As Katrina developed into a hurricane, the massive storm spun off more than 40 tornadoes. There were multiple warnings. As early as Aug. 24, there were watches and warnings. On Aug. 27, there was a watch, then a warning that night. The next day, Aug. 28, there were warnings about storm surge flooding of as much as 15 to more than 20 feet.
The watches became warnings.ย
They were voluntary.
You want to think about leaving. You might want to consider leaving. This would be a good time to leave. We're not saying you have to leave, but things are going to get pretty bad. You definitely want to leave.
Finally, there were mandatory evacuation orders: You must leave. Now.
There was a problem. Our local and state officials weren't in sync with our federal officials. People were getting different pieces of information. Or getting no information at all. The officials who were supposed to protect us let us down. On Aug. 28, it was kind of late. If you hadn't already left, you got stuck on Interstate 10 and state highways, often stalled in standstill traffic with the next gas station miles away.
Was that natural? No. Was it man-made? You bet.
On Aug. 29, Plaquemines Parish was hit by the Category 3 hurricane. The winds were whipping at about 125 mph and moving at only 12 mph. With such slow movement, the risks are higher because the storm sits and pounds away at anything it touches. Orleans Parish and neighboring parishes were hit. Though the storm moved slowly, it did move on.
The water moved, too.
The Mississippi River Ð Gulf Outlet Canal (abbreviated as MRGO or MR-GO) is a 76 mi channel constructed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers at the direction of Congress in the mid-20th century that provided a shorter route between the Gulf of Mexico and New Orleans' inner harbor Industrial Canal via the Intracoastal Waterway. In 2005, although disputed by the Corps of Engineers, the MRGO channeled Hurricane Katrina's storm surge into the heart of Greater New Orleans, contributing significantly to the subsequent multiple engineering failures experienced by the region's hurricane protection network. In the aftermath the channel was closed. A permanent storm surge barrier was constructed in the MRGO in 2009, and the channel has been closed to maritime shipping. (Photo by David Grunfeld, | The Times-Picayune)
(Photo by David Grunfeld NOLA.com |The Times-Picayune)
The 17th Street Canal was breached. The Industrial Canal was breached. The London Canal levee was breached. Multiple breaches led to the flooding of the Lower 9th Ward. In relatively short order, 80% of the city was underwater.
Was that natural? Nope. Was it man-made? You bet.
I wasn't around for the Last Island Hurricane in August 1856, when about 300 people died, including about 200 in our state. The storm surge split the island in two and destroyed Abbeville.
I was around for Hurricane Betsy in 1965 and Hurricane Camille in 1969. It was as though we hadn't learned much of anything about the impact of water, and especially how much damage can be caused by storm surge. Our officials had looked at past hurricane damage and upgraded our levees, telling us those things were unlikely to happen again.
Then they did.
When Katrina hit, there were New Orleans storm surges of more than a foot. Pass Christian saw storm surges of more than 27 feet.
Was that natural? Not really. We've known enough about water to know that water will find its way to other waterways and create new waterways and water paths where there are none.
An example of damage from storm surge of about 16 feet in the Eden Isles, Oak Harbor and Clipper Estates communities south of Slidell during Hurricane Katrina in 2005.ย
FILE PHOTO BY DAVID GRUNFELD
Didn't we know that? Of course we did. We just didn't plan well enough.
Our nation has disasters of many kinds. Wildfires. Snowstorms. Tornadoes. Dust storms. Hurricanes. They've often been called "natural disasters." But it's not a natural disaster when some fool lights a match and tosses it atop brush and limbs. That's not natural. That's man-made.ย
It's hard for me to imagine a man-made dust storm, snowstorm or tornado. It's not hard for me to imagine a man-made natural disaster. I thought about walking you through a few climate change facts, but I'll save that for another day. What is true is that "natural disasters" such as hurricanes like Katrina can โ and have been โ man-made. The storm itself was natural. The reasons the storm had such a devastating impact were man-made.
The 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina was Aug. 29, 2025. There were Katrina-connected, related, looking back and looking ahead events in recent months and quite a number in recent days. There were a lot of details and facts shared. There were some awful and heartwarming Katrina stories told. There were some quite engaging debates and discussions about what happened.
But what I found most promising was a sense that no matter what mistakes we made, we've learned from those mistakes, we made some progress and we โ at least most of us โ have realized we don't want anything like this to happen again.
According to the New Orleans Data Center, since before Katrina arrived, we gained more than 15,000 Hispanic residents, we lost more than 23,000 White residents and we lost a whopping 121,000 Black residents. Part of the issue is acknowledging that we don't have enough "affordable" housing, enough jobs paying living wages or enough good housing to accommodate any significant economic growth.
Was this natural? No way. Was this man-made? Definitely.
Can New Orleans regain its population? Absolutely. Start with living wage jobs and affordable housing.
But only if WE decide that's what we want, and only if we hold our elected and public officials accountable.