On this day · archive
Katrina reaches the Gulf Coast
Hurricane Katrina made landfall along the Gulf Coast and became a national catastrophe measured in lives, displacement, failed systems, and a changed landscape.
8
events in todayish file
2005
Hurricane Katrina devastates the U.S. Gulf Coast.
Hurricane Katrina made landfall along the Gulf Coast and became a national catastrophe measured in lives, displacement, failed systems, and a changed landscape.
Hurricane Katrina struck the U.S. Gulf Coast in 2005, killing up to 1,392 people and causing destruction from Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle. Flooding and displacement carried the disaster far beyond landfall.
In and around New Orleans, failed levees turned neighborhoods into deep water and left residents waiting for rescue. The storm exposed how poverty, race, disability, transportation, and public planning determine who can leave danger and who is left inside it.
August 29 also records a mine disaster, assassination, Paralympic sport, a new mode of media distribution, military institutions, experimental music, and a battleship launch. Katrina remains the date’s center of gravity: a natural hazard made more deadly by unequal protection and institutional failure.
The full record
8 entries from the day’s archive, filed year by year with a note on what each one leaves behind.
At least 26 Chinese miners are killed and 21 missing after a blast in the Xiaojiawan coal mine, located at Panzhihua, Sichuan Province.
The mine blast killed at least 26 workers and left 21 missing.
Disaster
The XIV Paralympic Games open in London, England, United Kingdom.
London opened an international stage for elite disabled sport.
Sports
Hurricane Katrina devastates much of the U.S. Gulf Coast from Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle, killing up to 1,392 people and causing $125 billion in damage.
The catastrophe exposed the deadly consequences of storm surge, displacement, and institutional failure.
Disaster
Sayed Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim, the Shia Muslim leader in Iraq, is assassinated in a terrorist bombing, along with nearly 100 worshippers as they leave a mosque in Najaf.
The mosque bombing killed the Shia leader and nearly 100 worshippers.
Violence
Netflix is launched as an internet DVD rental service.
The DVD-rental service preceded the company’s later turn to streaming.
Technology
United States Air Force Academy opens in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
The academy opened a permanent institution for training U.S. Air Force officers.
Military
American experimental composer John Cage's 4’33” premieres at Maverick Concert Hall, played by American pianist David Tudor.
Cage’s silent composition made ambient sound and attentive listening part of the performance.
Culture
The Slava, the last of the five Borodino-class battleships, is launched.
The launch completed the five-ship Borodino class.
Military