Hurricane Katrina was a big storm that caused a flood in Louisiana and Mississippi in 2005. Specifically, it flooded New Orleans. It precipitated a lot of water, which caused a storm surge that broke levees. That allowed water to infiltrate the city. 80% of New Orleans was below sea level, so the 80% flooded. Many people were stranded.
There were power outages. Clean water was hard to get. There was no internet access or TV. Most roads were damaged, and the airport was closed. 1,464 people died.
1.3 million acres of forest land were destroyed. There was $5 Billion in damage. Oil got more expensive around the world because 30 oil platforms were destroyed. Also 9 oil refineries were closed 6 months because of the flood.
Over 80% of the people who lived in New Orleans escaped to avoid danger before the Hurricane hit. However, there were still a lot in the city. The mess had effects on a big part of the people and money related stuff and politics of the whole country. The Hurricane started big research into city planning, real estate, and money saving issues after a natural disaster. Afterwards, in New Orleans, the wages went down, but so did the labor force. New Orleans lost about 30% of its population between 2005 and 2008.
Approximately 62000 homes were left blighted or vacant. In 2007, 17500 families lived in trailers because of the flood. In 2008, 2800 people were still in emergency housing. After the flooding, rents got raised 40%.
