NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) — Almost 20 years ago to the day, Hurricane Katrina, a category-5 storm, slammed into New Orleans.
The hurricane hit on Aug. 29, 2005, causing the levees to break and dumping 12 feet of water on the city.
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About a million people evacuated the New Orleans area as Katrina prompted a national emergency response, with many emergency responders running toward the storm.
Bill Turner, the director of the Connecticut Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security was one of those first responders, helping people in the Gulf Coast region.
“Unfortunately, there was utter devastation,” Turner said. “There were whole entire neighborhoods gone, wiped off the map. It was truly tragic.”
There were unforgettable scenes of rooftop rescues and people seeking shelter inside the Superdome.
“What we saw there is that some did decide to ride out the storm and did survive, but at the same time they lost everything,” Turner said. “They were in a situation where they needed us to come in and help out.”
Katrina is one of the deadliest storms on record, claiming nearly 2,000 lives. It is also one of the costliest, causing $125 billion worth of damage. That led to the establishment of the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act.
“From local to federal (we) will take the lessons learned and apply them to do our best to prevent the same types of hazards,” Stephanie Zessos, an emergency manager with the Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, said.
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