{"683928":{"#nid":"683928","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Twenty Years After Katrina: How Levee Failures Changed America","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWhen Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005, it wasn\u2019t just another storm \u2014 it was one of the deadliest hurricanes in U.S. history. Entire neighborhoods disappeared, families were scattered, and lives were split into \u201cbefore\u201d and \u201cafter.\u201d Nearly 20 years later, the haunting images of submerged rooftops and boat rescues remain vivid.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe Surge That Shattered New Orleans\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOn Aug. 29, 2005, early reports claimed New Orleans had \u201cdodged the bullet.\u201d But offshore winds funneled water into the city\u2019s canals, triggering multiple catastrophic levee failures. The Lower Ninth Ward, where most fatalities occurred, was devastated as many residents, misled by comparisons to Hurricane Camille, chose not to evacuate.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cKatrina\u2019s storm surge was exceptional,\u201d says \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ce.gatech.edu\/directory\/person\/hermann-m-fritz\u0022\u003EHermann Fritz\u003C\/a\u003E, a civil engineering professor at Georgia Tech. \u201cIn some areas, we saw water levels over 27 feet\u0026nbsp;\u2014 that\u2019s like a three-story building.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile much attention focused on New Orleans\u2019 levee failures, Fritz points out that the surge\u2019s sheer height and energy would have overwhelmed even more robust defenses in some areas. \u201cKatrina showed us that nature can produce forces beyond our engineering designs,\u201d he says.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EA Disaster of Inequality\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe storm didn\u2019t strike evenly; it exposed and deepened existing social and economic inequalities. \u201cThe disaster hit lower-income Black neighborhoods hardest,\u201d says \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/iac.gatech.edu\/people\/person\/allen-hyde\u0022\u003EAllen Hyde\u003C\/a\u003E, associate professor of history and sociology. He notes how years of segregation, disinvestment, and discriminatory housing policies left these communities uniquely vulnerable. Hyde continues, \u201cMany homes were in low-lying, flood-prone areas, and residents often lacked access to reliable transportation, making evacuation difficult or impossible.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia\u2019s Changing Landscape: Migration and Impact\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKatrina displaced hundreds of thousands and claimed a staggering toll of more than 1,800 lives. Georgia quickly absorbed many evacuees, reshaping its demographics and infrastructure. \u201cHurricane Katrina led to one of the largest displacements of people due to a natural disaster,\u201d says \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/econ.gatech.edu\/people\/person\/shatakshee-dhongde\u0022\u003EShatakshee Dhongde\u003C\/a\u003E, a professor of economics. \u201cIt changed the demographics of Georgia in measurable ways, from school enrollment to the labor market.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe U.S. Census Bureau tracked this migration, noting spikes in Louisiana-born residents in metro Atlanta. Local school districts enrolled hundreds of new students almost overnight, while housing markets saw increased demand from families looking for permanent homes. The arrival of so many displaced residents didn\u2019t just strain schools and housing \u2014 it reshaped the state\u2019s economy. Dhongde notes that evacuees often brought new skills, business ideas, and networks. At the same time, the state and local governments faced the financial burden of expanding social services, healthcare, and housing assistance.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDhongde adds, \u201cThe impact of a disaster doesn\u2019t stop at the water\u2019s edge. It travels with people, and those effects can last for years.\u201d While the influx strained services, it also enriched Georgia\u2019s cultural and economic fabric.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHyde notes, \u201cGentrification made many neighborhoods unaffordable for former residents,\u201d and adds that many Black evacuees didn\u2019t return to New Orleans due to economic barriers and post-Katrina gentrification. Cultural communities scattered across cities like Atlanta, Houston, and Baton Rouge.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ELessons the Levees Still Teach\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor Fritz, Katrina remains a wake-up call for coastal preparedness.\u0026nbsp;\u003Cstrong\u003E \u003C\/strong\u003E\u201cWe can\u2019t stop hurricanes,\u201d he says, \u201cbut we can improve how we design and maintain our defenses, and how we evacuate people before it\u2019s too late.\u201d He warns that climate change, with its potential to intensify storms, makes those improvements even more urgent.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDhongde sees a parallel need for social and economic planning. \u201cDisaster preparedness isn\u2019t just about sandbags and levees,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s also about ensuring the communities receiving evacuees have the resources and support systems to integrate them successfully.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFinally, Hyde stresses the importance of engaging youth and communities in preparedness efforts. \u201cYouth advocacy programs, like those we\u2019re piloting in Georgia, empower young people in marginalized neighborhoods with knowledge and agency to build long-term resilience. Disaster planning must be a community effort, inclusive and forward-looking.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ETwenty years after Hurricane Katrina\u2019s catastrophic landfall, its legacy of destruction, displacement, and deepened inequality continues to shape communities and challenge disaster preparedness across the U.S.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Twenty years after Hurricane Katrina\u2019s catastrophic landfall, its legacy of destruction, displacement, and deepened inequality continues to shape communities and challenge disaster preparedness across the U.S."}],"uid":"35798","created_gmt":"2025-08-18 20:59:51","changed_gmt":"2026-03-19 13:11:54","author":"Ayana Isles","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2025-08-19T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2025-08-19T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"677735":{"id":"677735","type":"image","title":"Hurricane Katrina New Orleans","body":null,"created":"1755620033","gmt_created":"2025-08-19 16:13:53","changed":"1755620033","gmt_changed":"2025-08-19 16:13:53","alt":"Flooding in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina","file":{"fid":"261668","name":"AdobeStock_243012601.jpeg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/08\/19\/AdobeStock_243012601.jpeg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/08\/19\/AdobeStock_243012601.jpeg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":3672480,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2025\/08\/19\/AdobeStock_243012601.jpeg?itok=Mj7riyMS"}},"677737":{"id":"677737","type":"image","title":"Katrina.jpg","body":null,"created":"1755622437","gmt_created":"2025-08-19 16:53:57","changed":"1755622437","gmt_changed":"2025-08-19 16:53:57","alt":"Three changes since Katrina that still have an impact two decades later","file":{"fid":"261671","name":"Katrina.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/08\/19\/Katrina.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/08\/19\/Katrina.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1316301,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2025\/08\/19\/Katrina.jpg?itok=IvnP-aCU"}}},"media_ids":["677735","677737"],"groups":[{"id":"658168","name":"Experts"},{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"131","name":"Economic Development and Policy"},{"id":"154","name":"Environment"}],"keywords":[{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"},{"id":"1647","name":"Hurricane Katrina"},{"id":"1860","name":"hurricane"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39531","name":"Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71901","name":"Society and Culture"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:aisles3@gatech.edu\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAyana Isles\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003ESenior Media Relations Representative\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003EInstitute Communications\u003C\/div\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}