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The storm made landfall 20 years ago today. What’s happened since then?
By Adam B. Kushner
I’m the editor of this newsletter and a New Orleans native.
Every New Orleanian had a unique experience of Hurricane Katrina. My parents fled on different days and in different directions, reuniting on the other side of the country. Many of my friends lost their homes. I watched the levees break from my desk in a Washington, D.C., newsroom. Experiencing the devastation through TV news and internet chat boards was much safer — nearly 1,400 people died from the storm — but still surreal. I’ve never felt more helpless.
