Sunday will mark the five-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the storm that tore across the Gulf of Mexico’s coast, devastating whole communities and leaving New Orleans underwater for almost a week.
In the weeks following the storm, the University served as an 800-bed field hospital — then the largest in national history, according to a book written about the experience, “LSU in the Eye of the Storm.” Many students returned to campus that year after seeing their homes flooded and destroyed by the storm.
As the anniversary approaches, students on campus and people throughout the state are stopping to remember the tragedy.
In New Orleans, citizens have gathered throughout the week for both formal and informal remembrances. There have been jazz funerals, symposiums, exhibitions and other events.
President Barack Obama will travel to New Orleans on Sunday to mark the occasion with a speech at Xavier University.
The anniversary also attracted some national attention. CNN ran a series of reports called “New Orleans Rising,” examining how well the city and the region have recovered.
The Newseum, a museum in Washington, D.C. showcasing journalism history, opened an exhibit cataloging coverage of the hurricane. Coverage by New Orleans newspaper The Times-Picayune features heavily in that exhibit. The Times-Picayune won a Pulitzer prize for that coverage.
For retrospectives on the University and its role in the disaster, be sure to read The Daily Reveille’s Monday edition. There will be articles remembering the University’s role in the disaster response and articles about the impact the hurricane had on the University and Baton Rouge.
—-
Contact Matthew Albright at [email protected]
Sunday marks Hurricane Katrina’s 5-year anniversary
August 25, 2010