Katrina Hits: New Orleans Levees Break, City Drowns
Hurricane Katrina made landfall near Buras, Louisiana, on August 29, 2005, as a Category 3 storm with sustained winds of 125 mph. The city's levee system, built and maintained by the Army Corps of Engineers, failed in over 50 places. Eighty percent of New Orleans flooded, with water reaching 20 feet in some neighborhoods. Over 1,800 people died across the Gulf Coast region. The Superdome, designated as a shelter of last resort, housed 30,000 people in sweltering conditions without adequate food, water, or sanitation for five days. FEMA Director Michael Brown was widely criticized for the federal response. The disaster exposed racial and economic inequalities in American disaster preparedness that the nation had chosen to ignore.
August 29, 2005
21 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on August 29
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