On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast near Buras, Louisiana, bringing floods that devastated New Orleans.  More than 1,800 people in the region died.

On this 9th anniversary, there are different events all over the City of New Orleans to mark the solemn day, WGNO.com reports.

City officials will hold a wreath laying ceremony at 5056 Canal Street, where almost 100 unclaimed or unidentified victims of the storm are interred.  The “Hip Hop Caucus” is also holding a 3-mile march.

The Victims and Recovery

When Hurricane Katrina hit, Wendy Coates and her entire life was changed forever. Today, nine years later Coates and her family now call the Tennessee Valley home, they say while the storm was devastating it also gave them a chance to find the wonderful people who call this part of Alabama home.

Coates lived in Gulfport, MS, not far from the beach – just off Pass Rd. She had a 1-year-old and a new-born. Following the storm, the Coates’s apartment Our was condemned, their employers didn’t know when they would reopen, and they were unsure of the quality of life we would go back too.

In the days and weeks following, the Coates found  employment quickly and a nice rental home.

“Since then, my husband has graduated from college and works on the arsenal and we have built a new home in the county,” Wendy Coates says. “Katrina was a horrible, horrible thing, but I believe once our hardships were weathered we are in a better position as a family,” Coates added.

Comment below and share your Hurricane Katrina story.