Memories of Hurricane Katrina are still vivid for the residents of New Orleans, despite the passage of time. When the levee system failed, 80% of the city was left underwater for more than a month. The scars run deep, and some residents have never returned. In 2025, the city's population is around 350,000, a quarter less than pre-Katrina, when just over 480,000 people called New Orleans home.
Yet the city's recovery has been remarkable in many ways, incorporating the best thinking in resilience, water management and flood prevention from cities such as Amsterdam.
In this series of articles, we look back at Hurricane Katrina and why it had such a profound impact on how we think about natural catastrophes, resilience and disaster preparedness. What happened accelerated a mindset shift from "predict and prevent" to "adapt and absorb."
It's important to remember the lessons learned of the past so we continue to build back stronger, better prepare for extreme climate events and ensure communities get back on their feet as quickly as possible when the worst happens.
Published August 2025
