On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast, resulting in catastrophic flooding as multiple levees failed around New Orleans. This event led to profound devastation and highlighted the vulnerabilities of the region.
Consequently, more than 1,800 people lost their lives, making it the costliest natural disaster in US history. In addition, over 1 million residents were displaced from their homes.
Editor’s note: This gallery contains graphic images. Viewer discretion is advised.
Cars sit in traffic as people flee New Orleans on August 28, 2005. The next day, Katrina made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane with winds near 127 mph.
Sean Gardner/EPA/Shutterstock
Strong winds blow the roof off the Backyard Barbeque restaurant in Kenner, Louisiana, as Katrina makes landfall on August 29, 2005.
Irwin Thompson/The Dallas Morning News/AP
Arnold James tries to keep his feet as a strong gust nearly blows him over in New Orleans. The roof on his home blew off, forcing him to seek shelter at the Superdome.
Dave Martin/AP
National Guard trucks haul displaced New Orleans residents to the Superdome a day after the hurricane flooded their neighborhoods. About 25,000 evacuees were sheltered at the stadium.Police officer Terrence Gray helps Lovie Mae Allen and group of children evacuate their flooded homes in Gulfport, Mississippi.
John Bazemore/AP
A man swims by the Circle Food Store in flooded New Orleans.The hands of Shirley Ward, 40, are waterlogged after she was rescued on New Orleans’ Rocheblave Street.Paramedic David Mitchell examines Greg Farteberry on the roof of a destroyed home in New Orleans as Farteberry’s friend Eric Charles holds his hand.A New Orleans resident carries bottled water as she walks through oil-coated floodwaters downtown.A mother and her children are rescued by boat in New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward.Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd Class Scott D. Rady pulls a pregnant woman from her flooded New Orleans home.
US Coast Guard/Reuters
Evelyn Turner cries alongside the body of her longtime companion, Xavier Bowie, after he died in New Orleans.Floodwaters pour through a levee along the Inner Harbor Navigational Canal near downtown New Orleans.
Vincent Laforet/Pool/AP
New Orleans police officer Mark Wilson yells at people in stores looters on Canal Street.A section of the Mississippi bridge connecting Ocean Springs with Biloxi was wiped out by the storm.
Marc Serota/Reuters
In this handout photo provided by the White House, President George W. Bush looks out over Katrina devastation.New Orleans police and volunteers use boats to rescue residents from a flooded neighborhood.Cars are piled up in debris in Gulfport, Mississippi.Boats travel down a flooded highway in New Orleans.The Stump family stays in their car in Biloxi, Mississippi, after their home was destroyed by Katrina.New Orleans residents are rescued by a helicopter on August 31, 2005, two days after Katrina made landfall.
David J. Phillip/AP
Members of the National Guard watch over evacuees who took shelter at the Superdome in New Orleans.From left, Tam Cu, Jason Jackson and Linda Bryant look for belongings from Bryant’s home, which was devastated in Biloxi, Mississippi.
Barbara Davidson/The Dallas Morning News/AP
Jason Jennison, an aviation survival technician with the US Coast Guard, pulls a Katrina survivor aboard a helicopter in New Orleans.
Sam Wolfe/AP
Residents wait to be rescued from a rooftop in New Orleans on September 1, 2005.
David J. Phillip/Pool/AP
Wind and water damage to the Superdome roof created unsafe conditions for evacuees.Members of the National Guard stand outside the Superdome as emotional evacuees await their next destination.A dead body is seen as people push a boat outside the Superdome on September 2, 2005.A military helicopter makes a food and water drop near the Convention Center in New Orleans.
Eric Gay/AP
Thousands of New Orleans residents gather at a evacuation staging area along Interstate 10 in Metairie, Louisiana.
Dave Martin/AP
Terri Jones tries to cool Dorthy Divic, an 89-year-old who was overheated and exhausted at the Convention Center in New Orleans.
Eric Gay/AP
This aerial photo shows a flooded neighborhood adjacent to the 12th Street levee in New Orleans.
Vincent Laforet/The New York Times/Redux
Charlene Veillon hugs her grandson after they learned that her daughter Joanna Ellis was killed during Hurricane Katrina in Waveland, Mississippi.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
A man clings to the top of a vehicle in New Orleans before being rescued by the Coast Guard.
Robert Galbraith/Reuters
Katrina evacuees who received food, shelter and medical attention at the Astrodome in Houston.
Carlos Barria/Reuters
Eugene Green holds his baby as they wait to be airlifted from a highway overpass in New Orleans on September 4, 2005.
Mario Tama/Getty Images
Leonard Thomas cries after a SWAT team burst into the flooded New Orleans home he and his family were living in.A helicopter drops sandbags to plug a levee in New Orleans on September 11, 2005.
