Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf of Mexico on August 29, 2005, causing the destruction of coastal cities in the states of Mississippi and Louisiana. As a result, more than 1.800 people died and around a million were forced to leave their homes.
This is the sixth most intense hurricane recorded in the Atlantic (its winds reached 280 kilometers per hour) and number one on the list of the deadliest in the history of the United States. It is also listed as the hurricane that has caused the most material damage in the country: 108 billion dollars.
Effects of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans
The worst hit was taken by the city of New Orleans, whose levees gave way due to mismanagement, leaving 80% of the city submerged. About 20% of its half a million citizens were stranded without power, food or clean water waiting for an aid that was delayed for days, further worsening the unfortunate situation, which included toxic waters, corpses floating in the streets, looting, murder and much general chaos.
The United States Army Corps of Engineers, which designed and built the levee system, was found responsible for the failure of the levees and the floods in January 2008. Likewise, the failure of the protections also led to the resignations of Michael D. Brown, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA, for its acronym English) and Eddie Compass, superintendent from the New Orleans Police Department.