Hurricane Katrina hits the Gulf Coast

Hurricane Katrina is seen in the Gulf of Mexico on Aug. 28, 2005. Katrina roared shore the next day packing sustained winds of 125 mph and was one of the strongest storms to hit the coast of the United States in the last 100 years. Katrina caused widespread devastation along the central Gulf Coast states. Cities such as New Orleans, La., Mobile, Ala., and Gulfport, Miss., were especially hit hard.

Arnold James of New Orleans tries to stay on his feet as a strong gust nearly blows him over on Aug. 29, 2005, when Katrina made landfall. The roof on James' home blew off, forcing him to make his way to the Louisiana Superdome for shelter.

Rescuers save a family from the roof of their vehicle, which was trapped by floodwaters on U.S. 90 on Aug. 29, 2005, in Bay St. Louis, Miss.

The Hyatt hotel in New Orleans saw most of its glass blown out as Katrina blew in on Aug. 29, 2005.

Floodwaters pour through a levee along Inner Harbor Navigaional Canal near downtown New Orleans on Aug. 30, 2005, a day after Katrina passed through the city.

Looters make their way into a grocery store in New Orleans on Aug. 30, 2005. Flood waters continued to rise in New Orleans after Katrina did extensive damage.

A woman walks through floodwaters coated with a layer of oil in downtown New Orleans on Aug. 30, 2005.

Evelyn Turner cries alongside the body of her common-law husband, Xavier Bowie, after he died in New Orleans, on Aug. 30, 2005. Bowie and Turner had decided to ride out Katrina when they could not find a way to leave the city. Bowie, who had lung cancer, died when he ran out of oxygen.

Vehicles damaged by Katrina floodwaters sit in mud on Aug. 30, 2005, in Slidell, La.

President George W. Bush looks out the window of Air Force One as it flies over New Orleans to survey the damage left by Katrina on Aug. 31, 2005.

Residents wait on a rooftop to be rescued in New Orleans on Sept. 1, 2005. Authorities briefly suspended an evacuation of New Orleans after a reported shooting at a U.S. military helicopter.

Residents are rescued by helicopter on Sept. 1, 2005, in New Orleans.

Tam Cu, Jason Jackson and Linda Bryant look for belongings from Bryant's home on Aug. 31, 2005, in Biloxi, Miss.

The body of a victim of Hurricane Katrina floats in floodwaters in New Orleans on Sept. 1, 2005.

Flood victims pile into a truck as hundreds of others wait at the Convention Center in New Orleans on Sept. 1, 2005, in order to be evacuated.

A military helicopter makes a food and water drop to flood victims near the Convention Center in New Orleans on Sept. 1, 2005.

Terri Jones tries to cool fellow flood victim Dorthy Divic, 89, who was overheated and exhausted at the Convention Center in New Orleans on Sept. 1, 2005.

National Guard soldiers assist stranded victims outside the New Orleans Convention Center on Sept. 2, 2005. Thousands of troops poured into the city that day to help with security and delivery of supplies.

A makeshift tomb at a New Orleans street corner on Sept. 4, 2005, conceals a body that had been lying on the sidewalk for days in the wake of Katrina.

Homes remain flooded to the roof on Sept. 5, 2005, in St. Bernard Parish near New Orleans.

A military helicopter drops a sandbag as work continues to repair the 17th Street canal levee in New Orleans on Sept. 5, 2005.

Robert Fontaine makes his way through New Orleans' 7th Ward on Sept. 6, 2005, as a home burns down. Fontaine stayed in the Columbus Street house during the flooding to care for some dogs that were left behind. He was using candles for light, due to the lack of electricity, but one of the dogs knocked over a candle, causing the fire.

Thousands of evacuees take shelter inside the Astrodome in Houston, Texas, on Sept. 5, 2005.

Search and rescue personnel go house to house in New Orleans on Sept. 7, 2005.

Chicago-area firefighter John Swanson walks past a car in Meraux, La., on Sept. 15, 2005. Firefighters had to check approximately 20,000 evacuated homes in St. Bernard parish for survivors or bodies before residents were allowed back.

Two 160-foot fishing vessels straddle all four lanes of Highway 23 in Empire, La., on Sept. 12, 2005, after being pushed ashore by Katrina.

A statue of the Virgin Mary on the lawn of a New Orleans home peeks out from floodwaters on Sept. 10, 2005.