Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina was the deadliest and most destructive Atlantic hurricane of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season.
One of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States.
Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall.
1,836 people died in the actual hurricane and in the subsequent floods.
Property damage was estimated at $81 billion.
Hurricane Katrina formed over the Bahamas on August 23, 2005 and crossed southern Florida, causing some deaths and flooding there before moving rapidly in the Gulf of Mexico even stronger. The storm weakened before making its second landfall on the morning of Monday, August 29 in southeast Louisiana. It caused severe destruction along the Gulf coast from central Florida to Texas, much of it due to the storm surge. The most significant number of deaths occurred in New Orleans, Louisiana, which flooded completely due to surge protection failures. Eventually 80% of the city and large tracts of neighboring parishes became flooded, and the floodwaters lingered for weeks.
On August 29, Katrina's storm surge caused 53 different levee breaches in greater New Orleans, affecting eighty percent of the city heavily. A June 2007 report by the American Society of Civil Engineers indicated that two-thirds of the flooding were caused by the multiple failures of the city's floodwalls. Not mentioned were the flood gates that were not closed. The storm surge also devastated the coasts of Mississippi and Alabama, making Katrina the most destructive natural disaster in the history of the United States, and the deadliest hurricane since the 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane.
The hurricane left an estimated three million people without electricity.
Economic effects
The Bush Administration sought $105 billion for repairs and reconstruction in the region.
Potential interruption of the oil supply, destruction of the Gulf Coast's highway infrastructure, and exports of commodities such as grain.
Hurricane Katrina was the deadliest and most destructive Atlantic hurricane of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season.
One of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States.
Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall.
1,836 people died in the actual hurricane and in the subsequent floods.
Property damage was estimated at $81 billion.
Hurricane Katrina formed over the Bahamas on August 23, 2005 and crossed southern Florida, causing some deaths and flooding there before moving rapidly in the Gulf of Mexico even stronger. The storm weakened before making its second landfall on the morning of Monday, August 29 in southeast Louisiana. It caused severe destruction along the Gulf coast from central Florida to Texas, much of it due to the storm surge. The most significant number of deaths occurred in New Orleans, Louisiana, which flooded completely due to surge protection failures. Eventually 80% of the city and large tracts of neighboring parishes became flooded, and the floodwaters lingered for weeks.
On August 29, Katrina's storm surge caused 53 different levee breaches in greater New Orleans, affecting eighty percent of the city heavily. A June 2007 report by the American Society of Civil Engineers indicated that two-thirds of the flooding were caused by the multiple failures of the city's floodwalls. Not mentioned were the flood gates that were not closed. The storm surge also devastated the coasts of Mississippi and Alabama, making Katrina the most destructive natural disaster in the history of the United States, and the deadliest hurricane since the 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane.
The hurricane left an estimated three million people without electricity.
Economic effects
The Bush Administration sought $105 billion for repairs and reconstruction in the region.
Potential interruption of the oil supply, destruction of the Gulf Coast's highway infrastructure, and exports of commodities such as grain.