
Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma
Hurricane Katrina was an extremely destructive storm that hit the Gulf Coast of the United States in August 2005. It was the costliest natural disaster and one of the five deadliest hurricanes in the history of the United States. Total property damage was estimated at $108 billion (2005 USD). Over fifty breaches in New Orleans's hurricane surge protection were the cause of the majority of the death and destruction during Katrina on August 29, 2005. Eventually 80% of the city and large tracts of neighboring parishes became flooded, and the floodwaters lingered for weeks
Hurricane Rita was the fourth-most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded and the most intense tropical cyclone ever observed in the Gulf of Mexico. Part of the record-breaking 2005 Atlantic hurricane season, which included three of the six most intense Atlantic hurricanes ever recorded (along with #1 Wilma and #6 Katrina) Throughout the path of Rita, damage totaled about $12 billion.
Hurricane Wilma was the most intense tropical cyclone ever recorded in the Atlantic basin, and was the most intense tropical cyclone recorded in the western hemisphere until Hurricane Patricia in 2015. Damage is estimated at $29.4 billion, $21 billion of which occurred in the United States alone. As a result, Wilma is ranked as the fifth costliest storm in United States history.
During the 2005 hurricane season KDF Enterprises, LLC Management team got to experience some of the most unusual FEMA reimbursed projects to date, including over 600 vessels and 20,000 traps from the ocean surrounding the Florida Keys. This area is ecologically sensitive and required a very close working relationship between KDF’s Wade Kilpatrick and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife. Other projects outside of debris generated on public rights-of-way, included beach remediation and erosion control. Also marine debris collected on navigable waterways, vessel recovery. KDF’s Wade Kilpatrick also managed a team of surveyors on behalf of the City of New Orleans to find properties affected by Hurricane Katrina, this led into the demolition of over a 1000 residential structures.