NHC HURDAT2 · OpenFEMA · NWS Storm Events
Hurricane Katrina (2005)
Katrina in the federal records: the 384 cities near its track, flood insurance claims, disaster declarations and NWS reports.
Data: NOAA NHC HURDAT2 and NOAA SPC tornado and hail reports, through 2025 · Updated
Hurricane Katrina (2005) passed within 75 miles of 384 cities on this site in 5 states, 210 of them while it was at hurricane strength. Its peak wind on the NHC track was 173 mph (Category 5); the track runs from August 23, 2005 to August 31, 2005. It is on this list for the most flood insurance claims of any tropical system on record. The most cities within 75 miles were in Mississippi (184), Florida (74), Louisiana (73) and Alabama (43).
- Cities within 75 mi
- 384
- Peak wind
- 173 mph
- NFIP claims
- 208,348
- Deaths in NWS reports
- 1,004
210 at hurricane strength
Category 5
$16.02 billion
511 reports
The full track, landfalls and every city it passed →
Where it came closest
| City | Closest | Wind on the track | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buras, LA | 5 mi | Category 3 (127 mph) | August 29, 2005 |
| Port Sulphur, LA | 11 mi | Category 3 (127 mph) | August 29, 2005 |
| Golden Meadow, LA | 39 mi | Category 3 (127 mph) | August 29, 2005 |
| Galliano, LA | 42 mi | Category 3 (127 mph) | August 29, 2005 |
| Cut Off, LA | 45 mi | Category 3 (127 mph) | August 29, 2005 |
| Larose, LA | 51 mi | Category 3 (127 mph) | August 29, 2005 |
| Montegut, LA | 56 mi | Category 3 (127 mph) | August 29, 2005 |
| Chauvin, LA | 61 mi | Category 3 (127 mph) | August 29, 2005 |
| Lafitte, LA | 30 mi | Category 3 (125 mph) | August 29, 2005 |
| Lockport, LA | 54 mi | Category 3 (125 mph) | August 29, 2005 |
| Houma, LA | 67 mi | Category 3 (125 mph) | August 29, 2005 |
| Gray, LA | 70 mi | Category 3 (125 mph) | August 29, 2005 |
The 12 cities with the strongest wind on the NHC best track at its closest point, of 384 within 75 miles. Wind on the track is not the wind felt in the city.
Flood insurance claims and federal declarations
National Flood Insurance Program policyholders filed 208,348 claims under its name and were paid $16.02 billion for buildings and contents, in the dollars of the time; that is the most of the 104 tropical systems with claims under their name. Louisiana had 176,276 of them (85%), then Mississippi with 19,051 and Florida with 7,358. Among the cities on this site, the most claims came from New Orleans, LA: 71,231, paid $6.67 billion. Claims data as of September 8, 2026. FEMA issued 4 major disaster declarations and 48 emergency declarations naming it, covering 3,185 designated areas in 47 states and territories; the first came on August 27, 2005.
| City | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| New Orleans, LA | 71,231 | $6.67 billion |
| Metairie, LA | 27,641 | $1.70 billion |
| Slidell, LA | 13,665 | $1.28 billion |
| Kenner, LA | 12,456 | $557.4 million |
| Chalmette, LA | 8,202 | $1.13 billion |
| Marrero, LA | 6,015 | $138.8 million |
| Gretna, LA | 5,801 | $90.7 million |
| Harvey, LA | 5,395 | $80.4 million |
FEMA, OpenFEMA FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims – v3 (claims whose flood event carries the storm's name, ZIP codes summed by city) and Disaster Declarations Summaries – v2, retrieved October 25, 2026. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
What the National Weather Service recorded
The National Weather Service logged 511 reports whose account names it, in 24 states: 211 hurricane, 94 tropical storm, 59 flash flood, 39 strong wind and 37 flood. They record 1,004 deaths and 115 injuries, and $33.60 billion in estimated property and crop damage.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, reports dated within the storm's track whose account names it. Damage is the NWS estimate in the dollars of the year, not insured losses; some reports are unverified.
More notable storms
Why these storms and how each figure is counted: methodology.