Atlas · Today in history · tropical
August 29 MMV 2005
Hurricane Katrina landfall
Louisiana and Mississippi Gulf Coast — death toll estimated at 1,392.
Katrina made its Louisiana landfall at 6:10 a.m. CDT on August 29, 2005 as a Category 3 hurricane with 125 mph sustained winds, having weakened from Category 5 overnight. Storm surge reached 28 feet along the Mississippi coast; 53 separate levee breaches flooded 80% of New Orleans. The event killed at least 1,392 people directly and became the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history at the time, with damages exceeding $125 billion.