Hurricane Katrina at 20: Looking Back and Moving Forward

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August 29, 2025 marks the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. The hurricane and flooding that followed devastated the city of New Orleans and many other communities across the Gulf Coast, leaving an indelible mark on people’s lives. Katrina was a turning point disaster in American history, exposing deep environmental and social injustices as well as critical issues across the disaster lifecycle. The event, and the protracted recovery that followed, also profoundly influenced disaster research and emergency management practice.

This webinar will bring together authors from The Katrina Bookshelf. This series, edited by Kai Erikson and published by the University of Texas Press, examined many different dimensions of Katrina—ranging from cultural trauma to the impact on children. The books explore the many lessons Katrina taught us about the nature of disasters and about the social world.