Images: Deadly Katrina hits Gulf Coast
Recovery efforts from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina are underway. The U.S. Navy is sending ships to provide relief to the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast. The multipurpose amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima is one of four ships that will bring six disaster relief teams with amphibious construction equipment, medical personnel, and supplies.
The Safeguard-class rescue and salvage ship USS Grapple is also en route to the Gulf Coast. It was built for salvage, diving, firefighting and heavy lift capabilities. It can add hurricane recovery to its resume.
slowing down
This satellite image is from around 10:30 a.m. CST on Aug. 31, 2005, as Tropical Depression Katrina storms the Great Lakes. The hurricane was responsible for at least 120 deaths and billions of dollars in damages.
hitting Louisiana
It was a different scene the morning of Aug. 29, as Katrina hit land in southeastern Louisiana as a Category 4 storm, with maximum sustained winds of 145 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.
power path
This chart shows the path of Hurricane Katrina and the power that it picked up as it swept from Florida across the Gulf of Mexico. The warm water increased the strength of Katrina's hurricane-force winds (red) and the tropical winds (brown). The winds weakened when the storm hit land.
The predicted path of Tropical Storm Katrina, as of 4 a.m. CST on Aug. 30, 2005. The storm continues to lose force as it moves farther inland.
Hurricane Hunters
The 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, known as the Hurricane Hunters of the Air Force Reserve, flew propeller-driven Lockheed-Martin WC-130 aircraft directly into the eye of Katrina. This archived photo shows the "stadium effect" that occurs in the eye of a strong hurricanes. It looks like you are in the middle of a stadium of clouds. Videos on the site let you take a tour inside the eye of a hurricane.
Wind fall
Winds from Hurricane Katrina are expected to diminish by about 80 percent over 72 hours as the storm moves inland.
Doppler radar from New Orleans taken Aug. 29 as Katrina hits land shows the concentration of heavy rains--indicated by the red and brown areas--in the center of the storm.
water vapor
This satellite image shows water vapor over the Gulf of Mexico and the southern United States on the morning of Monday, Aug. 29.