Screen capture of Hurricane Katrina satellite time-lapse video.

Diary of a Superstorm

A daily journal created from first-person accounts of the Coast Guard members responding to Hurricane Katrina. 

The monster hurricane that came ashore in August of 2005 was something the country had never seen before. It led to one of the worst natural disasters and one of the largest forced migrations of people in our nation’s history.

During Katrina’s chaos, fear, and uncertainty, there was one shining light: the United States Coast Guard.

Here’s what happened, as told by the Coast Guard men and women who were there.

Timeline

Hurricane Katrina: Storm of a Lifetime

Twenty years ago, the U.S. Coast Guard demonstrated its enduring role as America’s maritime first responder.  The disaster tested the strength of survivors, responders and the very fabric of our nation. This historical multimedia project is dedicated to those responders’ devotion to duty, courage, humanity, and most of all their selflessness during and after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Photo: Coast Guard members on a helicopter during Hurricane Katrina rescue operations.

Editor’s Note

This package was developed from many sources, including an article written by Mr. Scott Price, the Coast Guard’s former historian; oral histories gathered by the Coast Guard historian’s office; imagery from DVIDS, the National Archives and Records Administration; and never-before-seen photos and videos that current and former Coast Guard members sent us from their personal collections. This history is dedicated to those responders’ devotion to duty, courage, humanity, and most of all their selflessness.