20 years later: Remembering Hurricane Katrina

It has been 20 years since Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, causing the deaths of more than a thousand people and leaving hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of damage in its wake.

Hurricane Katrina made landfall near Empire, Louisiana, at around 6 a.m. CT on Aug. 29, 2005, as a Category 3, according to The Associated Press.

The federal levee system separating Lake Pontchartrain from New Orleans failed because of the storm, drowning nearly 80% of New Orleans in floodwaters. People took refuge on their roofs waiting to be rescued. More than a million people were displaced by the storm, the “Today” show reported.

When the floodwaters finally drained, weeks after the storm, damage estimated at $108 billion, or $200 billion when adjusted for inflation, was left behind. It is still the costliest U.S. storm, the AP reported.

It was also one of the five deadliest storms to hit the U.S. with 1,833 people killed across the region, according to the National Weather Service. The AP set the number of deaths at about 1,400 people. The “Today” show said more than 1,300 people died in New Orleans.

The storm formed as a tropical depression in the southeastern Bahamas on Aug. 23. The next day, it strengthened to a named tropical storm. It intensified to a Category 1 with at least 80 mph winds on Aug. 25. It went across south Florida and became fueled by the Gulf’s warm waters to a Category 5 as it went northwest on Aug. 28. By the time it made landfall the first time, it was a Category 3 with 125 mph winds on Aug. 29. It made a second landfall on the Mississippi Gulf Coast with sustained winds of 120 mph. By the time it hit central Mississippi, it had weakened to less than hurricane intensity, the National Weather Service said.

Storm surge from the hurricane also damaged much of the area, destroying homes in areas such as Bayou La Batre, Alabama. One end of Dauphin Island was totally underwater, with the surge washing away most of the homes there, the NWS said. It caused an oil rig to break free and become lodged under a bridge in Mobile Bay.

Over the past 20 years, the recovery continued but the hurricane’s impact is still seen.

Before Hurricane Katrina swamped New Orleans, there were almost half a million people living there. Now the number is 384,000 residents living in the city, the AP reported.

The levee system was rebuilt, but public housing projects were demolished. A local hospital also closed its doors. The Lower Ninth Ward still has steps that lead to a home that was no longer there.

But The New York Times reported: “By the fifth anniversary of Katrina, residents were getting back on their feet, and by the 10th, the city was gradually rebuilding, with positive momentum as more people returned.”

Tourism has returned to NOLA, with the city hosting the Super Bowl in the Superdome, which had served as an emergency shelter nearly two decades before, “Today” said.

But people are still concerned living in the Big Easy, with home and auto insurance ballooning to what the Times called “unaffordable levels,” and the home ownership gap between Black and white residents is growing once again.

Still, the communities have come together this week to mark that time has passed and remember those and what was lost.

There was a collection on display at the city’s library called “Weathering the Storm: Reflecting on New Orleans’ Past,” a display that is available to be experienced online, according to NOLA.com.

Other shows and art exhibits can be found here.

An interfaith prayer service was held at St. Louis Cathedral on Thursday to remember those whose lives were lost, and to some attendees to celebrate how the city has rebounded, WVUE reported.

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