![]() In the decades between the beginning of massive river levee projects in coastal Louisiana and the landfall of Hurricane Katrina, nearly 2,000 square miles of deltaic wetlands disappeared. But with thinning wetlands, oyster reefs and barrier islands, the area’s communities have lost much of their natural protection. In the past, extensive healthy wetlands buffered south Louisiana from storm surge. Weaker Wetlands, Stronger Storm SurgesĬoastal Louisiana’s land loss directly contributed to the storms’ human and economic toll. Aside from their devastating impact on the lives of millions of Gulf Coast residents, the storms damaged the already-fragile marshes and wetlands of coastal Louisiana. Louisiana bore the brunt of the damage-about 1,300 casualties from Hurricane Katrina, subsequent levee failures, and heavy losses in commercial fishing and other industries. Together, the two storms resulted in nearly 2,000 deaths and an estimated economic toll of $91 billion, with $81 billion of the losses coming from Katrina. The second, Hurricane Rita, came ashore in southwestern Louisiana on September 24, 2005, cutting through a sliver of Cameron Parish before plowing its way across eastern Texas. as a Category 3 hurricane on August 29, 2005. The first of these storms, Hurricane Katrina, made landfall in Plaquemines Parish, La. These storms brought unprecedented destruction and demonstrated the catastrophic impact that land loss has on the vitality and sustainability of the central Gulf Coast. In 2005, Louisiana and its neighbors suffered two massive hurricanes. How Hurricanes Katrina and Rita Affected the Delta ![]() ![]() The damage caused by flooding and storm surge was made even worse by the previous loss of miles of protective wetlands. Storm surge from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita destroyed hundreds of square miles of coastal wetlands. ![]()
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