Katrina Timeline

2005-09-06 15:18

Leonard Thomas, 23, cries after a SWAT team burst into the flooded home he and his family were living in. (Rick Bowmer, AP)

Washington - Following is a chronology of Hurricane Katrina, which flooded New Orleans and left possibly thousands dead and hundreds of thousands homeless after it swept through Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama on August 29. Washington's sluggish response has turned the disaster into a political issue.

August

25: Katrina, a slow-moving level one hurricane on the five-level Saffir-Simpson scale, sweeps from the Atlantic Ocean across southern Florida, generating heavy flooding and killing seven.

26: Katrina strengthens to a level two hurricane as it moves into the Gulf of Mexico.

27: A state of emergency is declared in Louisiana as Katrina intensifies into a category three storm with winds of 185km per hour. It heads directly for New Orleans, much of which sits 1.8m below sea level. Hundreds of oil platforms and drilling rigs in the Gulf are abandoned by oil company personnel.

28: Katrina becomes a category five hurricane, with winds reaching 257km per hour. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin orders the 485 000 residents of his city to evacuate; 1.4 million live in the greater metropolitan area. Thousands flee to the Superdome sports stadium.

29: Slightly weakened, Katrina smashes into Louisiana at 5:00 with winds at 240km per hour. Under heavy rain, New Orleans begins to flood as water pumps fail. Water seeps through the Superdome roof. The eye of the storm passes east of New Orleans, devastating Biloxi, Mississippi and causing serious damage as far east as Mobile, Alabama.

30: The rain ceases as Katrina dissipates inland. Only a handful of deaths are reported in Louisiana; 54 people are reported killed in Mississippi.

A dike protecting New Orleans from Lake Ponchartrain fails, leaving 80% of the city under water. All power and fresh water supplies are cut off for tens of thousands of mostly poor people trapped in the city. Looting erupts and occasional gunshots are heard. With Gulf oil supplies cut off, the oil price reaches $70.85 a barrel.

31: 300 000 people in Louisiana are stranded by the floods, including 20 000 in the Superdome. Flood levels stabilise in New Orleans, and Washington releases strategic oil stocks to hold down oil prices. President George W Bush surveys the area from his jet and calls it "one of the worst natural disasters in our nation's history." Five thousand National Guardsmen deployed.

September

1: New Orleans mayor Nagin issues a "desperate SOS" for help. Three hundred soldiers are sent to keep order with "shoot to kill" orders. After an initial refusal, Washington accepts offers of aid from all over the world.

2: Louisiana Senator David Vitter estimates the number of storm deaths will "start at 10 000." Leading US newspapers slam the government for its sluggish response to the humanitarian crisis, asking why it was so unprepared. Bush calls the poor hurricane response "not acceptable." Economic losses could top 100 billion dollars, forecasters say. Oil drops to $67.57 a barrel as the International Energy Agency pushes members to release their strategic reserves. US Army engineers say it could take up to 80 days to drain New Orleans.

3: Bush announces that 7 000 soldiers and 10 000 national guardsmen are being sent to stricken region. The death toll in Mississippi reaches 134; the Louisiana toll remains unknown.

4: The first official estimate puts Louisiana deaths at 59; the total toll reaches 218. Electricity is restored in some areas of New Orleans. Refugees in the Superdome begin evacuation to Texas, where about 230 000 will be moved. The US accepts an offer of aid from the United Nations. A Mississippi clinic is closed after one case of dysentery is detected.

5: Bush returns to the disaster scene. The principle damaged dike of New Orleans is patched. Evacuees returning to their homes near the city cause a huge traffic jam. About 10 000 survivors remain inside New Orleans as health officials begin combing the city for victims.

- AFP