*President Barack Obama will mark the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina with a trip to New Orleans next week.
A White House official revealed to the Los Angeles Times that Obama will address “the region’s rebirth and what’s possible when citizens, city and corporate leaders all work together” to improve the economy during his visit on Aug. 27.
Hurricane Katrina is noted for being the costliest disaster in U.S. history. The storm, which made landfall on Aug. 29, 2005, caused massive damage to New Orleans as the city’s’ levees failed and flooded 80% of the city. More than 1,800 people were killed from Katrina.
On the fifth anniversary of the disaster, Obama acknowledged the devastation in a 2010 speech commemorating the occasion, calling Katrina a “natural disaster, but also a man-made catastrophe — a shameful breakdown in government that left countless men, and women and children abandoned and alone.”
“In the years that followed, New Orleans could have remained a symbol of destruction and decay,” he said while pointing out the strength and resiliency of the city in the face of such adversity. “Instead this city has become a symbol of resilience and of community and of the fundamental responsibility that we have to one another.”
Since Katrina, the Obama administration pointed out efforts made to help the areas affected by the storm. According to the administration, more than $5.2 billion has been made available Agency to Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida from the Federal Emergency Management for thousands of public works projects. In addition, money has been spent on mitigation projects to help protect against another major storm, the Times noted.
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