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Our barrier islands protect South Texas,
Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and the Florida panhandle.
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Before and After Photo Comparisons:
Chandeleur Islands
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The Chandeleur Islands are a north-south oriented chain
of low-lying islands located approximately 100 kilometers east of the
city of New Orleans, Louisiana. Below, photo pairs reveal the nearly complete
destruction of the islands in recent hurricane seasons. The first image
in each pair was taken in July 2001, before Hurricanes Lili (2002), Ivan
(2004), Dennis (2005), and Katrina (2005, the strongest and closest in
proximity to the Chandeleurs). The second image was taken on August 31,
2005, two days after Hurricane Katrina made landfall on the Louisiana
and Mississippi coastline.
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Photo showing locations of pre-and post-storm
photo sets. Scroll down or click on the yellow location numbers on the
photo above to view the pre- and post-storm photo sets for the Chandeleur
Islands. |
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Location 1: The first image, taken in July
2001, shows narrow sandy beaches and adjacent overwash sandflats, low vegetated
dunes, and backbarrier marshes broken by ponds and channels. The second
image shows the same location on August 31, 2005, two days after Hurricane
Katrina made landfall on the Louisiana and Mississippi coastline. Storm
surge and large waves from Hurricane Katrina submerged the islands, stripped
sand from the beaches, and eroded large sections of the marsh. Today, few
recognizable landforms are left on the Chandeleur Island chain. [larger
version] |
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Location 2: The first image, taken in July
2001, shows narrow sandy beaches and adjacent overwash sandflats, low vegetated
dunes, and backbarrier marshes broken by ponds and channels. The second
image shows the same location on August 31, 2005, two days after Hurricane
Katrina made landfall on the Louisiana and Mississippi coastline. Storm
surge and large waves from Hurricane Katrina submerged the islands, stripped
sand from the beaches, and eroded large sections of the marsh. Today, few
recognizable landforms are left on the Chandeleur Island chain. [larger
version] |
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Location 3: The first image, taken in July
2001, shows narrow sandy beaches and adjacent overwash sandflats, low vegetated
dunes, and backbarrier marshes broken by ponds and channels. The second
image shows the same location on August 31, 2005, two days after Hurricane
Katrina made landfall on the Louisiana and Mississippi coastline. Storm
surge and large waves from Hurricane Katrina submerged the islands, stripped
sand from the beaches, and eroded large sections of the marsh. Today, few
recognizable landforms are left on the Chandeleur Island chain. [larger
version] |
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Location 4: The first image, taken in July
2001, shows narrow sandy beaches and adjacent overwash sandflats, low vegetated
dunes, and backbarrier marshes broken by ponds and channels. The second
image shows the same location on August 31, 2005, two days after Hurricane
Katrina made landfall on the Louisiana and Mississippi coastline. Storm
surge and large waves from Hurricane Katrina submerged the islands, stripped
sand from the beaches, and eroded large sections of the marsh. Today, few
recognizable landforms are left on the Chandeleur Island chain. [larger
version] |
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Location 5: The first image, taken in July
2001, shows narrow sandy beaches and adjacent overwash sandflats, low vegetated
dunes, and backbarrier marshes broken by ponds and channels. The second
image shows the same location on August 31, 2005, two days after Hurricane
Katrina made landfall on the Louisiana and Mississippi coastline. Storm
surge and large waves from Hurricane Katrina submerged the islands, stripped
sand from the beaches, and eroded large sections of the marsh. Today, few
recognizable landforms are left on the Chandeleur Island chain. [larger
version] |
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