Hurricane Katrina then and now in pictures
On Aug. 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina rocked the Gulf Coast. Water flooded New Orleans after levees were unable to withstand the storm, and the city was devastated.
It is estimated that 80 percent of New Orleans flooded when the levees failed in 2005, according to The Data Center, a research firm. While some areas of the city saw minimal flooding, other areas were submerged by more than 10 feet of water during the storm.
Hurricane Katrina displaced more than a million residents in the Gulf states. The Data Center estimates that upwards of 600,000 households were unable to return to their homes a month later. Meanwhile, business owners suffered more than $125 billion in economic losses because of Hurricane Katrina, according to the Insurance Information Institute.
In the wake of Katrina, the number of tourists shriveled to to 3.7 million, down a startling 63 percent. Spending numbers also shrank, with visitors shelling out 42 percent less in 2006 than in 2004, according to the New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau.
The historic storm damaged more than a million homes in the Gulf Coast region. According to The Data Center, about half of those damaged units were located in Louisiana. The research firm also found that 70 percent of New Orleans' occupied homes suffered damage from the hurricane.
Ten years later, photographer Mario Tama revisited several locations that he captured in 2005 to show what Louisiana has endured in order to rebuild.
Credit: Mario Tama
The Claiborne Avenue Bridge in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans as flood waters rose higher on Aug. 29, 2005. In 2015, the road has been repaired and the area shows few signs of damage.
Credit: Mario Tama
Men ride on a boat in high water past the corner of Flood Street and St. Claude Avenue in 2005, compared with the same spot 10 years later.
Credit: Mario Tama
On Aug. 30, 2005, a man rides a canoe in the high water on St. Claude Avenue. In 2015, the Lower Ninth Ward shows signs of revitalization.
Credit: Mario Tama
In 2005, water floods an above-ground cemetery outside of St. Patrick's Church in Plaquemines Parish. Tama captures that same location 10 years later.
Credit: Mario Tama
Robert Fontaine revisits the location of a burning house fire that he fled during Katrina. Fontaine told Tama that he had remained behind in the house to take care of several dogs.
Because of the widespread power loss, Fontaine used candles to light the home. Unfortunately, one of the dogs knocked over a candle, causing the photographed fire.