Hurricane Katrina: 10 years later
On August 23rd 2005 a tropical storm became a hurricane in the Bahamas and would soon bring devastation to Louisiana and Mississippi. Hurricane Katrina was categorized as a major hurricane on August 28th when it was upgraded to category five when it had sustained winds of 175 mph. On the 29th it made landfall in Louisiana as a very strong category 3, as it was just downgraded to category 4. As it moved over the Gulf States it became the costliest hurricane in US history with over 108 billion dollars in damage and one of the top five deadliest hurricanes on record with 1,833 deaths.
Katrina then moved up the Ohio River valley and weakened quickly. On Delmarva we recorded just under an eighth of an inch of rain from the remnants of Katrina. A much bigger impact on Delmarva was the reaction from citizens to help those in need.
As I reviewed news stories from ten years ago, the weeks following the devastation in New Orleans and along the Gulf Coast were filled with an outpouring of generosity. Many organizations raised money to send to those in need and some groups put together and sent care packages to those who were in need. Some companies sent trucks and machinery to the Gulf Coast to help with the rebuild. Some of the most heartwarming stories are the people who opened up their homes to random families who were rendered homeless after New Orleans and surrounding communities flooded.
I can’t believe it’s been 10 years since Hurricane Katrina formed and then wreaked havoc on the Gulf Coast just a week later. I was in my freshman year of college, studying meteorology, and it was a sobering experience to see the impact of such a major storm. It showed that even though we can prepare, Mother Nature is a force to be reckoned with.
