Overview

• New coverage emphasizes that failures of levees and flood barriers turned Katrina’s surge into catastrophic urban flooding across New Orleans.
• Reports recount more than 1,800 deaths and the displacement of over a million people across the Gulf Coast.
• FEMA and the Bush administration drew sustained criticism for a slow, disorganized response, and FEMA Director Michael Brown resigned days after landfall.
• The crisis hit poorer Black residents hardest as many lacked evacuation options, and media use of the term “refugees” for survivors prompted civil-rights objections.
• Recovery milestones now include the Superdome hosting this year’s Super Bowl and the return of New Orleans–Mobile passenger rail, while areas like the Lower Ninth Ward remain underpopulated and post-Ida lapses underscored ongoing vulnerabilities.