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Tropical Depression
It first started as a Tropical Depression around the Caribean waters. -
Hurricane
Ir became a hurricane two days later as it reached southeastern Miami as a Category 1 storm. It flew around Miami at 80 mph. It lost some of it strenght but as it arrived at the Gulf of Mexico it regained its power because of the warm waters. -
People fled the dangered areas
The storm grew to a Category 3 hurricane. At its largest, Katrina was so wide its diameter stretched across the Gulf of Mexico. Before the storm hit land, a mandatory evacuation was issued for the city of New Orleans, which had a population of more than 480,000 at the time. Tens of thousands of residents fled. But many stayed, particularly among the city's poorest residents and those who were elderly or lacked access to transportation. -
Hit ground
Hurricane Katrina made landfall off the coast of Louisiana. It hit land as a Category 3 storm with winds reaching speeds as high as 120 miles per hour. Because of the ensuing destruction and loss of life, the storm is often considered one of the worst in U.S. history. An estimated 1,200 people died as a direct result of the storm, which also cost an estimated $108 billion in property damage, making it the costliest storm on record. -
Katrina Ended
The resulting extratropical storm moved rapidly to the northeast and affected eastern Canada. -
Flooding in New Orleans
The following day, Katrina weakened to a tropical storm, but severe flooding inhibited relief efforts in much of New Orleans. An estimated 80 percent of the city was soon underwater. Four days later, the city and surrounding areas were in full-on crisis mode, with many people and companion animals still stranded, and infrastructure and services collapsing. -
Aftermath
An assessment from the state of Louisiana confirmed that just under half of the 1,200 deaths resulted from chronic disease exacerbated by the storm, and a third of the deaths were from drowning. Hurricane death tolls are debated, and for Katrina, counts can vary by as much as 600. Collected bodies must be examined for cause of death, and some argue that indirect hurricane deaths, like being unable to access medical care, should be counted in official numbers.