An unusually large storm, Katrina was far from a worst-case scenario. As it churned north in the early-morning hours of August 29, 2005, its eye passed to the east of the city. This meant the strongest winds also passed to the east, over towns like Waveland and Pass Christian, in Mississippi. Briefly, it seemed that New Orleans had been spared. But the storm was driving water into a network of channels along the city’s eastern edge.
