20 years ago: Hurricane Katrina, the costliest hurricane in US history

Hurricane Katrina 20 years later

NEW ORLEANS (WISH) — 20 years ago this week, the costliest hurricane in US history impacted the Gulf Coast. Hurricane Katrina caused over 200 billion dollars in damage when you adjust costs to the 2024 consumer price index.

Other storms in the top 5 costliest category are Harvey, Ian, Maria, and Sandy.

Katrina first made landfall in southeast Florida on Aug. 25, 2005, as a category 1 storm. The system would turn into a massive category 5 hurricane in the Gulf in the following days. At landfall in Louisiana, Hurricane Katrina weakened to a category 3 hurricane on Aug. 29, 2005.

1833 fatalities occurred with this storm. More than 50 levee breaches happened in New Orleans, LA, which flooded the city. A devastating storm surge of 28 feet was observed along the Mississippi coast.

Hurricane Katrina on August 28, 2005. Courtesy: NOAA

Katrina reached peak intensity on Aug. 28, 2005, with maximum winds of 175 mph and minimum pressure of 902 millibars.

For the latest update on what’s currently going on in the tropics, visit our weather stories page here.

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