Highlights
- Hurricane Katrina caused over $125 billion in damage and nearly 1,400 deaths when it struck on August 29, 2005
- The federal government invested $15 billion in a new Hurricane and Storm Damage Risk Reduction System with 150 miles of improved levees
- New Orleans population remains 100,000 people below pre-Katrina levels, down from 484,674 in 2000 to around 364,000 today
- City commemorates anniversary with exhibitions, panels, and community events throughout August 2025
- Post-Katrina recovery introduced an innovative “living with water” approach and green infrastructure projects
Hurricane Katrina: 20 Years Later – New Orleans’ Transformation
Twenty years after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, the city has invested $15 billion in flood protection while still rebuilding its population and communities.
NEW ORLEANS, La. (KPEL News) — Twenty years after Hurricane Katrina forever changed the Crescent City, New Orleans stands as both a symbol of resilience and ongoing recovery, with massive infrastructure improvements protecting a smaller but determined population.
Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast on August 29, 2005, as a Category 5 storm that devastated the New Orleans metropolitan area, destroying or severely damaging more than a million homes, displacing over 1 million people, and causing at least 986 deaths in Louisiana alone…