20 Years after Hurricane Katrina

20 Years after Hurricane Katrina

    Marking 20 years since Hurricane Katrina, a CNN10 special revisits the why, how, and the aftermath of the disaster. The biggest storm in U.S. history made its first landfall in Florida as a Category 1 hurricane, intensifying to Category 5 over the heated waters of the Gulf of Mexico. When a second eye-wall developed, it weakened slightly to Category 3 but still poured massive amounts of water into New Orlends. Experts view this aftermath as the failure of the levee system. Ideally, when water rises, the levees should drain water out through the openings, like the perforations in a colander. However, this drainage system didn’t work properly, trapping water inside New Orlaeds and flooding 80% of the city. Millions of residents were stranded in attics, forced to endure putrid floodwaters without food, clean water, or electricity. 

    Looking back on this staggering tragedy, Dr. Sanjay Gupta shares his experience being deployed to a downtown hospital, where hundreds of patients were treated with almost no supplies. Volunteers, such as doctors, nurses, healthcare providers, and other personnel, had to care for patients without electricity, since the emergency power system was in the basement. Even the morgue was underwater, leaving no place to store the dead. 

    Despite the devastation, people remained hopeful, singing blessing songs, praying for their survival. Dr. Sanjay paid tribute to the unsung heroes who rose up and stepped up for the residents and rose to the challenge, honouring their sacrifice and service.

Grammar; aftermath, levee, putrid, staggering, morgue, rise up, unsung, rise to sth, colander, step up

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