Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina
	Katrina at peak intensity in the Gulf of Mexico on August 28
Meteorological history
Formed	August 23, 2005
Extratropical	August 30, 2005
Dissipated	August 31, 2005
Category 5 major hurricane
	1-minute sustained (SSHWS/NWS)
Highest winds	175 mph (280 km/h)
Lowest pressure	902 mbar (hPa); 26.64 inHg
Overall effects
Fatalities	1,392
Missing	652
Damage	$125 billion (2005 USD); (Tied as the costliest tropical cyclone on record, costliest when adjusted for inflation)
Areas affected	Bahamas; Southeastern United States (especially Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi); Cuba; Northeastern United States; Eastern Canada;
	IBTrACS
	Part of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season

Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. It is tied with Hurricane Harvey as being the costliest tropical cyclone in the Atlantic basin. Katrina was the twelfth tropical cyclone, the fifth hurricane, and the third major hurricane of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. It was also the fourth-most intense Atlantic hurricane to make landfall in the contiguous United States, gauged by barometric pressure.

Katrina formed on August 23, 2005, with the merger of a tropical wave and the remnants of a tropical depression. After briefly weakening to a tropical storm over south Florida, Katrina entered the Gulf of Mexico on August 26 and rapidly intensified to a Category 5 hurricane before weakening to a Category 3 at its landfall on August 29 near Buras-Triumph, Louisiana.

Eighty percent of the city, as well as large areas in neighboring parishes, were flooded. It is estimated that about 100,000 to 150,000 people remained in the City of New Orleans, despite mandatory evacuation orders. This prompted a massive national and international response effort, including federal, local, and private rescue operations.The largest loss of life was due to flooding caused by engineering flaws in the federally built hurricane protection system, particularly the levees around New Orleans. Multiple investigations (citation unverified) concluded that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the organization tasked by Congress in the Flood Control Act of 1965 to design and build the region's hurricane protection, was responsible for the breached floodwalls. Later, a federal appeals court ruled that the Army Corps, despite being responsible, could not be held financially liable due to the Flood Control Act of 1928.

The emergency response from federal, state, and local governments was widely criticized, leading to the resignation of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) director Michael D. Brown and New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) superintendent Eddie Compass. Many other government officials faced criticism for their responses, especially New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin, Louisiana governor Kathleen Blanco, and President George W. Bush. However, several agencies, such as the United States Coast Guard (USCG), National Hurricane Center (NHC), and National Weather Service (NWS), were commended for their actions, with the NHC being particularly praised for its accurate forecasts well in advance.^[1] Katrina was the earliest 11th named storm on record before being surpassed by Tropical Storm Kyle on August 14, 2020. The destruction and loss of life caused by the storm prompted the name Katrina to be retired by the World Meteorological Organization in April 2006.

On January 4, 2023, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) updated the Katrina fatality data based on a report by Rappaport (2014) which reduced the number from an estimated 1,833 to 1,392.^[2]^[3]

^ Cite error: The named reference CongressInvestigation was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Knabb, Richard D.; Rhome, Jamie R.; Brown, Daniel P. (January 4, 2023). ""Tropical Cyclone Report, Hurricane Katrina 23-30 August 2005" (PDF)" (PDF). NOAA.GOV.
^ Schleifstein, Mark (January 14, 2023). ""How many people died in Hurricane Katrina? Toll reduce 17 years later"". The New Orleans Advocate.

[CongressInvestigation-1] Cite error: The named reference CongressInvestigation was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[2] Knabb, Richard D.; Rhome, Jamie R.; Brown, Daniel P. (January 4, 2023). ""Tropical Cyclone Report, Hurricane Katrina 23-30 August 2005" (PDF)" (PDF). NOAA.GOV.

[3] Schleifstein, Mark (January 14, 2023). ""How many people died in Hurricane Katrina? Toll reduce 17 years later"". The New Orleans Advocate.

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