Hurricane Katrina

===Louisiana===
[[File:PostVeniceLG.jpg|thumb|Flooding in [[Venice, Louisiana]]]]
[[File:Hurricane-Katrina-Buras-Louisiana-watertower-EPA.jpg|thumb|A fallen water tower in [[Buras-Triumph, Louisiana]], where Katrina made landfall]]
On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall near [[Buras-Triumph, Louisiana]], with {{convert|125|mph|km/h|-1|abbr=on}} winds, as a strong Category 3 hurricane. Although the storm surge to the east of the path of the eye in Mississippi was higher, a significant surge affected the Louisiana coast. The height of the surge is uncertain because of a lack of data, although a tide gauge in [[Plaquemines Parish]] indicated a storm tide in excess of {{convert|14|ft|m|1}}, and a {{convert|12|ft|m|1|adj=on}} storm surge was recorded in [[Grand Isle, Louisiana|Grand Isle]]. The hurricane made its final landfall near the mouth of the [[Pearl River (Mississippi–Louisiana)|Pearl River]], with the eye straddling [[St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana]], and [[Hancock County, Mississippi]], on the morning of August 29 at about 9:45 a.m. CDT.<ref name="KatrinaTCR"/>

Hurricane Katrina also brought heavy rain to Louisiana, with {{convert|8|-|10|in|mm}} falling on a wide swath of the eastern part of the state. In the area around [[Slidell, Louisiana|Slidell]], the rainfall was even higher, and the highest rainfall recorded in the state was approximately {{convert|15|in|mm}}. As a result of the rainfall and storm surge the level of [[Lake Pontchartrain]] rose and caused significant flooding along its northeastern shore, affecting communities from Slidell to [[Mandeville, Louisiana|Mandeville]]. Several bridges were destroyed, including the [[I-10 Twin Span Bridge]] connecting Slidell to New Orleans.<ref name="KatrinaTCR"/> Almost 900,000 people in Louisiana lost power as a result of Hurricane Katrina.<ref name="Power failures">Staff Writer. [http://www.oe.netl.doe.gov/docs/katrina/katrina_083005_1600.pdf "Hurricane Katrina Situation Report#11"]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061108202531/http://www.oe.netl.doe.gov/docs/katrina/katrina_083005_1600.pdf |date=November 8, 2006}} ''Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability (OE) [[United States Department of Energy]]''. August 30, 2005. Retrieved on June 5, 2006.</ref>

Katrina's storm surge inundated all parishes surrounding Lake Pontchartrain, including [[St. Tammany]], Tangipahoa, [[St. John the Baptist]], and [[St. Charles Parish, Louisiana|St. Charles]] Parishes. St. Tammany Parish received a two-part storm surge. The first surge came as Lake Pontchartrain rose and the storm blew water from the Gulf of Mexico into the lake. The second came as the eye of Katrina passed, westerly winds pushed water into a bottleneck at the Rigolets Pass, forcing it farther inland. The range of surge levels in eastern St. Tammany Parish is estimated at {{convert|13|-|16|ft|m}}, not including wave action.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fema.gov/pdf/hazard/flood/recoverydata/katrina/katrina_la_overview-n.pdf |title=FEMA: Louisiana Katrina Surge Inundation Map, January 2006 |access-date=November 3, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111216044045/http://www.fema.gov/pdf/hazard/flood/recoverydata/katrina/katrina_la_overview-n.pdf |archive-date=December 16, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Hard-hit [[St. Bernard Parish]] was flooded because of breaching of the levees that contained a navigation channel called the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MR-GO) and the breach of the 40 Arpent canal levee that was designed and built by the [[Orleans Levee Board]]. The search for the missing was undertaken by the St. Bernard Fire Department because of the assets of the [[United States Coast Guard]] being diverted to New Orleans. In the months after the storm, many of the missing were tracked down by searching flooded homes, tracking credit card records, and visiting homes of family and relatives.<ref>Cannizaro, Steve. [https://web.archive.org/web/20060827225149/http://www.sbpg.net/cannizaro121705a.html "List of Missing Residents Down to 47, and More..."<!-- ellipsis in the original -->]. ''St. Bernard Parish Government (press release)''. December 17, 2005. Retrieved on June 5, 2006.</ref>
[[File:Katrina 2nd landfall.jpg|thumb|upright|Hurricane Katrina making landfall in [[New Orleans|New Orleans, Louisiana]].]]
According to the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development, in St. Bernard Parish, 81% (20,229) of the housing units were damaged. In St. Tammany Parish, 70% (48,792) were damaged and in Plaquemines Parish 80% (7,212) were damaged.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.huduser.org/publications/pdf/GulfCoast_Hsngdmgest.pdf|title=Current Housing Unit Damage Estimates, Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma|publisher=U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development|date=February 12, 2006|access-date=June 7, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926231657/http://www.huduser.org/Publications/pdf/GulfCoast_HsngDmgEst.pdf|archive-date=September 26, 2007|url-status=live}}</ref>

In addition, the combined effect of Hurricanes Katrina and [[Hurricane Rita|Rita]] was the destruction of an estimated {{convert|562|km2|sqmi}} of coastal wetlands in Louisiana.<ref>Rosenzweig, C., G. Casassa, D.J. Karoly, A. Imeson, C. Liu, A. Menzel, S. Rawlins, T.L. Root, B. Seguin, P. Tryjanowski. (2007). "Assessment of observed changes and responses in natural and managed systems. Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability". Chapter 1 in ''Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change'', (M.L. Parry, O.F. Canziani, J.P. Palutikof, P.J. van der Linden and C.E. Hanson, Eds.), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. (url : http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar4/wg2/ar4-wg2-chapter1.pdf {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090306152944/http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar4/wg2/ar4-wg2-chapter1.pdf |date=March 6, 2009}}). p. 92. Accessed December 19, 2011.</ref>

====New Orleans====
{{Main|Effects of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans|2005 levee failures in Greater New Orleans}}
[[File:KatrinaNewOrleansFlooded edit2.jpg|thumb|upright|Flooded I-10/I-610/West End Blvd [[interchange (road)|interchange]] and surrounding area of northwest New Orleans and Metairie, Louisiana]]
As the eye of Hurricane Katrina swept to the northeast, it subjected the city to hurricane conditions for hours. Although power failures prevented accurate measurement of wind speeds in New Orleans, there were a few measurements of hurricane-force winds; based on this information, the NHC concluded that much of the city likely experienced sustained winds of Category 1 or 2 hurricane strength.

Katrina's storm surge caused 53 levee breaches in the [[Flood Control Act of 1965|federally built levee system]] protecting metro New Orleans and the failure of the 40 Arpent Canal levee. Failures occurred in New Orleans and surrounding communities, especially St. Bernard Parish. The [[Mississippi River Gulf Outlet]] (MR-GO) breached its levees in approximately 20 places, flooding much of eastern New Orleans, most of [[Saint Bernard Parish, Louisiana|St. Bernard Parish]] and the East Bank of [[Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana|Plaquemines Parish]]. The major levee breaches in the city included breaches at the [[17th Street Canal]] levee, the [[London Avenue Canal]], and the wide, navigable [[Industrial Canal]], which left approximately 80% of the city flooded.<ref>Murphy, Verity. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4307972.stm "Fixing New Orleans' thin grey line"]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061001094924/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4307972.stm |date=October 1, 2006}} ''[[BBC News]]'' October 4, 2005. Retrieved on June 5, 2006.</ref>

Most of the major roads traveling into and out of the city were damaged. The only major intact highway routes out of the city were the westbound [[Crescent City Connection]] and the Huey P. Long Bridge, as large portions of the I-10 Twin Span Bridge traveling eastbound towards Slidell, Louisiana had collapsed. Both the [[Lake Pontchartrain Causeway]] and the Crescent City Connection only carried emergency traffic.<ref>Gordon, Meghan. [http://www.nola.com/katrina/index.ssf/2005/08/causeway_closed_but_hardly_damaged.html "Causeway closed but hardly damaged"]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303184141/http://www.nola.com/katrina/index.ssf/2005/08/causeway_closed_but_hardly_damaged.html |date=March 3, 2016}} ''Times Picayune''. August 31, 2005. Retrieved on June 5, 2006.</ref> However, access to downtown New Orleans and the "shelter of last resort" at the Convention Center was never closed because River Road in Jefferson Parish and Leake Avenue and Tchoupitoulas Street in New Orleans were not flooded, and would have allowed access throughout the immediate post-storm emergency period.

On August 29, at 7:40 a.m. CDT, it was reported that most of the windows on the north side of the [[Hyatt Regency New Orleans]] had been blown out, and many other high rise buildings had extensive window damage.<ref>Transcript from, ''[[The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer]]''. [https://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/weather/july-dec05/katrina_8-29.html "Hurricane Damages Gulf Coast"]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140108154446/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/weather/july-dec05/katrina_8-29.html |date=January 8, 2014}} ''[[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS]]''. August 29, 2005. Retrieved on June 5, 2006.</ref> The [[Hyatt]] was the most severely damaged hotel in the city, with beds reported to be flying out of the windows. Insulation tubes were exposed as the hotel's glass exterior was completely sheared off.<ref>Mowbray, Rebecca. [http://www.nola.com/hurricane/katrina/stories/083005_a15_hotels.html "Evacuations to hotels come with own set of hazards"]. {{webarchive|url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20090701215949/http://www.nola.com/hurricane/katrina/stories/083005_a15_hotels.html |date=July 1, 2009}} ''Times-Picayune''. August 30, 2005. Retrieved on June 5, 2006.</ref>

The [[Mercedes-Benz Superdome|Superdome]], which was sheltering many people who had not evacuated, sustained significant damage.<ref name="Gibson">{{cite news|last=Gibson|first=Christine|title=Our 10 Greatest Natural Disasters|publisher=American Heritage|date=August 1, 2006|access-date=February 22, 2016|url=http://www.americanheritage.com/content/our-10-greatest-natural-disasters|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304185615/http://www.americanheritage.com/content/our-10-greatest-natural-disasters|archive-date=March 4, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> Two sections of the Superdome's roof were compromised and the dome's waterproof membrane was essentially peeled off. [[Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport]] was closed before the storm but did not flood. On August 30, it was reopened to humanitarian and rescue operations. Limited commercial passenger service resumed at the airport on September 13 and regular carrier operations resumed in early October.<ref name="New Orleans Airport">{{cite journal|title=Hurricane Katrina from the Airport's Point of View |publisher=Web Archive of Fly MSY website |date=September 21, 2005 |access-date=February 22, 2016 |url=http://www.flymsy.com/Katrinastory.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060312180732/http://www.flymsy.com/Katrinastory.htm |archive-date=March 12, 2006}}</ref>

Levee breaches in New Orleans also caused a significant number of deaths, with over 700 bodies recovered in New Orleans by October 23, 2005.<ref>Warner, Coleman; Travis, Robert. [https://web.archive.org/web/20051027003351/http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpage/index.ssf?%2Fbase%2Fnews-4%2F113005097377980.xml "Where They Died"]. ''Times-Picayune''. October 23, 2005. Retrieved on June 5, 2006.</ref> Some survivors and evacuees reported seeing dead bodies lying in city streets and floating in still-flooded sections, especially in the east of the city. The advanced state of decomposition of many corpses, some of which were left in the water or sun for days before being collected, hindered efforts by coroners to identify many of the dead.<ref>O'Neill, Ann. [http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/09/09/katrina.morgue/index.html "Identifying victims a grueling task"]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060901054457/http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/09/09/katrina.morgue/index.html |date=September 1, 2006}} ''CNN''. September 9, 2005. Retrieved on June 5, 2006.</ref>

[[File:New Orleans Survivor Flyover.jpg|thumb|A U.S. coast guardsman searches for survivors in New Orleans in the Katrina aftermath.]]
The first deaths reported from the city were reported shortly before midnight on August 28, as three [[nursing home]] patients died during an evacuation to [[Baton Rouge, Louisiana|Baton Rouge]], most likely from dehydration. An estimated 215 bodies were found in nursing homes and hospitals in New Orleans,<ref name="USA20051017">{{cite news |first1=Robert |last1=Davis |first2=Kevin |last2=Johnson |title=La. looks into 215 Katrina deaths – Inquiry includes euthanasia report |newspaper=USA Today |location=Arlington, VA |date=October 17, 2005}}</ref> the largest number being at [[Memorial Medical Center and Hurricane Katrina|Memorial Medical Center]] where 45 corpses were recovered.<ref>{{cite news|last=Canfield|first=Sabrina|title=Hospital Settles Katrina Deaths Class Action|url=http://www.courthousenews.com/2011/03/24/35204.htm|access-date=March 4, 2014|newspaper=Courthouse News Service|date=March 24, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923210827/http://www.courthousenews.com/2011/03/24/35204.htm|archive-date=September 23, 2015}}</ref> Some 200 patients at [[Charity Hospital (New Orleans)|Charity Hospital]] were not evacuated until Friday, September 2, having been without power or fresh water for five days.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2005/US/09/03/katrina.hospitals/ |title=Patients finally rescued from Charity Hospital |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |website=cnn.com |publisher=Cable News Network |access-date=August 19, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160828021301/http://edition.cnn.com/2005/US/09/03/katrina.hospitals/ |archive-date=August 28, 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> While there were also early reports of fatalities amid mayhem at the Superdome, only six deaths were confirmed there, with four of these originating from [[natural causes]], one from a [[drug overdose]], and one a [[suicide]]. At the Convention Center, four bodies were recovered. One of the four is believed to be the result of a homicide.<ref name="thevenot">Thevenot, Brian; Russell, Gordon. [http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002520986_katmyth26.html "Reports of anarchy at Superdome overstated"]. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051023070941/http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002520986_katmyth26.html |date=October 23, 2005}} ''Seattle Times''. September 26, 2005. Retrieved on June 5, 2006.</ref>

There is evidence that many prisoners were abandoned in their cells during the storm, while the guards sought shelter. Hundreds of prisoners were later registered as "unaccounted for".<ref>[http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2011/08/27/imprisoned-disaster-political-will-and-hurricane-katrina/ The Fate of Prisoners during Hurricane Katrina] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121204023801/http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2011/08/27/imprisoned-disaster-political-will-and-hurricane-katrina/ |date=December 4, 2012}}, ''The Society Pages'', August 27, 2011. Retrieved November 28, 2012.</ref><ref>[http://www.wsws.org/articles/2005/oct2005/katr-o01.shtml New Orleans prisoners left to drown after Katrina struck] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121028035429/http://www.wsws.org/articles/2005/oct2005/katr-o01.shtml |date=October 28, 2012}}, ''World Socialist Web Site'', October 1, 2005. Retrieved November 28, 2012.</ref><ref>[https://www.aclu.org/files/pdfs/prison/oppreport20060809.pdf Abandoned & Abused: Report on the effects of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans Prisons (PDF)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160326051655/https://www.aclu.org/files/pdfs/prison/oppreport20060809.pdf|date=March 26, 2016}} ([https://www.aclu.org/prisoners-rights/abandoned-and-abused] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150314210237/https://www.aclu.org/prisoners-rights/abandoned-and-abused|date=March 14, 2015}}), ''American Civil Liberties Union'', August 9, 2006. Retrieved November 28, 2012.</ref>