On August 29, 2005 at 6:10 a.m. Hurricane Katrina, a devastating Category 3 storm, slammed into the central Gulf Coast near Buras-Triumph, Louisiana. The 145 mile-per- hour winds and heavy rains created a storm surge that soon breached the levee system protecting New Orleans. In the end, Katrina left 90 percent of the once vibrant city of New Orleans submerged in water. In the days and hours before Katrina hit, most people along the coast prepared to save what they could of their lives. Many fled the coastline on evacuation orders, carrying with them some hope that in a few days they would find their homes still standing. Some stayed and waited for the storm’s destruction to unfold; many who stayed behind perished in the storm.