Responding to Crisis
Twenty years ago, the Coast Guard displayed its enduring role as America’s maritime first responder.
The disaster tested the strength of survivors, responders and the very fabric of our nation. Throughout it all, our members gave 125 percent. They did not rest. They did not give up. This history is dedicated to those responders’ devotion to duty, courage, humanity, and most of all their selflessness.
Stories from Hurricane Katrina
Explore our collection of articles discussing Hurricane Katrina and the Coast Guard’s response.
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Boat Rescue
Heroes of the Flood
The untold story of Coast Guard boat forces during Hurricane Katrina
“Kill the engines,” Jackson ordered. In the eerie quiet, they heard a metallic tapping. Closer now, they saw a man in a second-story attic window, striking its metal bars with a quarter. He and his bedridden, 87-year-old mother had been trapped for days in water up to their necks. Jackson’s team sawed through the attic ceiling.
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Air Rescue
The Miracle of Katrina
Zero aircraft accidents
The fact that all these aircraft, from all these agencies, completely avoided any major aerial mishaps has become known as the “Miracle of Katrina.”
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Beyond Lifesaving
Recovering from the Storm
Even before Katrina made initial landfall, the Coast Guard was closely coordinating with local vessels and the region’s maritime industry in order to help reduce loss of life and property – as well as avoid environmental impact. Beyond lifesaving, here are some of the ways the Coast Guard helped the nation recover after Hurricane Katrina.
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Into the eye of chaos
River Tender Pamlico in Hurricane Katrina
Part I. The Response
Even before Katrina made initial landfall, the Coast Guard was closely coordinating with local vessels and the region’s maritime industry in order to help reduce loss of life and property – as well as avoid environmental impact. Beyond lifesaving, here are some of the ways the Coast Guard helped the nation recover after Hurricane Katrina.
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Into the eye of chaos
River Tender Pamlico in Hurricane Katrina
Part II. The Clean Up
Katrina destroyed between 70-90% of all the navigational aids on the Mississippi River south of Baton Rouge. With rescue and evacuation activities complete, Pamlico’s next priority was to restore aids to navigation and to make the river more accessible for recovery activities.
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The Sign
Journey of a Coast Guard Museum Artifact
Oftentimes during a crisis, an iconic image or object defines that moment. During the search and rescue effort following landfall of Hurricane Katrina, several of those images and relics became a hallmark of Aug. 29, 2005, the day the massive storm ravaged the Gulf Coast. To the men and women stationed at Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans, the air station’s sign became that iconic relic.
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Learning from Disaster
How Katrina helped the Coast Guard prepare for future catastrophes
From evacuating stranded survivors to reopening critical waterways, the Coast Guard (USCG) performed heroically during Hurricane Katrina, but the widespread disaster exposed operational limitations that soon served as lessons learned and has resulted in sweeping changes in readiness, technology, and interagency collaboration.
Oral Histories
Preparing for and Responding to Hurricane Katrina
Dive more deeply into Katrina related oral histories featured as part of the 20th anniversary of the Coast Guard’s response to the effort.
Acknowledgments
This collection was developed from many sources, including recent interviews; oral histories and accounts that were meticulously detailed by the Coast Guard historian’s office; remarkable imagery captured by our public affairs specialists; and never-before-seen artifacts that current and former Coast Guard members sent us from their personal collections.