Flooding in New Orleans, Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina | The U.S. National Archives
Share
August 29th, 2025, marks 20 years since Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast. While Katrina was a category 3 hurricane when making land fall, the flooding and destruction after the storm far outweighed the initial impact.
In these 20 years, we have learned a lot about the challenges with levees and the importance of healthy, connected floodplains. Our Senior Director of Floodplain Restoration, Eileen Shader, reflects on these lessons and how state and federal governments can act to prevent that scale of destruction from happening again.
What can you do to help?
Take action: Tell states they must step up to make sure they are investing in floodplain management and floodplain reconnection and flood safety, and that that they have the rules and regulations in place to help guide local government and local decisions about where we develop and how we develop in floodplains to keep people and property safe.
Help Ensure States are Prepared for Hurricane Season
ACT NOW to tell Congress to protect rivers and invest in nature-based solutions to flooding.