AUGUST 29, 2005
The Superdome in New Orleans Before Katrina (Aero-Data Corporation, 2002)
Today marks the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, one of the most deadliest and destructive hurricanes ever to hit the United States.
Although death tolls vary, Hurricane Katrina is estimated to have killed over 1,300 people in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia.
On August 28th, Katrina reached Category 5 status with winds of 172 mph and a barometric pressure of 902 mb.
The Superdome in New Orleans After Katrina (Aero-Data Corporation, 2005)
On August 29th, Katrina weakened to a Category 3 storm before making landfall near Buras in Plaquemines Parish. Katrina continued northward to make another landfall at the Louisiana / Mississippi border.
The storm surge climbed to its highest in Hancock and Harrison Counties in Mississippi with a height of 24 to 28 feet, devastating the coastal communities of Waveland, Bay St. Louis, Pass Christian, Long Beach, Gulfport and Biloxi.
In Louisiana, the storm surge reached heights of 12 to 19 feet in Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard and St. Tammany Parishes. The surge breached the levee system in New Orleans, flooding 80 percent of the city.
Hurricane Katrina and the subsequent levee failures caused the deaths of at least 986 people in Louisiana. Forty percent died from drowning. Almost half were over the age of 75.
