Hurricane Katrina At 10: Before and After Photos
I've been working hard on a big project during the last couple of weeks. Next week is the 10-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the costliest natural disaster in the U.S. To remember, AccuWeather is launching a slew of news stories and videos, links to which are below.
All My Hurricane Katrina at 10 Blogs:
I've also come across some old and new photos, videos, and stories, many having never before been seen, and have created new maps for the storm. I'll be adding all this to my blog over the next week.
As you may remember, I had just started the first weather blog on AccuWeather.com during the week that Katrina struck. It was also the first year (you may recall how insane the 2005 hurricane season was) that we had sent AccuWeather broadcasters into the storm. Over the next two weeks, this anniversary will be taking over my blog and I'll be bringing you never-before-seen stories and videos, brand new Katrina weather maps, as well as a recap of my blogs.
Today's AccuWeather.com article "Five Before-and-After Photos That Expose the Evolution of the Gulf Coast After Katrina" tells the story of five sets of pictures out of the eight sets of photos that I hand-picked and compared to recent photos from Google Earth and Google Street View. All eight are shown below.
Empire, LA, October 25, 2005 - This bridge in Empire, LA is still closed due to congestion almost 60 days after Hurricane Katrina blew through the area. Efforts are currently underway to remove these vessels from the highway. Robert Kaufmann/FEMA
These two sets show close-ups of the residential damage in New Orleans:
Next, we visit Mississippi, which experienced as bad, or worse, storm surge damage. The I-90 bridge to Biloxi was completely destroyed and remained so seven months later. This was one of the most shocking images from Hurricane Katrina. I still can't fathom that simply water could do that.
BONUS: Here's an animation of every aerial view in Google Earth for the Lower Ninth Ward in New Orleans, from before Hurricane Katrina to after, all the way up to 2014:
New Orleans, LA, August 31, 2005 -- Local residents arrive at ramp to the Superdome after being rescued from their homes. New Orleans is being evacuated due to flooding caused by hurricane Katrina.
New Orleans, LA, August 31, 2005 -- Local residents arrive at ramp to the Superdome after being rescued from their homes. New Orleans is being evacuated due to flooding caused by hurricane Katrina.
Jocelyn Augustino/FEMA
New Orleans, LA, August 31, 2005 -- Local residents arrive at ramp to the Superdome after being rescued from their homes. New Orleans is being evacuated due to flooding caused by hurricane Katrina.
Jocelyn Augustino/FEMA
The Bombay Restaurant
New Orleans, La., July 29, 2008 -- Damaged office equipment and furnishing from the Slidell Police Department's Headquarters await collection. Slidell is located approximately 35 miles north of New Orleans and took a direct hit from Hurricane Katrina. Greg Henshall/FEMA
New Orleans, La., July 29, 2008 -- Damaged office equipment and furnishing from the Slidell Police Department's Headquarters await collection. Slidell is located approximately 35 miles north of New Orleans and took a direct hit from Hurricane Katrina. Greg Henshall/FEMA
New Orleans, La., July 29, 2008 -- Damaged office equipment and furnishing from the Slidell Police Department's Headquarters await collection. Slidell is located approximately 35 miles north of New Orleans and took a direct hit from Hurricane Katrina. Greg Henshall/FEMA
