical context Commons: Katrina images Wikinews: Katrina stories Wikisource: NOAA warning bulletin Wikisource: USACE on "unwatering" N.O.

Following the destruction wrought by Hurricane Katrina, various conjectures were put forward suggesting that Katrina was not an ordinary natural event, but was instead influenced by human behavior or supernatural forces. Image File history File links Katrina-noaaGOES12. ... // Before landfall August 23, 2005 - The U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) issues a statement saying that Tropical Depression Twelve had formed over the southeastern Bahamas. ... Experts anticipated Hurricane Katrina, which hit Louisiana and Mississippi in late August 2005, to be the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history. ... Here is a partial list of major damage to infrastructure and public works as a result of Hurricane Katrina, and, when known, their repair timeline and cost. ... The devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina has already begun to have significant political effects manifested in criticism of the government response. ... The neutrality of this section is disputed. ... The Social effects of Hurricane Katrina are complex and yet to be fully determined. ... This article describes the impact of Hurricane Katrina on different regions of the United States and nearby areas. ... About 800,000 people suffered power outages in Mississippi according to the Clarion-Ledger. ... The effect of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans was catastrophic. ... New Orleans, Louisiana sits between (and below) the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain. ... The Louisiana Superdome, often informally referred to simply as the Superdome, is a large, multi-purpose sports and exhibition facility located in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana, USA (29. ... The Reliant Astrodome, formerly the Astrodome, is a domed sports stadium, the first of its kind. ... Gee whiz you forgot the Gretna police shooting at evacuees near the bridge out of town. ... When Category 4 storm Hurricane Katrina slammed into New Orleans, on the night before August 29, 2005, storm surges estimated at 20 feet took place; levee height was about 17 feet. ... The disaster recovery response to Hurricane Katrina included federal government agencies like Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), state and local-level agencies, federal and National Guard soldiers, non-governmental charities, and private individuals. ... Many countries and international organizations have offered the United States relief aid in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. ... A 4-ship task force with Operation UNISON departing Halifax Harbour on September 6, 2005 for the U.S. Gulf Coast. ... Royal Netherlands Marine Corps Emblem Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende stated that the Netherlands was prepared to help the United States in a number of ways. ... The French Navy has made naval ships deployed in the Caribbean available for any requested assistance, one of them being the frigate Ventôse (displayed above) France was one of the first nations to offer aid to the United States in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. ... Mexican troops in San Antonio, Texas. ... Heavy transport Ilyushin Il-76M(T/D) (displayed above) aircrafts was, as of August 30, on standby from the Ramenskoe airport. ... The Republic of Singapore Air Force committed four CH-47 Chinook helicopters and 45 personnel toward the relief effort in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. ... A C-130 Hercules cargo jet Sweden received on September 1, in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, a general plea for disaster aid from the United States. ... Hurricane Katrina was the third most intense to hit the United States in recorded history. ... Hurricane Katrina was the eleventh named tropical storm, fourth hurricane, third major hurricane, and first Category 5 hurricane of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. ...

Assertions of the influence of global warming

Some relevant articles are:

• Hurricane Katrina, for details on Katrina's meterological development.
• Tropical cyclone, for scientific discussion on the formation of tropical storms in general, including information on potential causes of the recent increase in cyclone intensity, such as global warming.

The large amount of destruction caused by recent Atlantic tropical cyclones such as Hurricane Katrina has caused a substantial increase in the public interest in global warming and concerns that global climatic change may have played a role in these events. Time Magazine, for example, published an article titled "Is Global Warming Fueling Katrina?" - although the article itself addressed hurricanes in general rather than Hurricane Katrina specifically, and was inconclusive. Hurricane Katrina was the eleventh named tropical storm, fourth hurricane, third major hurricane, and first Category 5 hurricane of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. ... Cyclone Catarina, a rare South Atlantic tropical cyclone viewed from the International Space Station on March 26, 2004. ... Global mean surface temperatures 1856 to 2004 Mean temperature anomalies during the period 1995 to 2004 with respect to the average temperatures from 1940 to 1980 Global warming describes an increase in the average temperature of the Earths atmosphere and oceans. ... Cyclone Catarina, a rare South Atlantic tropical cyclone viewed from the International Space Station on March 26, 2004. ... Hurricane Katrina was the eleventh named tropical storm, fourth hurricane, third major hurricane, and first Category 5 hurricane of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. ... Global mean surface temperatures 1856 to 2004 Mean temperature anomalies during the period 1995 to 2004 with respect to the average temperatures from 1940 to 1980 Global warming describes an increase in the average temperature of the Earths atmosphere and oceans. ... (Clockwise from upper left) Time magazine covers from May 7, 1945; July 25, 1969; December 31, 1999; September 14, 2001; and April 21, 2003. ...

Former Boston Globe reporter Ross Gelbspan wrote an editorial shortly after the hurricane titled Katrina's Real Name, declaring that this "real name is global warming." Gelbspan went on to assert: The Boston Globe is the most widely-circulated daily newspaper in Boston, Massachusetts and in the greater New England region. ... Ross Gelbspan is an author currently specializing in books relating to global warming. ...

"Although Katrina began as a relatively small hurricane that glanced off south Florida, it was supercharged with extraordinary intensity by the relatively blistering sea surface temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico."

However it is clear that Gelbspan was not singling out Katrina as opposed to other recent storms as being affected by global warming - in his article he goes on to attribute almost every major weather event over the past year to global warming, including a blizzard in Los Angeles, high winds in Scandinavia, wildfires in Spain, and a drought centered in Missouri. Blizzards are characterized by high winds and blinding precipitation Sudden blizzards can cause terrible damage to infrastructure as well as danger to human life. ... This article is about the largest city in California. ... Scandinavia, Fennoscandia, and the Kola Peninsula. ... The Old Fire burning in the San Bernardino Mountains (image taken from the International Space Station) A wildfire, also known as a forest fire, vegetation fire, grass fire, brush fire, or bushfire (in Australasia), is an uncontrolled fire often occurring in wildland areas, but which can also consume houses or... A drought is an extended period where water availability falls below the statistical requirements for a region. ... State nickname: The Show Me State Other U.S. States Capital Jefferson City Largest city Kansas City (largest metropolitan area is Saint Louis) Governor Matt Blunt (R) Senators Kit Bond (R) Jim Talent (R) Official language(s) English Area 69,709 mi²; 180,693 km² (21st)  - Land 68,898 mi...

Statements made shortly after the hurricane by Germany's environment minister, Jürgen Trittin, [1] indicate he believes that global warming is responsible for an increase in the frequency of destructive natural events. Green politician Jürgen Trittin is Federal Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety in Germany. ...

Most climatologists today believe that the relationship between climate change and hurricane intensity is unproven, and that the increase in hurricane activity noted over the last 20 years, can be accounted for by factors other than climate change such as the 25-40 year cycle. Recently, Kerry Emanuel published a paper in the journal Nature [2] that found a good correlation between hurricane intensity and sea surface temperatures. Some journalists have claimed Kerry Emanuel's paper concludes that the recent increase in intense Atlantic storms is due to global warming [3] [4], but Kerry states that "it would be absurd to attribute the Katrina disaster to global warming"[5]. Kerry Emanuel is an American Professor of Meteorology currently working at MIT in Boston. ... Nature is one of the oldest and most reputable general-purpose scientific journals, first published on November 4, 1869. ...

Britain's deputy prime minister, John Prescott, has linked Katrina with global warming [6]. John Prescott The Right Honourable John Leslie Prescott (born May 31, 1938) is a British Labour Party politician who is presently Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and First Secretary of State. ...

Assertions of supernatural causation

Various religious leaders have suggested that Hurricane Katrina was sent as a divine retribution for the City of New Orleans, or the Southern United States, or for the United States as a whole. A variety of past actions are blamed, from the legalization of abortion and homosexuality to the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq to the creation of reality television, and future changes in political policy are recommended. It should be noted that most of these do not reflect the mainstream thoughts of their religions. In theology, divine retribution is a punishment by a higher deity. ... Since its inception, the term homosexuality has acquired multiple meanings. ... Reality television is a genre of television programming which generally is unscripted, documenting actual events over fiction, and featuring ordinary people over professional actors. ...

• Muhammad Yousef Al-Mlaifi here credits Allah; Allah's reason: Unspecified

"I do not think – and only Allah [really] knows – that this wind, which completely wiped out American cities in these days, is a wind of mercy and blessing. It is almost certain that this is a wind of torment and evil that Allah has sent to this American empire." The word Allāh is the Arabic term for God. It is most commonly used in Islam and refers to the eternal monotheist Deity. ...

• Avner Bosky here credits God; God's reason: U.S. Pressure for Israel to withdraw from Gaza

"What happens in Israel affects the rest of the world, and how any country treats Israel has a lot to do with how God treats that country. We are praying, deeply concerned and grieved about the onset of Katrina." God is the monotheistic concept of a supernatural Supreme Being who is the creator of the Universe. ... The city of Gaza is the principal city in the Gaza Strip. ...

• Fred Phelps here credits God; God's reason: Homosexuals

"New Orleans, symbol of America, seen for what it is: a putrid, toxic, stinking cesspool of fag fecal matter. [...] Pray for more dead bodies floating on the fag-semen-rancid waters of New Orleans." Fred Phelps Fred Waldron Phelps, Sr. ... Homosexuality is a sexual orientation characterized by esthetic attraction, romantic love, or sexual desire exclusively for another of the same sex. ...

• Steve Lefemine here credits God; God's reason: Abortion (article originally from the Washington Post, as carried on the Houston Chronicle site, also reposted on the ExChristian.net site)

"In my belief, God judged New Orleans for the sin of shedding innocent blood through abortion [...] Providence punishes national sins by national calamities, [...] Greater divine judgment is coming upon America unless we repent of the national sin of abortion."

• Reverend Bill Shanks here credits God; God's reasons: Several

"New Orleans now is abortion free. New Orleans now is Mardi Gras free. New Orleans now is free of Southern Decadence and the sodomites, the witchcraft workers, false religion -- it's free of all of those things now, [...] God simply, I believe, in His mercy purged all of that stuff out of there -- and now we're going to start over again." Mardi Gras (French for Fat Tuesday) is the day before Ash Wednesday, and is also called Shrove Tuesday. It is the final day of Carnival (pronounced CAR-nuh-vul in English; car-nee-VAHL in most Romance languages. ... Southern Decadance is a week-long, predominantly gay-male event held in New Orleans, Louisiana and its environs by the gay and lesbian community in early September, climaxing with a parade through the French Quarter on the Sunday before Labor Day. ... The term witchcraft (and witch) is a controversial one with a complicated history. ...

• Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. here (in an editorial issued before the full extent of damage to New Orleans was known) facetiously credited God; God's reason: Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour's memo urging President Bush not to sign the Kyoto Protocol

"In 1998, Republican icon Pat Robertson warned that hurricanes were likely to hit communities that offended God. Perhaps it was Barbour’s memo that caused Katrina, at the last moment, to spare New Orleans and save its worst flailings for the Mississippi coast." Robert Francis Kennedy Jr. ... Haley Barbour Haley Reeves Barbour (born October 22, 1947) is the current governor of Mississippi, and a Republican. ... Kyoto Protocol Opened for signature December 11, 1997 at Kyoto, Japan Entered into force February 16, 2005. ...

• Ovadia Yosef here credits God; God's reason: George W. Bush's support for Israel's unilateral disengagement plan

"He (Bush) perpetrated the expulsion (of Jews from Gaza). Now everyone is mad at him. This is his punishment for what he did to Gush Katif, and everyone else who did as he told them, their time will come, too," Ovadia Yosef (born 1920) is an Orthodox Jewish rabbi, Talmud scholar and a recognized authority in halakha (Jewish Law). ... George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is the 43rd and current President of the United States. ... Map of the Gaza Strip, showing the settlements of Gush Katif Israels unilateral disengagement plan (Hebrew: תוכנית ההתנתקות or תכנית ההתנתקות (thats also the name of the plan according to the official Disengagement Implementation Law) or תוכנית ההינתקות), also known...

Similarly, a press release from Repent America's webpage cites such things as Girls Gone Wild, Southern Decadence, the creation of reality television, abortion, and the high murder rate leading up to a statement by Repent America director Michael Marcavage: "Although the loss of lives is deeply saddening, this act of God destroyed a wicked city."[7] The quote, however, does not make it clear whether Marcavage was referring to Hurricane Katrina as divine retribution, or using "act of God" in the colloquial sense of a natural disaster. Repent America (RA) is a Christian organization based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. ... Girls Gone Wild, created by Joe Francis, is a series of videos by American company Mantra Entertainment. ... Southern Decadance is a week-long, predominantly gay-male event held in New Orleans, Louisiana and its environs by the gay and lesbian community in early September, climaxing with a parade through the French Quarter on the Sunday before Labor Day. ... Reality television is a genre of television programming which generally is unscripted, documenting actual events over fiction, and featuring ordinary people over professional actors. ...

These responses immediately placed Hurricane Katrina, and particularly the devastation of New Orleans, in a line of events which have been taken as examples of divine retribution for supposedly immoral acts. Fred Phelps' Westboro Baptist Church has made many claims that natural disasters and terrorist attacks are punishment for human actions that contravene Biblical proscriptions. In the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York City, televangelists Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson suggested that God may have ceased protecting the United States as a result of secularism, feminism and the sexual revolution. In theology, divine retribution is a punishment by a higher deity. ... Fred Phelps Fred Waldron Phelps, Sr. ... This article contains information that has not been verified and thus might not be reliable. ... The Bible (From Greek βιβλια—biblia, meaning books, which in turn is derived from βυβλος—byblos meaning papyrus, from the ancient Phoenician city of Byblos which exported papyrus) is the sacred scripture of Christianity. ... The September 11, 2001 attacks were a series of suicide attacks upon the United States of America conducted on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. ... New York City, officially named the City of New York, is the most populous city in the United States, the most densely populated major city in North America, and is the largest financial center in the world. ... In the USA, a televangelist (television evangelist) is a religious minister (often a Christian priest or minister) who devotes a large portion of his (or her) ministry to TV broadcasts to a regular viewing and listening audience. ... Jerry Lamon Falwell (born on August 11, 1933) is an American Baptist pastor, televangelist, founder of the Moral Majority & Liberty University, and a prominent Conservative activist. ... Pat Robertson Marion Gordon Pat Robertson (born March 22, 1930) is an American Christian televangelist, entrepreneur, and Christian right political activist. ... God is the monotheistic concept of a supernatural Supreme Being who is the creator of the Universe. ... Secularism is commonly defined as the idea that religion should not interfere with or be integrated into the public affairs of a society. ... Feminism is a diverse collection of social theories, political movements, and moral philosophies, largely motivated by or concerning the experiences of women, especially in terms of their social, political, and economic situation. ... The sexual revolution was a substantial change in sexual morality and sexual behavior throughout the West in the late 1960s and early 1970s. ...

In fact, Pat Robertson was falsely credited with having asserted that God sent Hurricane Katrina as punishment for the selection of Ellen DeGeneres to host the Emmy Awards. A Dateline Hollywood article satirically purported that Robertson had stated: "By choosing an avowed lesbian for this national event, these Hollywood elites have clearly invited God’s wrath, [...] Is it any surprise that the Almighty chose to strike at Miss Degeneres’ hometown?" [8] Because Robertson had made similar pronouncements in the past, this was believed by many to be a factual report. Pat Robertson Marion Gordon Pat Robertson (born March 22, 1930) is an American Christian televangelist, entrepreneur, and Christian right political activist. ... Ellen DeGeneres, on her talk show. ... An Emmy Award. ... Lesbian describes a homosexual woman. ... ...

Some victims of the disaster also made attributions to supernatural causes, that they were being punished for their sins, or that God was testing them, or even that the event was "the work of Satan." Some evacuees see religious message in Katrina. Gustave Dores depiction of Satan from John Miltons Paradise Lost Satan (שָׂטָן Standard Hebrew Satan, Latin Sátanas, Tiberian Hebrew Śāṭān; Aramaic שִׂטְנָא Śaṭanâ: both words mean Adversary; accuser) is an angel, demon, or minor god in many religions. ...

Criticism of conjectures

Most religious leaders stridently reject such claims. One Christian response to claims that the flooding of New Orleans was divine retribution might be to point out that, according to Genesis, God promised Noah that he would not punish via deluge again. Critics of claims of supernatural causation in the past have, as well as pointing to scientific explanations (such as the fact that New Orleans lies below sea level), accused those making such claims of being religious fundamentalists and trying to exploit tragedies in an attempt to influence political decisions. Many lay persons have severely criticized any forms of conjectures regarding divine retribution, saying that it is absolutely inappropriate to make such claims in a time of national tragedy. Genesis (Greek: Γένεσις, having the meanings of birth, creation, cause, beginning, source and origin), also called The First Book of Moses, is the first book of Torah (five books of Moses), and is the first book of the Tanakh, part of the Hebrew Bible; it is also the first book of... God is the monotheistic concept of a supernatural Supreme Being who is the creator of the Universe. ... Noah or Nóach (Rest, Standard Hebrew נוֹחַ Nóaḥ, Tiberian Hebrew נֹחַ Nōªḥ; Arabic نوح Nūḥ), is a Biblical figure who, according to Genesis built an ark to save his family and each species of the worlds animals from the Deluge (an example of... Fundamentalism is a movement to maintain strict adherence to founding principles. ...

A rebuttal in About.com's "Urban Legends and Folklore" section, titled Hurricane Katrina: God's Punishment for a 'Wicked' City?, points out (among other things) that the French Quarter was one of the least devastated parts of the city.

Assertions of the use of weather control technology

Some have asserted that a country or hostile organization used technology to intensify Hurricane Katrina to impact the United States' ability to produce petroleum and natural gas, thereby causing a severe adverse economic impact. Others have claimed that the U.S. government itself used such technology such as HAARP to strengthen and direct Hurricane Katrina, in order to create a disaster that could be used to increase the strength of the federal government, distract Americans from the Iraq war and the Plame affair, and/or raise oil prices, and/or to award lucrative rebuilding contracts to favored corporations. This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Nodding donkey pumping an oil well near Sarnia, Ontario, 2001 Petroleum (from Latin petra – rock and oleum – oil), crude oil, sometimes colloquially called black gold, is a thick, dark brown or greenish liquid. ... Natural gas (commonly refered to as gas in many countries, but note that gas is also an American and Canadian shortening of gasoline) is a gaseous fossil fuel consisting primarily of methane. ... Project HAARP (High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program) is a US Air Force, Navy and University of Alaska funded investigation to understand, simulate and control ionospheric processes that might alter the performance of communication and surveillance systems started in 1993 for a proposed twenty year series of experiments. ... This article covers invasion specifics. ... Valerie Plame and Joseph C. Wilson in 2004. ... A corporation is a legal entity (distinct from a natural person) that often has similar rights in law to those of a Civil law systems may refer to corporations as moral persons; they may also go by the name AS (anonymous society) or something similar, depending on language (see below). ...

• Was Katrina a Man Made Storm for Profits?
• FEMA, Katrina, Halliburton & HAARP
• HAARP and Katrina
• Scott Stevens: The Tsunami that was Katrina
• Richard C. Hoagland: "Hyperdimensional" Katrina ...?
• Richard C. Hoagland: More Support for An "Undeclared Global Weather War?"
• Hurricane Katrina STEERED for New Orleans?

Rumors about the New Orleans levee

Various "conspiracy" centered websites have asserted that the New Orleans levee was intentionally weakened in advance of the storm or breached after it had passed.[9][10] Speculation has arisen — almost entirely from persons referring to second-hand sources or posting under screen names — that the levees were destroyed either by explosives or by ramming of a barge into it, and a range of potential responsible parties have been suggested, including corporate interests, Islamic terrorists, and the U.S. federal government. For pseudonyms used for film appearances, see stage name For pseudonyms used for internet communications and BBSs, see screenname The Screen Name service (also ScreenName) is a common password system that is required to use any services or programs from AOL, AIM, Compuserve, or Netscape This is a disambiguation page...

One site purporting to transcribe an instant message "chat" (presumably over a cell-phone) from a resident taking refuge in the Superdome claims that the resident wrote: "The 17th street levee was bombed by the Army Corps of Engineers to save the more valuable real estate in the city," further asserting that others had heard the explosions, and that seven explosions had been heard.[11]

Another New Orleans blogger described the spread of such rumors, writing on September 8,

The pharmacy was filled with refugees from New Orleans trying to get lost or low prescriptions of their own filled. This was where I first heard the rumors that the levees were supposedly blown on purpose. One person said it was "an attempt to save the city." Someone else said "Well, if it was, it didn't work."

Neither of them had been witnesses to the event, but as the rumor spreads among evacuees it is repeated as if the evacuees were witnesses to the event.[12]

The Wayne Madsen Report website posted a claim that the 17th Street Levee was broken by a loose barge: Wayne Madsen is a Washington, D.C.-based investigative journalist, author, and syndicated columnist. ...

September 7, 2005 -- Locals from Lakeview subdivision of New Orleans report that after Katrina passed a loose barge struck levee causing breach that flooded city. WMR has just been informed by evacuees in Baton Rouge from Lakeview, a well-to-do New Orleans neighborhood, that the flooding of the city was caused by a loose barge striking the levee on the 17th Street Canal thus weakening the retaining wall. The breach was not caused by rising flood waters as reported by FEMA and other agencies. Lakeview is some 1.5 miles down Veterans Boulevard from the 17th St. Canal breach. Distraught evacuees want to know why the Coast Guard or the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers did not secure the barge. The evacuees who witnessed the barge striking the levee also want to know why the major media is not covering this story.[13]

Radio talk show host Hal Turner has placed a story on his web site claiming that explosive residue was found on underwater debris chunks from a failed levee:

One diver, a member of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, saw the burn marks and knew immediately what caused them. When he surfaced and showed the evidence to his superior, the on-site Coordinator for FEMA stepped-in and said "You are not here to conduct an investigation as to why this rupture occurred, but only to determine how best to close it." The FEMA coordinator then threw the evidence back into the water and said "You will tell no one about this."

At that point, the diver went back down to do more inspection of the levee. On the second dive, he secreted a small chunk of the debris inside his wet suit and later arranged for it to be sent to trusted military friends at a The U.S. Army Forensic Laboratory at Fort Gillem, Georgia for testing.

According to well placed sources, a military forensic specialist determined the burn marks on the cement chunks did, in fact, come from high explosives. The source, speaking on condition of anonymity said "We found traces of boron-enhanced fluoronitramino explosives as well as PBXN-111 embedded in the debris. This would indicate at least two separate types of explosive devices."[14]

Other possible sources of "explosion" sounds

Others have pointed out that claims regarding the sounds of explosions may be explained by the likelihood that a catastrophic breach would give rise to loud noises, rumblings and booms.

Most of these reports include mention of hearing loud noise like explosions. It is therefore vital to understand that when a structure such as the 17th Street levee and containment wall fail, it can do so rapidly, "explosively" even. A blow –out of the levee canal containment wall could most certainly generate loud noises, rumblings and "booms." Also, rushing floodwaters raging through the breach can pick up and carry large objects and these in turn can become sources of loud, booming noises as they slam into other debris, structures, etc. [15]