Hurricanes Katrina and Rita

The hurricane season of late summer and early fall 2005 was a devastating one for Louisiana.  On August 29th, Hurricane Katrina made landfall in lower St. Bernard Parish as a Category 3 storm, destroying the parish and ultimately causing unprecedented destruction in New Orleans.  One month later, on September 24th, Hurricane Rita laid waste to southwest Louisiana, making landfall as a Category 3 storm at Johnson's Bayou near the Texas border.

This site will provide information about the devastation and the recovery efforts.

Katrina Links

Library Blog: In Memory: Aug. 29 - Sept. 24, 2005 -- The staff of the East Baton Rouge Parish Library remembers the thousands of our friends and neighbors whom we were privileged to assist in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Wikipedia article on Hurricane Katrina

Floodwall -- Floodwall is a tribute to New Orleans constructed from 350 empty drawers collected from the flood debris.

Breach of Faith -- Our One Book, One Community selection for the 2007 hurricane season.

Post-Katrina Pop Facts-- Demographics on East Baton Rouge Parish from Claritas data services.
More information can be found in our Hurricane Katrina Vertical File

Katrina-Adjusted demographics -- adjusted statistics for Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Texas and Mississippi 

Climate of 2005 -- NOAA information on the climate conditions that spawned Hurricane Katrina

Impact Studies -- geological information from the USGS.

Times Picayune Katrina Archive -- an archive of news stories about Katrina from the Times Picayune

Advisory Archive -- An archive of all the Katrina advisories issued by the National Hurricane Center.  The advisories issued at 8 am and 10 am on Saturday, Aug. 27, clearly illustrate how quickly a hurricane's path can change.

Hurricane Katrina -- NOAA's site on the hurricane's impact.

Louisiana Hurricane Katrina -- FEMA's site about Katrina.

Weather Underground Katrina Archive page -- maps, radar and other meteorological information from the Weather Underground archives.

The New Orleans Index (formerly called the Katrina Index) -- a report on the recovery of the New Orleans region.

Rita Links

Library Blog: In Memory: Aug. 29 - Sept. 24, 2005 -- The staff of the East Baton Rouge Parish Library remembers the thousands of our friends and neighbors whom we were privileged to assist in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Wikipedia article on Hurricane Rita.

Tracking Map -- tracking map of Rita's path.

Impact Studies -- geological information from the USGS.

Advisory Archive -- An archive of all the Rita advisories put out by the National Hurricane Center.

Weather Underground Rita Archive page --  maps, radar and other meteorological information from the Weather Underground archives.

Hurricane Rita Maps -- from the Perry Casteneda Library at the University of Texas - Austin.

Louisiana Hurricane Rita -- FEMA's site about Rita.

Other Information

Official State Government site  for information on Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Migration Patterns -- 2006 Louisiana Health and Populations Survey, Estimates of Parish Level Migrations Due to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita

Beyond Katrina -- the Voice of Hurricane Disaster & Recovery. A blog about hurricanes with lots of information about Rita and Katrina.