Preparation and Outcome

Hurricane Katrina formed on August 23, 2005 over the Bahamas. Meteorologists soon started warning people to prepare and evacuate, and evacuations were underway by August 28. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin issued a mandatory evacuation order; however, only 80 percent of the population evacuated. Mayor Nagin also declared the Louisiana Superdome a shelter of last resort, where approximately 10,000 people sought shelter. 

Evacuation

Tens of thousands of people decided to wait the storm out at home. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) were not properly prepared for the disaster and took days to establish their operations in New Orleans. People were stranded, had no food and water, and were overall desperate for help. Approximately 34,000 people were rescued from their homes by the US Coast Guard. 

Coast Guard Rescuing Civilians

First Responders from the Hurricane Katrina Museum

The Superdome was overcrowded and limited on supplies, but still housed an estimated 30,000 people as the numbers continued to grow. The Superdome's roof blew off and lost power. People were forced to relieve themselves wherever they could; it was a horrible situation. An additional 25,000 people gathered at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center desperate for shelter and supplies. 

Louisiana Superdome

Many local agencies were unable to respond due to their headquarters being under 20 feet of water. Floodwaters had trapped people in their homes, so citizens and ordinary heroes went out with their own boats and supplies to rescue as many people as they could. These people became known as the "Cajun Army". 

Ordinary heroes sign from the Hurricane Katrina Museum

In the end, Hurricane Katrina took almost 2,000 lives. 

Each bottle contains a name of a life that Katrina claimed - from the Hurricane Katrina Museum

Works Cited:

The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. “Hurricane Katrina.” Encyclopædia Britannica,

Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 22 Dec. 2017, www.britannica.com/event/Hurricane-Katrina.

History.com Staff. “Hurricane Katrina.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 2009,

www.history.com/topics/hurricane-katrina.

Smith, Greg B. “Hurricane Katrina 10 yrs. later: New Orleans still struggles.” NY Daily News, New

York Daily News, 23 Aug. 2015, www.nydailynews.com/news/national/hurricane-katrina-10-yrs-new-orleans-struggles-article-1.2334479.