(SOUND)
It was Hurricane Katrina -- one of the worst natural disasters in American history. Along the Gulf of Mexico the hardest hit states were Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Over one thousand eight hundred people died. Property damage totaled more than seventy-five billion dollars.
But Katrina will be remembered mostly because of what happened in New Orleans.
(STORM SOUND AND VOICE)
Thousands of people gathered at the New Orleans Superdome sports center before the storm
A day before the storm hit, officials had ordered everyone to leave the city. But thousands of people stayed. Some chose not to leave. Others were too poor, too old or too sick to go.
Then, the levees broke.
(MUSIC AND FLOOD SOUNDS)
Those flood barriers were supposed to protect the city. Much of New Orleans was built on land that lies below sea level.
(SOUND)
As Katrina hit, more than eighty percent of the city flooded. In some areas, the water was six meters deep.
Many people who stayed were caught in the floods.
Officials struggled to get food, water and medicine to the survivors. The displaced included thousands of people who took shelter in the Superdome, a big sports arena.
Out on the streets, lawless acts fed a sense of disorder and helplessness.
WOMAN: “It’s disgusting and frustrating. And we are human beings, and they’re treating us like we’re criminals.”
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2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25