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Hurricane
Katrina: Path of
Destruction
Updated Mon. Sep. 5
2005 7:19 PM ET
CTV.ca News Staff
Following is a
chronology detailing Hurricane Katrina's path of
destruction in the U.S. Gulf Coast.
August 23: The U.S.
National Hurricane Center issues a statement saying that
a tropical depression had formed over the Bahamas. A
tropical storm watch is issued for portions of the
Florida Keys and Florida's east coast.
Oil and gas prices jump with word that
energy production on the Gulf Coast could be
disrupted.
August 24: The storm is upgraded to
Tropical Storm Katrina. By the end of the day, a
hurricane warning is in effect for the southeast Florida
coast from Vero Beach southward to Florida City.
August 25: Katrina -- now
a Category 1 hurricane -- makes landfall just south of
the Fort Lauderdale area at about 7 p.m. ET, drenching
southern Florida with up to 10 inches of rain before
moving towards the Gulf of Mexico.
Eleven
people die, mainly from falling trees or traffic
accidents. Nearly three million people lose
electricity.
August 26: Late in the
day, Katrina is on a slow-moving but erratic course
through the Gulf of Mexico, and on a path to make
landfall in the Florida Panhandle.
Forecasters
warn that Katrina -- now a Category 2 hurricane -- could
hit the area at Category 3 or possibly even Category 4
strength.
August 27: Katrina is
gaining strength over the warm waters of the Gulf of
Mexico as it moves westward. Forecasters believe the
hurricane is expected to hit land two days later,
between New Orleans and Pensacola, Fla.
The
hurricane centre issues a statement warning that Katrina
threatens the north central Gulf Coast.
August 28: Forecasters say
the storm will hit land at about 8 a.m. ET the next day,
at Grand Isle, which is about 90 kilometres south of New
Orleans.
The hurricane centre issues a
statement warning that Katrina is now a "potentially
catastrophic Category 5 hurricane" and that it is headed
for the northern Gulf Coast.
August 29: A slight
deviation in the hurricane's path to the east avoids a
direct hit on the city of New Orleans. Katrina makes its
second landfall near the bayou town of Buras in
Louisiana as a Category 4 hurricane packing winds of 233
km/h.
At 10 a.m., the centre of the storm is
moving ashore near the Louisiana-Mississippi border as
it continues to pound southeastern Louisiana and
southern Mississippi. At noon, Katrina, while still
powerful, is gradually weakening as it moves farther
inland.
A hurricane warning is in effect for the
north central area of the Gulf Coast from Morgan City,
Louisiana to the Alabama/Florida border, including the
city of New Orleans and Lake Pontchartrain. Four hours
later, Katrina is weakening over Mississippi but strong
winds and heavy rains are a continuing threat.
The hurricane warning for Lake
Pontchartrain and from the mouth of the Pearl River
eastward to the Alabama/Florida border is modified to a
tropical storm warning. All other warnings are
discontinued. By 10 p.m., Katrina is continuing to
weaken over northeastern Mississippi and all coastal
warnings have been discontinued.
August 30: Water from Lake
Pontchartrain rushes into the streets of New Orleans
after two major breaches occur in the city's levee
system. The rising flood waters overwhelm the pump
stations, flooding an estimated 80 per cent of the city
with water up to 20 feet deep. The estimate was later
reduced to about 50 per cent.
Up to 25,000 survivors fill the Superdome
sports complex, where conditions rapidly deteriorate as
people had to live without food, water or electricity.
Looting begins, with some taking
necessities such as food and water while others steal
electronics, other valuables and guns.
August 31: New Orleans
Mayor Ray Nagin orders the evacuation of the entire
city, telling people it will be months before they'll be
able to return.
About 2.6 million customers along the Gulf
Coast are without power, two days after the storm hit
shore. New Orleans-based Energy Corp. says restoration
could take weeks.
Prices of regular unleaded gas in some
areas of the U.S. are reportedly selling for well above
$3.00 U.S. a gallon.
September 1: Washington
asks Congress for $10.5 billion U.S. in emergency
disaster relief, which Congress approves the next day.
National Guard and military troops finally
arrive in New Orleans. To deal with those responsible
for committing acts of violence, Louisiana Governor
Kathleen Blanco instructs the troops to "shoot to kill."
September 2: The first
major convoys of food, water and medicine arrive in the
centre of New Orleans.
City Mayor Nagin, livid over the slow
federal response to the crisis, calls on politicians to
"Get off your asses and let's do something."
The evacuation of the Superdome, where
evacuees were living in appalling conditions, is
complete. People are ferried to the Houston Astrodome,
which fills up quickly and prompts officials to open
other emergency centres.
September 3: For the first
time since Katrina devastated the area, President George
Bush orders a large influx of military troops -- 5,200
Army active-duty Army soldiers and 2,000 Marines -- to
secure New Orleans.
Nearly 27,000 Army and Air Guard men and
women were on state active duty in the stricken region;
around 54,000 military personnel committed to relief
efforts.
To ease fuel shortages caused by Katrina,
Japan said it would provide about 12 percent of the 60
million barrels of emergency oil that the International
Energy Agency will release.
September 4: The
Department of Homeland Security reveals the devastated
area stretches more than 233,000 square kilometres.
Repairs to the breach in the 17th Street
Canal levee are complete.
New Orleans police kill at least four
people in a shootout at a bridge. And two officers,
including the department's spokesperson, committed
suicide. Both shot themselves in the head.
September 5: At least one
water pump is up and running in New Orleans, as work
crews continue to repair the levee system. There
are now about 51,000 troops on active duty in the
hurricane zone.
Residents of Louisiana's Jefferson Parish
are allowed to return temporarily to salvage what's left
of their homes, while officials warn those who still
remain in New Orleans that there are no jobs, no food,
and no reason to stay.
Mayor Nagin announces that no water will
be handed out to people who refuse to evacuate. He tells
CTV News tens of thousands in his city are unaccounted
for.
New Orleans' official death toll of 59 is
expected to rise dramatically. Dozens of morticians comb
the city for dead bodies.
The official death toll in Mississippi is
161, while 20,000 are still without power, and
authorities say the situation might stay that way for
more than a month.
Texas Governor Rick Perry says 1.5 million
people are living in shelters in his state, and calls
upon other states to help
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