A pile of garbage sits in front of an abandoned section of an apartment complex that was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans East. A decade ago, polluted water up to 20 feet deep flooded 80 percent of the city. Katrina killed more than 1,500 people in Louisiana, many of them drowning inside their homes, and hundreds more simply disappeared, the National Hurricane Center reported a year later.
This combination of Aug. 30, 2005, and July 29, 2015, photos shows downtown New Orleans flooded by Hurricane Katrina and the same area a decade later. New Orleans has grown since Katrina but is still smaller than before the storm. Estimated population in 2014 was 384,320 compared to 494,294 in 2005. In 2014, the city climbed back into the nation's 50 most populous cities for the first time since Katrina.
Errol Morning, a Hurricane Katrina survivor, sits on his bed as he smokes a cigarette at his apartment in New Orleans.
Plants grow on an abandoned home destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in a residential section of New Orleans East.
Empty lots are seen scattered throughout the Lower Ninth Ward neighborhood of New Orleans in this Aug. 15, 2015, photo.
Eric Patterson, 28, dries off a pit bull puppy that he washed while supervising neighborhood kids at the Running Bear Boxing Club in New Orleans. The boxing club is run by a resident of the Lower 9th Ward, Harry Sims, 62, to keep kids out of trouble in the neighborhood.
Darien Ford, 43, right, spars with Deshane Sims, 14, at the Running Bear Boxing Club in the Lower 9th Ward in New Orleans recently.
Steps lead to the empty foundation of a home destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in the Lower 9th Ward on Forstall Street in New Orleans, just behind a new charter high school being built in the neighborhood. Ironically, the fact that many homes were owned for generations worked against these homeowners, because without mortgages to pay, they weren't required to and often didn't have flood insurance, says Darryl Malek-Wiley, a Sierra Club activist working to restore the community.
A wetland is seen near the city of New Orleans. Congress authorized spending more than $14 billion to beef up the city's flood protection after Katrina and built a series of new barriers that include manmade islands and new wetlands to absorb floodwaters.
The Gulf Intracoastal Waterway West Closure Complex in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, houses the world's largest drainage pump system and is located near the border of Jefferson and Plaquemines Parish running across the Mississippi River. The complex was designed for a 100-year storm event without disrupting commercial navigation access under non-storm conditions. Reuters
An aerial view of central New Orleans taken on Aug. 19, 2015.
An abandoned house after Hurricane Katrina is seen in the Lower Ninth Ward neighbourhood of New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, August 18, 2015. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina triggered floods that inundated New Orleans and killed more than 1,500 people as storm waters overwhelmed levees and broke through floodwalls. Congress authorized spending more than $14 billion to beef up the city's flood protection after Katrina and built a series of new barriers that include manmade islands and new wetlands. Reuters photographer Carlos Barria returned to New Orleans after documenting events in 2005 and found a city much rebuilt and renovated, although abandoned homes show Katrina’s lingering impact. REUTERS/Carlos BarriaPICTURE 17 OF 28 FOR WIDER IMAGE STORY "HURRICANE KATRINA 10 YEARS ON"SEARCH "CARLOS HURRICANE" FOR ALL IMAGES - RTX1PF33
The so called "Great Wall of Louisiana," a 1.8-mile long concrete wall located east of downtown New Orleans, was designed to reduce the risk of storm surge in many parts of the city that were flooded during Hurricane Katrina when levees and floodwalls failed. Reuters
An abandoned house after Hurricane Katrina is seen in the Lower Ninth Ward neighborhood of New Orleans.
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