The storm surge in myanmar was far inland..if I overlaid the same distance with New Orleans how far up the MS?

Question

I was trying to study the map to see what the results would be if the storm surge that hit myanmar would hit the US, how far inland would it travel. What are the sea levels of the affected areas..I was thinking it would help me determine how big the surge was. For instance how far up the mississippi would be equivalent.

Answer 1

Katrina's storm surge was at least 28' high and at least 30 miles in diameter.  Katrina's surge directly inundated thousands of square miles as it passed across southeastern Louisiana and then moved into into southern Mississippi.  The surge also struck Mobile, Alabama and inflicted significant damage to the waterfront.

Measure a rectangle with one long line from Grand Isle, LA to Mobile, Al and the other long line about 30 miles inland. Not quite the right shape but it should give you an idea of Katrina's surge "footprint" for comparison with the cyclone that hit Burma.  Note that surges have a gradient (steep, but still a gradient) so the height is less toward the edges..

Also note that "up the Mississippi" isn't particularly relevant - assuming you are referring to the Mississippi River.  Katrina submerged the river in the areas it passed over and everything below New Orleans was simply open water at the time.