History of Hurricane Katrina

The tropical depression that formed hurricane Katrina started in the Bahamas on August 23, 2005 and just six short days later, on August 29, 2005, struck the Gulf Coast in the early hours of the morning. This storm stretched over 400 miles across, brought 100-140 miles per hour winds, and is estimated to caused more than $100 billion in damages to the states of Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana; the city of New Orleans was damaged beyond belief and hundreds of thousands of people were displaced from their homes and belongings. Water management in New Orleans was mainly based on the levees along the Mississippi River, which were strong and sturdy, but the levees that were built along the lakes to the east and west of the city were much less reliable. Because the city is surrounded by water, over the 20^th century engineers had build levees and seawalls to prevent the city from flooding, but nothing could prepare for the amount of water and wind Hurricane Katrina would bring. About half of New Orleans lies above sea level, but the neighborhoods below sea level, which housed the city’s poorest and most vulnerable people, was at the greatest risk for flooding ("Hurricane Katrina").

http://www.history.com/topics/hurricane-katrina/videos/hurricane-katrina

This is an aerial video taken shorty after Hurricane Katrina hit the city of New Orleans and shows the devastating damage done to such a beautiful city.

History Network Staff. "Hurricane Katrina." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2009. Web. 02 Jan. 2017.