Hurricane Katrina at New Orleans Landfall: Category 3, 125 mph

Katrina made its second landfall (first in FL as Cat 1) near Buras, LA, on August 29, 2005, as a Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 125 mph (205 km/h) and central pressure 920 mb.

Devastation drivers:

• Storm surge: 25–28 ft (7.6–8.5 m) in Mississippi; 10–19 ft in Lake Pontchartrain → levee failures flooded 80% of New Orleans.
• Size: Huge wind field (hurricane-force winds 120 mi radius).
• Slow movement: Prolonged rainfall (8–15 inches).

Cost: ~$125B (2005 USD) — costliest U.S. hurricane. Deaths: >1,800 (majority in LA). Displaced: >1 million.

Cat 3 at landfall, but surge of a Cat 5 due to prior intensity (Cat 5 in Gulf) and vast size.