Some of the many casualties of Hurricane Katrina were the oil refineries in the area.4 Oil spills from three different refineries resulted in nearly 8 million gallons of oil spilled into local waterways, further endangering the local ecosystems. The heat of late summer and lack of sanitation facilities and products led to a foul environment for those trying to survive.The environmental effects of Hurricane Katrina were extensive, between the storm itself and the nature of the cleanup process following its conclusion. Meanwhile, in New Orleans, reports of theft, rape, and gun violence increased as food and safe water supplies were depleted. Prior to the storm, 30 percent of New Orleans’ residents lived below the poverty line and the predicament of the storm left many more vulnerable than ever.Īs conditions at the Superdome worsened, about 25,000 Katrina victims were bussed to Houston, Texas, to take shelter in the city’s Astrodome. Those stuck in the crowded shelters spent time looking for missing family members and friends, others began looting stores. By September 1, the number of occupants in the shelter had grown to over 30,000, with an additional 25,000 at the city’s Convention Center. In the Superdome, conditions rapidly deteriorated from bad to worse. In the end, some 1,833 people in Louisiana and Mississippi were killed. Ultimately, about 60,000 people who had waited out the storm in their homes were rescued. Chaotic conditions following the storm made evacuation and rescue risky. With most of the flooding as deep as 10 feet, it took weeks for waters to recede. Eighty percent of the city became submerged after the levee failures. Not everyone wanted or could leave home to take shelter. Winds reaching over 100 miles an hour damaged the shelter’s roof-after more than 10,000 people had flocked to the stadium. But the Superdome, itself, soon became compromised by the storm. For many, the city’s Louisiana Superdome became a last resort for escape. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin had issued a mandatory evacuation the night before Katrina struck, but up to 100,000 residents did not have access to transportation. READ MORE: Hurricane Katrina: 10 Facts About the Deadly Storm and Its Legacy Against the storm’s severe rainfall and storm surge, some barriers became unstable or were swept away altogether, causing major flooding. These structures proved to be no match against the intensity of Katrina. The water surrounding the city had always been protected by levees along the Mississippi River, Lake Pontchartrain, Lake Borgne and waterlogged swamps and marshes.

With more than $100 billion in damages, communities, numbering in the hundreds of thousands, were displaced and more than 1,800 lives were lost.Īlthough half of New Orleans is above sea level, the city’s average elevation falls six feet below.

Levees across the city started to break down, leading to mass flooding. Katrina was powerful, but nothing was more damaging than the aftermath to come. Over the course of the day, the storm gained steam, increasing from a category 3 to category 5 storm in a matter of nine hours. On August 29, 2005, the lively city of New Orleans was changed forever as Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast of the United States in the early morning hours.

Video of hurricane katrina aftermath