Talk:Hurricane Katrina

Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet Canal to MRGO acronym needs clarified.

Should add (MRGO) after Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet in the Analysis of New Orleans levee failures section.

Background section needed?

This hurricane has devastated especially New Orleans and Mississippi. I can't help wonder whether a Background section is needed before readers would begin reading the rest of the article. George Ho (talk) 05:30, 21 July 2026 (UTC)

Would a background section add anything useful to the article? BlueForce87 (talk) 05:35, 21 July 2026 (UTC)

Absolutely. At bare minimum, there should be an explanation of the New Orleans levee system. I would rather have that than the long quote we have that first discusses the levees:

During video conferences involving the president later that day and on August 29, NHC director Max Mayfield expressed concern that Katrina might push its storm surge over the city's levees and flood walls. In one conference, he stated, "I do not think anyone can tell you with confidence right now whether the levees will be topped or not, but that's obviously a very, very great concern."

I think some background could be useful. ♫ Hurricanehink (talk) 05:38, 21 July 2026 (UTC)

I agree, but I think the content should be added to existing sections, rather than its own Background section, because it will integrate better with the existing text. BlueForce87 (talk) 05:43, 21 July 2026 (UTC)

The impact and preparations are already very long. The Hurricane Pam simulation from 2004 projected a hurricane that would overtop the levees. Indeed, parts of Hurricane preparedness in New Orleans would be helpful, namely the Army Corps being aware of the New Orleans levee being a potential issue, and the Bush administration cutting funds for the levee. That information shouldn't be in some poorly-written sub-article. That background information is crucial to the story of Katrina. So thanks George Ho for bringing this up. ♫ Hurricanehink (talk) 05:49, 21 July 2026 (UTC)

Would a trim do any harm? And that content would fit better in the Preparations section. BlueForce87 (talk) 05:57, 21 July 2026 (UTC)

Are you talking the Katrina article or the preparations article? The background information I mentioned (the hurricane simulation, levee cuts) happened before Katrina, so should be placed before the preparations section. The Analysis of New Orleans levee failures also has some background stuff about the levees. The preparations for the storm were mainly about evacuations and the immediate responses to the hurricane, but they weren't going to be able to do anything about the levees. The levees were a decades' long problem before Katrina happened. ♫ Hurricanehink (talk) 06:11, 21 July 2026 (UTC)

The Katrina article, of course. To clarify, I support the addition of background content on Hurricane Katrina into the Katrina article, but not as an independent (level 2) section. BlueForce87 (talk) 06:18, 21 July 2026 (UTC)

To which part shall background info belong if not an independent (level 2) section? George Ho (talk) 07:29, 21 July 2026 (UTC)

The Preparations section would be the most appropriate. BlueForce87 (talk) 07:32, 21 July 2026 (UTC)

As I said, some of the background preceded Katrina by decades, so a “background” section indeed would be most useful. I’ll try adding it today if I have time. Hurricanehink mobile (talk) 14:30, 21 July 2026 (UTC)

I understand that, but the content is directly related to Preparations. This is the event they were preparing for. Maybe the content should be a level 3 subsection of Preparations. BlueForce87 (talk) 23:51, 21 July 2026 (UTC)

You know what? Let's go for then a level-2 section just to await further feedback. No need to further debate about where to place such content, IMO. George Ho (talk) 18:24, 25 July 2026 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 15 August 2026

Mention Linkin Park's Minutes to Midnight song, The Little Things Give You Away, as a minor blurb on the page in the Criticism section, as it directly deals with Hurricane Katrina and proves just how insensitive and unhelpful the US government was at the time. CorruptFox (talk) 07:59, 15 August 2026 (UTC)

You didn’t provide a source or what you’d like the text to say. Hurricanehink mobile (talk) 14:03, 15 August 2026 (UTC)

 Not done: it's not clear what changes you want made. Please detail the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. Day Creature (talk) 21:01, 15 August 2026 (UTC)