Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina was an extremely powerful and catastrophic tropical cyclone that affected the Southeastern United States in late August 2005, particularly in and around the city of New Orleans. Katrina became the United States' costliest tropical cyclone, with an estimated $125 billion ($206 billion when adjusted for inflation) in damages. The hurricane killed 1,392 people, making it the deadliest American hurricane since the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane. Katrina was the twelfth tropical cyclone, the fifth hurricane, the third major hurricane, and the second Category 5 hurricane of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. It was also the fourth-most intense Atlantic hurricane to make landfall in the contiguous United States, as measured by barometric pressure. The hurricane originated on August 23 near the Bahamas, from the merger of a tropical wave and the remnants of a tropical depression. Katrina strengthened into a hurricane before making its first landfall in southeast Florida on August 25. Crossing the state, the hurricane entered the Gulf of Mexico on August 26 and rapidly intensified. Early on August 28, Katrina peaked as a Category 5 hurricane, with winds of 175 mph (280 km/h) and a minimum central pressure of 902 mbar (26.64 inHg). Turning to the north, the hurricane weakened to a Category 3 hurricane before making landfall on August 29 near Buras-Triumph, Louisiana, with a subsequent final landfall near the Louisiana–Mississippi border. Katrina also produced a widespread tornado outbreak while moving inland and weakening. On August 31, a cold front over Ohio absorbed the circulation of the former hurricane. The remnants of Katrina continued to the northeast, later moving through Canada before losing their identity on September 7 near Greenland. Eighty percent of New Orleans, as well as large areas in neighboring parishes, were flooded. It is estimated that about 100,000 to 150,000 people remained in the...