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Hurricane Katrina Facts

Hurricane Katrina Facts
Hurricane Katrina was a category 5 hurricane that made landfall in the U.S. state of Louisiana in late August 2005, costing more than $125 billion in damage and killing more than 1,500 people. Katrina formed as a tropical depression near the Bahamas on August 23 and then gained in strength after it crossed southern Florida and into the Gulf of Mexico. After becoming a category 5 hurricane, it weakened to category 3 before making landfall near Buras-Triumph, Louisiana on August 29. Although Katrina was strong, with winds more than 175 mile per hour, most of the damage and deaths in New Orleans were caused by extensive flooding after the protective levees burst. More than 80% of the city was flooded, leaving thousands trapped and/or without power. Many survivors found refuge in the Superdome, but conditions were crowded, there was a lack of supply, and criminals were preying on victims. Looting and other crimes took place in the absence of civil authority, which was blamed on New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco, and U.S. President George W. Bush for their slow responses. Thousands of people were displaced, losing their homes permanently, and were forced to resettle in cities such as Houston, Atlanta, and Memphis.
Interesting Hurricane Katrina Facts:
The Ninth Ward district was particularly hit hard as it was one of the main locations where the protective levee failed. It took place in a Ninth Ward neighborhood called "Desire."
Although government authorities were blamed for their response to the hurricane, it is estimated that more than 80% of New Orleans' residents were successfully evacuated before the storm hit.
There were more than fifty breaches in the levee system in and around New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina, with a pump failure in the Lower Ninth Ward exacerbating the flooding.
One-third of the New Orleans Police Department abandoned their the city before the storm hit.
Due to reports of civil unrest in New Orleans, the police in neighboring Gretna, and the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Department barricaded the bridge that connects Gretna to New Orleans.
The National Guard held more than 200 suspected looters at the local Greyhound terminal, which was unofficially named "Camp Greyhound."
Elements of the Army's 82nd Airborne Division and the Coast Guard also assisted in rescuing those stranded in the flooded city.
Although Katrina did most of her damage to Louisiana, she also ravaged the Mississippi coastline, causing more than $30 billion in damages and taking 238 lives.
Biloxi, Mississippi was one of the hardest hit communities in Mississippi first getting hit by the waves and then later the economic impact. Many of Biloxi's casinos were destroyed and its beaches were all but wiped out for months.
Days after it made landfall in Louisiana, Katrina continued to dump rain on parts of the southeast and caused thousands of power outages in Memphis, Tennessee.


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