There aren’t too many times that I can say a single moment has really defined or changed my life, but Hurricane Katrina is one of those time. Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast on August 29, 2005. Before it made all its damage, Katrina became one of the strongest hurricanes on record. It reached a central pressure on 902mb, which is about 90% of the normal atmosphere. That is one powerful storm.

Katrina is best known for the devastation she caused to New Orleans. Although all the flooding was due to Katrina, New Orleans would have escaped essentially unscathed had it not been for the levy failures.

Mississippi’s Gulf Coast was all but forgotten in the tragedy. They didn’t get a direct hit, but did receive some of the strongest winds and largest storm surge.

All in all, Katrina caused over 81.2 BILLION dollars in damage and over 2,500 are dead or missing.

I had the opportunity to travel to Mississippi three time over the course of a year. During those times, the experiences I lived are times that will stay with me forever…