The Story of Hurricane KatrinaOn August 29, 2005, the third strongest and largest hurricane ever recorded in American history hit the Gulf Coast at eight in the morning. The interaction between a tropical depression and a tropical wave created a tropical storm later named Hurricane Katrina (FAQS, 2013). Hurricane Katrina, which formed over the Bahamas, gradually strengthened as it moved closer and closer to the Gulf of Mexico. Recorded on August 28, 2005, Katrina upgraded from a category three storm to a category five storm with maximum sustained winds of up to 160 miles per hour. Although other hurricanes, such as Hurricane Rita and Hurricane Wilma, surpassed Katrina, this dominant storm was ranked as the fourth most intense hurricane based on its pressure capacity. Once Hurricane Katrina hit land, it was called a slow-moving category four storm. While people thought the slow speed of this storm prevented trauma, data shows that Katrina caused more damage than any fast-moving storm could ever cause (Solanki, 2013). Katrina produced abundant debris. The debris was in such large quantities that if they had been piled together on a football field, they would have reached an altitude of ten and a half miles. Katrina's size also affected 90,000 square miles. Once proclaimed a category three storm, Hurricane Katrina slowed to a speed of 155 miles per hour. At this point, Katrina was the sixth strongest hurricane in recorded history. (Solanki, 2013). Several aspects of life were affected by Hurricane Katrina, such as the availability of gasoline, economic issues, and the ability to have an adequate supply of drinking water (Solanki, 2013). Hurricane Katrina was a major storm... half of the paper... only 25). The Economic Impact of Katrina: One Year Later. ABC News. Retrieved from http://abcnews.go.com/Business/HurricaneKatrina/story?id=2348619Plyer, Allison (2013, August 28). Facts by characteristics. . Retrieved from http://www.gnocdc.org/Factsforfeatures/HurricaneKatrinaRecovery/Shah, Anup (2005, November 13). Hurricane Katrina. Global problems. Retrieved from mhtml:file://F:Hurricane Katrina—Global Issues. mhtSolanki, Parul (2013, January 29). Hurricane Katrina: facts and information. Buzzle.com. Retrieved from www.buzzle.com/articles/hurricane-katrina-facts-and -information.htmlThomas, C., Hilton, H., Sieger, M., Gajilan, A., Burger, T.J., Roston, E., & Walker, D. (2005). NEW ORLEANS IS WORSE THAN YOU THINK. Time, 166(22), 30.Waple, Ann (2005, December 29). “Hurricane Katrina”. NOAA National Climate Data Center, Asheville, North Carolina.