Today is the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina making landfall in Louisiana and Mississippi on August 29, 2005.
The National Hurricane Center says, "Katrina was an extraordinarily powerful and deadly hurricane that carved a wide swath of catastrophic damage and inflicted large loss of life."
The Tropical Cyclone Report says it was the costliest and one of the five deadliest hurricanes to ever strike the United States.
"After reaching Category 5 intensity over the central Gulf of Mexico, Katrina weakened to Category 3 before making landfall on the northern Gulf coast. Even so, the damage and loss of life inflicted by this massive hurricane in Louisiana and Mississippi were staggering."
Katrina pushed a 30 foot wall of storm surge water ashore, devastating coastal communities. The winds blew apart structures. Then the levees broke, flooding 80 percent of New Orleans.
"Katrina was one of the most devastating natural disasters in United States history."
The storm caused extensive wind and surge damage from Mississippi through Southeast Louisiana.
"Katrina's death toll was at 1,836. Most of the deaths were from Louisiana, where 1,577 people died. In Mississippi, there were 238 deaths. Damage was estimated at more than $160 billion."