U.S. District Judge Stanwood Duval ruled in favor of New Orleans residents late Wednesday. He agreed that the Army Corps of Engineers' failure to properly maintain a navigation channel led to massive flooding by Hurricane Katrina along the Gulf Coast in 2005.
The ruling confirms the allegations of residents, who alleged the Army Corps' lack of proper oversight of the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet led to the flooding of New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward and neighboring St. Bernard Parish. It's been argued by many that Hurricane Katrina, which struck the region on Aug. 29, 2005, was a man-made disaster caused by the Army Corps' failure to maintain the levee system protecting the city.
At least 1,836 people lost their lives to hurricane Katrina as well as the subsequent floods. This made it the deadliest U.S. hurricane since the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane.
Hurricane Katrina was also the most costly hurricane in U.S. history. The total damage from Katrina is estimated at $81.2 billion (in 2005 U.S. dollars), nearly double the cost of the previously most expensive storm, Hurricane Andrew, when adjusted for inflation.
Many will remember the images of people who did not make it out of the city of New Orleans, for various reasons. The scenes at the Superdome, which played out on national TV, were some of the most striking of the time.
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