NEW ORLEANS: Ten years ago, Hurricane Katrina swept buildings off their foundations and deluged nearly all of New Orleans with floodwaters which rose so fast some people drowned in their homes.
Those who made it to their rooftops or the relative safety of dry land waited days to be rescued as the Big Easy descended into chaos.
Today, colorful homes on stilts have replaced many of the rotting hulks left behind after the low-lying coastal city in the southern United States was finally drained.
Brass bands are once again marching through the bustling French Quarter, pulling dancing locals and tourists in their wake. And the gastronomical paradise boasts 600 more restaurants than it had before the storm.
"Our city has stood back up and this comeback is one of the world's most remarkable stories of tragedy and triumph, resurrection and redemption," Mayor Mitch Landrieu said Tuesday.
"In one word: resilience," he said.
More than 1,800 people were killed across the US Gulf Coast -- the vast majority in New Orleans -- and more than a million people were displaced when the Category 5 hurricane struck on August 29, 2005. The financial toll topped $150 billion.
Some of the deadliest damage was caused by the failure of poorly-built and badly maintained levees, which burst under the pressure of a massive storm surge. Around 80 percent of New Orleans was flooded with water that rose as high as 20 feet (six meters).
The botched government response exposed the nation's failure to improve emergency preparedness despite billions spent on homeland security after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
It took four days for supply trucks to arrive with food and water for tens of thousands of stranded people.
Eventually, the entire city was evacuated. It took weeks to drain the floodwaters and conduct a house-by-house search for bodies. It was months before most people could return to their homes.
-AFP
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