There are no words to describe the damages and losses the city and people of New Orleans sustained as a result of Hurricane Katrina. 

Much of Louisiana's coast has eroded, in part due to the extensive oil exploration and production activities of the large oil companies, which lease exploration rights from the US government.  The erosion of barrier islands and the gulf coast has made the New Orleans area more susceptible to more severe hurricane conditions. 

The US government has traditionally exploited the revenues from production of Louisiana's coast, without either returning a fair share to the State of Louisiana or re-investing the revenues into the improvement of the levee system.  This inequity is finally beginning to change and Louisiana will be allowed to participate in a larger share of the offshore revenues in future years.

Most of New Orleans' flooding was caused by the failure of multiple levees systems that were designed and constructed by the US Army Corps of Engineers.  The Corps, which claims governmental immunity from legal responsibility for the damages,  has admitted both faulty design and construction.