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Hurricane Katrina was the eleventh named tropical storm, fifth hurricane, third major hurricane, and first Category 5 hurricane
of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. It was the third most powerful storm of the season, and the sixth-strongest Atlantic
hurricane ever recorded. Katrina formed over the Bahamas on August 23, 2005, and crossed southern Florida at Category 1 intensity
before strengthening rapidly in the Gulf of Mexico, becoming the strongest hurricane ever recorded at that time in the Gulf.
(Hurricane Rita broke this record later in the season.) The storm weakened considerably before making its second landfall
as an extremely large Category 3 storm on the morning of August 29 along the Central Gulf Coast near Buras-Triumph, Louisiana.
The storm surge from Katrina caused catastrophic damage along the coastlines of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. Levees
separating Lake Pontchartrain from New Orleans were breached by the surge, ultimately flooding about 80% of the city. Wind
damage was reported well inland, impeding relief efforts. Katrina is estimated to be responsible for $75 billion in damages,
making it the costliest hurricane in United States history; the storm has killed 1,418 people, becoming the deadliest U.S.
hurricane since the 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane.
NEVER IN MY LIFE DID I EVER EXPECT TO SEE SUCH HUMAN SUFFERING ON AMERICAN SOIL. PEOPLE "BEGGING" FOR FOOD AND WATER.
SIMPLY FOOD AND WATER. MY HEART WAS BROKEN. TO WATCH THE NEWS, TO READ THE PAPERS. I WAS EMOTIONALLY UPSET. SOME MAY THINK
THAT IS JUST BEING STRANGE, I CALL IT BEING HUMAN. IF I COULD TAKE AWAY ALL THE PAIN THOSE PEOPLE HAVE I WOULD. I FEEL FOR
THOSE PEOPLE EVERYDAY. THOSE PEOPLE ARE "OUR" FELLOW AMERICANS. I DEEPLY THANK ALL WHO HELP IN THE EFFORTS. SOME
SAY, THEY COULD HAVE LEFT, WELL.......COULDA, SHOULDA, AND WOULDA, THAT IS NOT THE ISSUE. WE NEED TO COME TOGETHER AND HELP
THIS RECOVERY EFFORT.
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