by Kevin Caruso
Hurricane Katrina was a massive hurricane that hit the Gulf Region of the United States on August 29, 2005. The hurricane was a category 5 as it approached the coast, and hit land as a category 4.
The storm was quite large, with hurricane-force winds extending 105 miles from the eye, and tropical storm-force winds extending over 230 miles.
The hurricane caused extensive and severe damage in Louisiana and Mississippi, but the hardest hit area was New Orleans, Louisiana. Seventy percent of New Orleans lies below
sea level and a series of levees normally preclude water from the Mississippi River from flooding the city. But a break in the levee system during Hurricane Katrina caused massive flooding throughout most of the city.
About 180,000 homes were under water during the flood.
And the electrical systems and water systems were non-functional.
Hurricane Katrina may prove to be the worst natural disaster in the history of the United States.
