Hurricane Katrina: Timeline

Tuesday 23 August

• A tropical storm called Katrina starts building up over the Bahamas in the Caribbean.

Thursday 25 August

• Tropical storm Katrina turns into a hurricane.

• 11.45pm - Hurricane Katrina hits Florida. Nine people are killed and one million people lose power.

Sunday 28 August

• 

  New Orleans residents leave the city
  Katrina gains strength in the Gulf of Mexico, becoming a category five, the strongest type of hurricane.

• Authorities order people to leave New Orleans. Roads are jammed as families head for safety, while others who can't leave shelter in places like the Superdome stadium.

Monday 29 August

• 6.10 am - After weakening to category four, Katrina hits land, with her centre to the east of New Orleans. Around 9,000 people are sheltering in the Superdome.

• Winds of up to 100mph and heavy rain strike the city.

• Levees which prevent flooding are breached, and water pours into the city.

Tuesday 30 August

• 

  Foodwaters fill the streets of New Orleans
  About 80% of the city is underwater, and the first survivors are rescued.

• People start to raid shops for food and water.

• In nearby Biloxi, a nine metre wave apparently kills hundreds of people.

Wednesday 31 August

• Mayor Ray Nagin orders the full evacuation of the city. It's thought about 100,000 people are still stranded.

• About 25,000 people are now in the Superdome, with little food and water. Conditions are getting worse.

• Looting of shops continues, and shootings are reported.

Thursday 1 September

The Superdome, scarred by the hurricane
• New Orleans is in chaos. Crime, including shooting and theft, is widespread. Shots are fired at a helicopter trying to rescue people from the Superdome.

• The Government is accused of not acting fast enough to help the survivors.

• The evacuation of the Superdome slowly gets going.

Friday 2 September

• Relief is increased, as convoys of food, water and medicine arrive in the city, and thousands of troops and police are sent in to keep the peace.

• An explosion rips thorough a chemical store on the banks of the Mississippi.

• Tens of thousands of people are still stranded.

Sunday 4 September

• 

  Rescuers bring aid to New Orleans
  Thousands of people are taken from the city as the US appeals for aid - blankets, food, water trucks and first aid kits.

• The government admits the number of dead could be in the thousands.

Monday 5 September

• US troops kill men who shot at people trying to clean up the city.

• Most of New Orleans is empty.

• Rescuers search house to house for survivors.