Hurricane Katrina floods New Orleans

Hurricane Katrina, of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season, was the costliest – and among the deadliest – in the history of the United States. Of the recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was sixth strongest overall.

Hurricane Katrina formed over the Bahamas on August 23rd, 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 a Category 3 storm on the morning of August 29th in southeast Louisiana.

The most severe loss of life and property damage occurred in New Orleans, Louisiana, which flooded as the levee system catastrophically failed, in many cases hours after the storm had moved inland. Eventually, 80% of the city and large tracts of neighbouring parishes became flooded, with floodwaters lingering for weeks.