Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic <a href="/facts/Tropical_cyclone/FQzVXly7">tropical cyclone</a> that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of <a href="/facts/New_Orleans/IgCn61KH">New Orleans</a> and its surrounding area. It is tied with <a href="/facts/Hurricane_Harvey/yFBjfnqT">Hurricane Harvey</a> as being the <a href="/facts/List_of_the_costliest_tropical_cyclones/JBnUt4Jc">costliest tropical cyclone</a> in the <a href="/facts/Atlantic_basin/EI4uChIb">Atlantic basin</a>. Katrina was the twelfth tropical cyclone, the fifth hurricane, and the third <a href="/facts/Major_hurricane/qQxvHc18">major hurricane</a> of the <a href="/facts/2005_Atlantic_hurricane_season/aLCDR6Ac">2005 Atlantic hurricane season</a>. It was also the fourth-most intense <a href="/facts/Atlantic_hurricane/4hwRBgxQ">Atlantic hurricane</a> to make landfall in the <a href="/facts/Contiguous_United_States/yx414G7a">contiguous United States</a>, gauged by barometric pressure.
Katrina formed on August 23, 2005, with the merger of a tropical wave and the remnants of a <a href="/facts/Tropical_depression/FQzVXly7">tropical depression</a>. After briefly weakening to a <a href="/facts/Tropical_cyclone/FQzVXly7">tropical storm</a> over south Florida, Katrina entered the <a href="/facts/Gulf_of_Mexico/bGE5s57G">Gulf of Mexico</a> on August 26 and <a href="/facts/Rapid_intensification/4qykgANd">rapidly intensified</a> to a <a href="/facts/Saffir%25E2%2580%2593Simpson_scale/qQxvHc18">Category 5 hurricane</a> before weakening to a <a href="/facts/Saffir%25E2%2580%2593Simpson_scale/qQxvHc18">Category 3</a> at its landfall on August 29 near <a href="/facts/Buras-Triumph%2c_Louisiana/uVQ837Vv">Buras-Triumph, Louisiana</a>.
Eighty percent of New Orleans, as well as large areas in neighboring <a href="/facts/List_of_parishes_of_Louisiana/v9nxwFP2">parishes</a>, were flooded. It is estimated that about 100,000 to 150,000 people remained in the City of New Orleans, despite mandatory evacuation orders. This prompted a massive national and international response effort, including federal, local, and private rescue operations. The largest loss of life was due to flooding caused by engineering flaws in the federally built hurricane protection system, particularly the <a href="/facts/Levee/99xdvoVg">levees</a> around New Orleans. Multiple investigations concluded that the <a href="/facts/U.S._Army_Corps_of_Engineers/m92nc6gR">U.S. Army Corps of Engineers</a>, the organization tasked by Congress in the <a href="/facts/Flood_Control_Act_of_1965/jl2tzxzU">Flood Control Act of 1965</a> to design and build the region's hurricane protection, was responsible for the breached <a href="/facts/2005_levee_failures_in_Greater_New_Orleans/lWyeca47">floodwalls</a>. Later, a federal appeals court ruled that the Army Corps, despite being responsible, could not be held financially liable due to the <a href="/facts/Flood_Control_Act_of_1928/HrLG5y9G">Flood Control Act of 1928</a>.
The emergency response from federal, state, and local governments was widely criticized, leading to the resignation of <a href="/facts/Federal_Emergency_Management_Agency/JUa8guyo">Federal Emergency Management Agency</a> (FEMA) director <a href="/facts/Michael_D._Brown/8ahy6gxx">Michael D. Brown</a> and <a href="/facts/New_Orleans_Police_Department/xwevfva6">New Orleans Police Department</a> (NOPD) superintendent <a href="/facts/Eddie_Compass/Rja97NAl">Eddie Compass</a>. Many other government officials faced criticism for their responses, especially New Orleans mayor <a href="/facts/Ray_Nagin/eqg7KR83">Ray Nagin</a>, Louisiana governor <a href="/facts/Kathleen_Blanco/RfuYHuCb">Kathleen Blanco</a>, and President <a href="/facts/George_W._Bush/mYSgM515">George W. Bush</a>. However, several agencies, such as the <a href="/facts/United_States_Coast_Guard/6d7SWTP9">United States Coast Guard</a> (USCG), <a href="/facts/National_Hurricane_Center/P2Y72V5Q">National Hurricane Center</a> (NHC), and <a href="/facts/National_Weather_Service/gcWCQRzr">National Weather Service</a> (NWS), were commended for their actions, with the NHC being particularly praised for its accurate forecasts well in advance. 
The destruction and loss of life caused by the storm prompted the name Katrina to be retired by the <a href="/facts/World_Meteorological_Organization/NWrDcKbl">World Meteorological Organization</a> in April 2006. On January 4, 2023, the NHC updated the Katrina fatality data based on a report by Rappaport (2014) which reduced the number from an estimated 1,833 to 1,392.

Hurricane Katrina open-in-new

Hurricane Katrina