By: Dave Roos

Surviving Hurricane Katrina: First-Hand Accounts from the Storm

Hear six powerful stories about the harrowing days of Hurricane Katrina told by people who were there—helicopter rescue workers, Superdome survivors and unlikely heroes.

Hurricane Katrina Hits Gulf Coast

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Published: August 04, 2025

Last Updated: August 04, 2025

In the early morning hours of August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina slammed into New Orleans. While most of the city’s residents had safely evacuated, hundreds of thousands were trapped in their homes when the Category 3 storm made landfall. Thousands more had taken shelter inside the Superdome.  

Then the levees failed, unleashing catastrophic flooding across New Orleans. Some of the city’s poorest neighborhoods were hardest hit and rescue efforts were painfully slow. When the waters finally receded, nearly 2,000 New Orleans residents were dead and hundreds of thousands had lost their homes.  

What follows are six powerful stories about the harrowing days of Hurricane Katrina. They’re told by people who were there—helicopter rescue workers, Superdome survivors and unlikely heroes.  

I Was There: Hurricane Katrina Rescue Swimmers

When Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, U.S. Coast Guard rescue swimmer Laurence “Noodles” Nettles’ training was put to the test as he and fellow Guard members were forced to adapt their ocean rescue tactics to save thousands of stranded victims from rooftops and rising floodwaters.

1. Laurence Nettles: Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer 

Laurence “Noodles” Nettles had been in the U.S. Coast Guard three years but nothing prepared him for Katrina. “We saw houses underwater. We saw houses on fire,” says Nettles. “It was surreal.” Working for days without sleep, Nettles rescued people trapped in the rising waters. He suffered PTSD from the things he witnessed, but he believes that Katrina was the Coast Guard’s finest moment. “We were there during the storm. We were there after the storm. We were there.” 

Divine Intervention During Hurricane Katrina

When Angela Trahan and her family were trapped in their own kitchen by floodwaters from Hurricane Katrina, Brother Ronald Hingle, a membe...

2. Angela Trahan: Divine Intervention 

Angela Trahan’s mom and aunt both worked in the kitchen of St. Stanislaus College, a Catholic boarding school in New Orleans. When Katrina was coming, Angela’s mom refused to leave “her boys.” But when the kitchen flooded, it was Brother Ronald Hingle and other St. Stanislaus staff who pulled Trahan and her family to safety. It's a moment she’ll never forget. “They risked their lives to come and save us.”  

I Was There: Surviving Hurricane Katrina in the Superdome

When Hurricane Katrina forced New Orleans poet Shelton Alexander to evacuate his home, he took his truck and video camera to the Superdome. He escaped the chaotic shelter a few days later with a truckload of people and video documentation of history.

3. Shelton Alexander: Superdome Survivor 

Like thousands of others, New Orleans poet Shelton Alexander was forced to wait out the storm inside the Superdome. Conditions inside the dome quickly deteriorated as bathrooms backed up and food ran out. When the levee breached, they were told they couldn’t leave. “Now you feel like you’re a prisoner,” says Alexander. Against orders, Alexander escaped and found his truck miraculously spared from the flood. He was able to drive all 20 people from his parish back home. “They talk about survivor’s guilt. I think of all the people I had to pass by.” 

I Was There: Defender of the American Can During Hurricane Katrina

Five days after Hurricane Katrina trapped nearly 300 residents in their apartment building, known as The American Can, former recon Marine John Keller fought off looters, swam through floodwaters, and hot-wired boats to help guide them to safety.

4. John Keller: A Marine’s New Mission 

John Keller served in the Marine Corps, but his greatest mission happened at home in New Orleans. When it became clear that no one was coming to rescue the 240 people trapped in his apartment building, Keller took charge. “Once a Marine, always a Marine,” he says. Keller was able to hot-wire boats and ferry the residents to a spit of dry land where they could be evacuated by helicopter. “He stayed until everybody in the American Can apartments had been rescued,” says a neighbor. “That’s my definition of a hero.”   

I Was There: Rooftop Rescues During Hurricane Katrina

Robert Green lost his mother and granddaughter when his Ninth Ward home was lifted off its foundation and floated down the street in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. After rebuilding several years later, Green has made it his life’s mission to bring the Ninth Ward residents back and rebuild their historic community.

5. Robert Green: From Tragedy to Renewal 

Robert Green and six of his family members were on the roof of their home in the Lower 9th Ward when the entire house was swept away in the current. Two of Green’s loved ones died in the flood—his elderly mother and his 3-year-old granddaughter. “If you understand God’s grace, you don’t question it,” Green says. When the waters receded, Green was determined to rebuild his ravaged neighborhood. After all he went through, Green is now an ambassador of hope in the Lower 9th Ward.  

I Was There: The Heroes of Charity Hospital

Charity Hospital was one of the last hospitals to be evacuated after Hurricane Katrina hit. After five days without power or assistance, the staff of Charity took matters into their own hands — including orchestrating a risky roof evacuation — to care for their patients.

6. The Heroes of Charity Hospital 

The motto of Charity Hospital in New Orleans was “Where the Unusual Occurs and Miracles Happen.” When power went out during Katrina, the doctors and nurses of Charity Hospital worked around the clock to keep hundreds of critically ill patients alive. When no rescue came, the strained staff refused to leave until every last patient was brought to safety. “Those days following Hurricane Katrina were our finest hour,” remembers one of the ICU doctors. “It wasn’t heroic. We were just doing our jobs.” 

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About the author

Dave Roos

Dave Roos is a writer for History.com and a contributor to the popular podcast Stuff You Should Know. Learn more at daveroos.com.

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Citation Information

Article title
Surviving Hurricane Katrina: First-Hand Accounts from the Storm
Author
Dave Roos
Website Name
History
Date Accessed
August 04, 2025
Publisher
A&E Television Networks
Last Updated
August 04, 2025
Original Published Date
August 04, 2025

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