Oil, Katrina and Rita

This NOAA aerial photograph shows an oil slick emanating from an offshore platform in the Gulf of Mexico that was damaged by Hurricane Katrina. A second platform is visible in the upper right.

The U.S. Minerals Management Service confirmed at least six major oil spills and 457 pipelines damaged by the two 2005 gulf hurricanes. The Coast Guard identified 115 oil platforms that were totally destroyed and sunk, 52 that were significantly damaged and 19 that were set adrift. NASA radar images after the storm showed dozens of slicks extending across an area of more than 7,000 square miles. On November 11, 2005, a doublehulled oil tanker hit the submerged remains of an oil platform that had been destroyed by Hurricane Rita, releasing three million gallons of heavy fuel oil — one of the largest oil spills ever in the gulf. www.Skytruth.org