Climate, Justice, and the world Katrina Left Behind

Marking 20 years.

At 11:10 AM CT on August 29, 2005, 120 mph (200 km/hour) winds battered the Mississippi coastline, bringing a record-breaking 28 foot storm surge with it, breaking the earlier record held by Hurricane Camille (1969) by almost four feet.

At 11:10 AM CT on August 29, 2005, I was 16 years old, dancing in the wind and rain of Hurricane Katrina as she made her second landfall at the Mississippi-Alabama border.

Twenty years ago from the moment I published this piece, my life and the lives of everyone from the region were irrevocably changed.

Katrina didn’t just arrive and vanish; it settled in, reshaping lives, communities, the whole country. I was there, and in many ways, I’m still there. The storm lingers, like a high water line haunting the soul.

I have spoken in depth about the storm’s impact on me, my family and the communities that raised me.

For all of those who forgot, didn’t pay attention, or were not yet born, I hope this summary will provide a grounded understanding of what Katrina …