Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina was the most destructive tropical cyclone ever to hit the United States. It caused extensive damage to the coastal regions of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama on the August 29, 2005. By late morning of August 29 , the storm caused several sections of the levee system in New Orleans, Louisiana to collapse. Subsequent flooding over most of the city, a greater part of which lies below sea level, resulted in widespread damage and many deaths. Later estimates placed the death toll in the thousands, and the damage was expected to surpass Hurricane Andrew as the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history. Over a million people were displaced — a humanitarian crisis on a scale unseen in the U.S. since the Great Depression.
As of 7pm September 1, more than 20,000 were still reported missing. Local mortuaries had been told to prepare for “up to 40,000 bodies” . New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin stated on August 31 that the death toll of Katrina may be “in the thousands”, an estimate also provided through a statement by Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco on September . Accurate numbers were not known. Damage was reported in at least 12 states.
Federal disaster declarations blanketed 90,000 square miles (233,000 km²) of the United States, an area almost as large as the United Kingdom. The hurricane left an estimated five million people without power, and it may have been up to two months before all power was restored. On September 3, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff described the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina as “probably the worst catastrophe, or set of catastrophes” in the country’s history, referring to the hurricane itself plus the flooding of New Orleans.
Death toll (summary)
State Location(county/parish) Deaths Direct deaths
Florida Broward 6 3
Miami-Dade 4 3
Walton 3 1
Louisiana E. Baton Rouge 3 0
Jefferson 200 200
Livingston 1 1
Orleans 1000+ 71
Plaquemines 3 3
St. Bernard 201 201
St. Landry 1 0
St. Tammany 13 9
Tangipahoa 8 0?
Mississippi Adams 2 2
Forrest 10 10
Harrison 100 100
Hancock 85 85
Hinds 1 1
Jackson 15 15
Jones 6 6
Lauderdale 1 1
Leake 1 1
Pearl River 17 17
Simpson 1 1
Stone 1 1
Warren 1 1
Alabama Washington 2 0
Georgia Carroll 2 1
Kentucky Christian 1 1
Ohio Jefferson 2 0
Total 1,691+ 735
Number Missing 35,000+
The unconfirmed death toll reported in various regions is given in the chart to the right. These are confirmed deaths from local news agencies. Direct deaths indicate those caused by the direct effects of the winds, flooding, storm surge or oceanic effects of Katrina. Indirect deaths indicate those caused by hurricane-related accidents (including car accidents), fires or other incidents, as well as clean-up incidents and health issues.
On 31 August 2005, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin told reporters that the hurricane probably killed thousands of people in the city .
This view was confirmed on September 1 by U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu who said “We understand there are thousands of dead people” .
In a press conference broadcast live on 4WWL at 1915 UTC on September 1 Governor Kathleen Blanco said that thousands of deaths were believed to have occurred in New Orleans. The FEMA representative said that they have brought in a deployable morgue.
On September 3 US Senator David Vitter (R-LA) said that the death toll from Hurricane Katrina could top 10,000 in Louisiana alone. “My guess is that it will start at 10,000, but that is only a guess,” Vitter said.
On September 6 FEMA stopped allowing journalists to accompany rescuers searching for victims, saying they would take up too much space. At the same time, FEMA requested that journalists stop taking pictures of dead bodies.
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