On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina flooded 85 percent of greater New
Orleans, killing more than 1,000 people and leaving 100,000 homeless.
Investigations into why this devastating tragedy happened have only just
begun, though even a cursory examination shows that it was due in part to
man-made engineering failures. For now, all we can do is explain how the
deluge occurred, based on reconstructions of events made in the three months
since Katrina struck. In this feature, follow the progression of flooding
incidents that precipitated the worst natural disaster in American
history.—Ivor van Heerden
Ivor van Heerden is deputy director of the Louisiana State University Hurricane
Center and director of the Center for the Study of Public Health Impacts of
Hurricanes. To hear from van Heerden both pre- and post-Katrina, see The Man Who Knew.
