Levee Breach Turns US City into Sea—1,800 People Drowned

The city of New Orleans in the United States suddenly turned into a sea after being hit by a major storm for a week. As a result, 100,000 residents were trapped and 1,800 people died in the event that occurred on 29 August 2005, exactly 21 years ago today.

Four days earlier, New Orleans was struck by Hurricane Katrina with wind speeds reaching 193 km/h. The government had actually issued warnings about this natural disaster. Tens of thousands of residents had already left the city. The government had also converted a stadium into an emergency shelter.

However, the force of nature ultimately defeated man-made infrastructure. On 29 August, Hurricane Katrina reached its peak and managed to breach the levee in New Orleans that had been holding back the movement of water.

As a result, the water turned into a small ‘tsunami’ and flooded the lower-lying areas around New Orleans. The force of the water also destroyed other retaining levees. History.com recorded that around 80% of New Orleans was submerged like a sea. Hundreds of thousands of people who remained, including those in shelters, were immediately affected.

The problem grew even larger because the water could not drain out of New Orleans, which lies below sea level. At the same time, the sea level was also rising due to the storm. Instead of draining away, the water kept rising. National Geographic recorded that the water level even exceeded the height of building roofs, around 5–6 metres, and remained unchanged for several days.

As a result, rescue efforts became extremely difficult. Many residents were trapped in houses, attics and on rooftops for days. They survived without food, water or medicine. Evacuation efforts were also very difficult, even though the US government had declared a national disaster.

Only when the water began to recede did the government record that Hurricane Katrina had killed 1,800 people. Nearly a third of the deaths were recorded as drowning. Others were linked to chronic illnesses exacerbated by the disaster.

Economic losses also reached around US$108 billion, or Rp1.9 trillion in today’s terms. This makes Hurricane Katrina the most expensive disaster in United States history. Around 400,000 people were also permanently displaced from their homes, changing the demographic face of New Orleans for years after the disaster.