Which 2005 natural disaster devastated New Orleans?

The 2005 natural disaster that devastated New Orleans was Hurricane Katrina.

Katrina formed on August 23, 2005, crossed Florida, and intensified dramatically over the Gulf of Mexico. It reached Category 5 strength before weakening and making landfall near Buras-Triumph, Louisiana, on August 29 as a powerful Category 3 hurricane. Its storm surge overwhelmed coastal defenses and caused catastrophic flooding across the New Orleans area.

About 80 percent of New Orleans flooded after failures and breaches in levees and floodwalls. The disaster exposed weaknesses in the city’s hurricane-protection system, evacuation planning, emergency communications, and disaster response. Katrina killed an estimated 1,392 people and caused roughly $125 billion in damage, making it one of the costliest natural disasters in United States history.

Hurricane Rita is a common mix-up because it struck the Gulf Coast only weeks later and affected parts of Louisiana. However, Katrina was the storm directly associated with New Orleans’s catastrophic flooding and the city’s prolonged humanitarian crisis.