Severe Weather

Storm damage from Hurricane Katrina (left) and Joplin tornado (right)

It is hard to imagine that severe weather can cause the astonishing damage seen in these photographs. Read below about two incredibly destructive storm systems, Hurricane Katrina and a tornado that struck Joplin, Mississippi.

Hurricane Katrina was one of the five deadliest hurricanes in the history of the United States. Hurricane Katrina made landfall as a category 3 hurricane on August 29th, 2005 in southeast Louisiana. The storm and the subsequent record flooding in New Orleans and surrounding areas caused 1,833 deaths and more than 80 billion dollars in damage.

On May 22nd, 2011, an F5 tornado struck the town of Joplin Missouri, leaving a path of destruction behind. The tornado was about a mile wide, and in less than an hour, it destroyed more than 2,000 buildings and 7,000 homes. There were 158 fatalities and more than 1,150 injuries from the tornado’s impact. Damage was estimated at 2.8 billion dollars.