Overview

• City leaders, survivors and organizers are gathering in the Lower Ninth Ward for prayers, a minute of silence at 11:20 a.m., and a brass‑band second line intended to honor victims and spotlight infrastructure and gentrification concerns.
• Authoritative tallies place Katrina’s toll at about 1,400 deaths across five states, more than $200 billion in damages, and flooding that covered roughly 80% of New Orleans for weeks.
• The city’s population stands at about 384,000, with tens of thousands of displaced Black residents never returning after recovery programs and housing policies that critics say deepened inequities.
• Post‑storm defenses include the $14 billion Hurricane and Storm Damage Risk Reduction System designed for sea‑level rise and subsidence, yet experts say coastal erosion and stronger storms keep the region vulnerable.
• Preparedness worries have sharpened this year as experts cite roughly 2,000 FEMA departures and about 1,800 recent NOAA staff reductions, raising fears of slower response and weaker forecasting during future disasters.