2 Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina was the eleventh named tropical storm, fourth hurricane, third major hurricane, and first Category 5 hurricane of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. It was the third most powerful storm of the season, behind Hurricane Wilma and Hurricane Rita, and the sixth-strongest storm ever recorded in the Atlantic basin. The official death toll now stands at 1,322 and the damage from $70 to $130 billion, topping Hurricane Andrew as the most expensive natural disaster in U.S. history. Over a million people were displaced creating a humanitarian crisis on a scale unseen in the U.S. since the Great Depression.

There were widespread reports of murders, rapes, beatings, robberies, and general mayhem in the Superdome, the center were the refugees evacuated to. These reports are unfounded and are viewed by some as merely urban legend.

Now there are health concerns from the mold that has developed throughout New Orleans. Also the hurricane has left Louisiana in a state of financial ruin as officials struggle to pay for all the damage left behind. President Bush has also been widely criticized for his administration's handling of the disaster response.