New Orleans, LA

Perhaps Hurricane Katrina can now be viewed as a pre-curser to many similar events to come. In 2005 Katrina was the deadliest and costliest storm to make landfall in the United States in 100 years. It impacted coastal communities in five Gulf Coast states: Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas. It greatest impacts were felt in Louisiana and Mississippi and the greatest media attention was given to this effects in New Orleans. Katrina's death toll was approximately 1500 in Louisiana alone. The economic impacts were complex, but enormous. If measured by insurance claims alone, the disaster generated more than 1.7 million claims across six states, to a total of more than $40 billion.

For more on economic impacts, go to the following links:

• The effects of Hurricane Katrina on the New Orleans economy
• Effect of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans Economy

These measures alone do not tell the whole story of a complex natural disaster such as Hurricane Katrina. Some have described it as a man-made disaster because of the failure of the flood control system surrounding the city of New Orleans, much of which sits at below sea level elevations. Meanwhile, a short distance away, portions of communities on the Mississippi Gulf coast were completely destroyed, as were unprotected coastal communities on the Louisiana coast. Some areas were never rebuilt, but most have been rebuilt and this rebuilding has been a complex process driven by economics. It has been a process driven by individuals' economic resources; insurance payments; many federally funded programs such as the Road Home Program; and also through the migration to the area by people and companies willing to invest in rebuilding.

The recovery process has provided many lessons to be learned and these have informed recovery in the wake of the storms that have followed, including Hurricane Sandy. What long-term effects did Hurricane Katrina have and how are the affected communities more resilient now than in pre-Katrina times?

This question is very hard to answer briefly and much has been written on the topic.

Required Reading:

How to Tell When New Orleans Has Recovered From Katrina

Hurricane Katrina eight years later, a statistical snapshot of the New Orleans area

• New Orleans 2005 - 2015
• Isle de Jean Charles