Twenty years ago, Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast. After crossing over Florida, the storm affected all five gulf states. Coastal Mississippi was devastated by storm surge, and New Orleans was hit at a catastrophic level when its levee system failed.

Nearly 1,400 lives were lost. Countless people were separated from their communities, many forced to relocate across the Gulf Region. Some were never able to return home.

Today, on the disaster’s 20th anniversary, we must reflect on what was lost, how we responded and what remains at stake.

Hurricane Katrina was a turning point for disaster response. The storm revealed the devastating flood risks faced by coastal communities, worsened by underinvested and poorly managed infrastructure.

These risks are exacerbated by a changing climate, as we’ve seen in the countless disasters across the nation since 2005.

The storm also exposed deep flaws in the federal government’s disaster response capacity and the need........

© The Hill