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Hurricane Katrina
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the Atlantic hurricane of 2005. For other storms of the same name, see Tropical Storm Katrina.
Hurricane Katrina |
Category 5 hurricane (SSHS) |

Hurricane Katrina near peak strength on August 28, 2005 |
Formed | August 23, 2005 |
Dissipated | August 30,2005 |
Highest
winds | 1-minute sustained:
175 mph (280 km/h) |
|
Lowest pressure | 902 mbar (hPa; 26.64 inHg) |
Fatalities | 1,836 confirmed[1] |
Damage | $81.2 billion (2005 USD)
(Costliest hurricane in US history) |
Areas
affected | Bahamas, South Florida, Cuba,Louisiana (especially Greater New Orleans), Mississippi,Alabama, Florida Panhandle, most of eastern North America |Part of the
2005 Atlantic hurricane season |

Hurricane Katrina2005 Atlantic hurricane season |
| |
General * Timeline * Meteorological history * Preparations * New Orleans preparednessImpact * Economic effects * Political effects * Criticism of government response * Social effects * Effects by region * Effects on Florida * Effects on Mississippi *Effects on New Orleans * Levee failures * Infrastructure repairs * ReconstructionRelief * Disaster relief * International responseAnalysis * Global warming * Historical context * Media coverageOther wikis * Commons: Katrina images * Wikinews: Katrina stories * Wikisource: Katrina sources | |
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season wasthecostliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States.[2] Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall. At least 1,836 people died in the actual hurricane and in the subsequent floods, making it the deadliest U.S. hurricane since the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane; total property damage was estimated at $81 billion (2005USD),[2] nearly triple the damage wrought by Hurricane Andrew in 1992.[3]
Hurricane Katrina formed over the Bahamas on August 23, 2005 and crossed southern Florida as a moderate Category 1 hurricane, causing some deaths and flooding there before strengthening rapidly in the Gulf of Mexico. The storm weakened before making its second landfall as aCategory 3 storm on the morning of Monday, August 29in 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 significantamount of deaths occurred in New Orleans, Louisiana, which flooded as the levee system catastrophically failed, in many cases hours after the storm had moved inland.[4] Eventually 80% of the city and large tracts ofneighboring parishes became flooded, and the floodwaters lingered for weeks.[4] However, the worst property damage occurred in coastal areas, such as all Mississippi beachfront towns, which were flooded over 90% in hours, as boats and casino barges rammed buildings, pushing cars and houses inland, with waters reaching 6–12 miles (10–19 km) from the beach.
The hurricane protection failures in New Orleans prompted a lawsuitagainst the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the designers and builders of the levee system as mandated in the Flood Control Act of 1965. Responsibility for the failures and flooding was laid squarely on the Army Corps in January 2008, but the federal agency could not be held financially liable due to sovereign immunity in the Flood Control Act of 1928. There was also an investigation of theresponses from federal, state and local governments, resulting in the resignation of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) director Michael D. Brown, and of New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) Superintendent Eddie Compass. Conversely, the United States Coast Guard (USCG), National Hurricane Center (NHC) and National Weather Service (NWS) were widely commended for their actions, accurate...