Hurricane Katrina was the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history, far surpassing the $25 Billion in damage caused by Hurricane Andrew in 1992. Early estimates of the total damage inflicted by Katrina have approached $150-$200 Billion. The death toll from this hurricane was enormous and by November, 2005 the number stood at 1,322. Katrina was the deadliest U.S. hurricane since the 1928 Okeechobee storm and shocked the nation where high death tolls from hurricanes were thought to be a thing of the past with the advanced warning systems we now have.
The severely bungled relief effort resulted in the resignation of FEMA director, Michael Brown, and brought President Bush's approval rating to the lowest level of his presidency. The disaster wrought by Katrina in New Orleans had been long predicted by scientists and engineers, and it was felt by the public that much more should have been done in preparing for such an eventuality. Congressional hearings were ordered to investigate exactly what went wrong and how to prevent another such tragedy in the future.
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The following are a series of graphic illustrations that appeared in the "Times Picayune" (New Orleans' main newspaper) shortly after Katrina's passage, depicting the hurricane's effects on the Gulf Coast .
The Rising Death Toll
Date La Ms Al Ga Fl Tn Total
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9/08 118 204 2 2 11 0 337
9/11 197 211 2 2 11 0 423
9/12 279 218 2 2 11 0 512
9/13 423 218 2 2 14 0 659
9/14 474 218 2 2 14 1 711
9/15 558 218 2 2 14 1 795
9/16 579 218 2 2 14 1 816
9/17 646 219 2 2 14 1 883
9/19 736 219 2 2 14 1 974
9/21 801 219 2 2 14 1 1039
9/22 832 219 2 2 14 1 1070
9/23 841 219 2 2 14 1 1079
9/26 864 219 2 2 14 1 1102
9/27 885 219 2 2 14 1 1123
9/28 896 219 2 2 14 1 1134
9/29 923 220 2 2 14 1 1162
9/30 932 221 2 2 14 1 1172
10/03 964 221 2 2 14 1 1204
10/04 972 221 2 2 14 1 1212
10/05 976 221 2 2 14 1 1216
10/06 988 221 2 2 14 1 1228
10/07 1003 221 2 2 14 1 1243
10/11 1021 221 2 2 14 1 1261
10/12 1025 221 2 2 14 1 1265
10/14 1035 221 2 2 14 1 1275
11/16 1056 227 2 2 14 1 1302
11/18 1076 230 2 2 14 1 1325
Highest wind gusts estimated with Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina Overview Continues