In August 2005 Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. The combined effects of wind, rain, and sea created one of the worst natural disasters in United States history. In New Orleans, Louisiana, a levee holding back Lake Ponchartrain from the Lower Ninth Ward of the city failed under the pressure of Katrina’s storm surge, sending massive amounts of water into the city, which lies below sea level, thus creating a humanitarian crisis. There was widespread destruction across the rest of the region as well. A total of 1,836 people across the country died in the storm and damages exceeded $100 billion, making it the costliest natural disaster in US history and one of the costliest natural disasters of all time. The storm also created an environmental catastrophe: drinking water in the region became contaminated with industrial chemicals such as mercury and nickel from floodwaters, and numerous offshore oil platforms suffered damage from Katrina.
Contributed by Connor Haas
Course: Modern Global Environmental History
Instructor: Dr. Wilko Graf von Hardenberg
University of Wisconsin–Madison, US