MEDIA ADVISORY
Our Storms, Our Stories: A Time to Prepare, A Time to Remember, A Time to Celebrate Survival
SLIDELL, LA – May 30, 2025 – Twenty years after Hurricane Katrina changed the Gulf South forever, communities across the region are preparing for another dangerous hurricane season. Over the past few years, the Gulf of Mexico’s waters have grown increasingly warmer - fuel for an active hurricane season. As residents prepare for another round of extreme weather, Taproot Earth, a climate justice organization born from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, is calling for a different type of response, one rooted in remembrance, readiness and resistance.
Why This Moment Matters:
- Weather forecasters are expecting a dangerous season. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts 13 to 19 named storms, 6 to 10 hurricanes, and up to 5 major hurricanes (Category 3 or higher) in 2025.
- Katrina was a warning. More than 1,800 people died, and more than 200,000 homes were damaged or destroyed in 2005, and just weeks later, it was immediately followed by Hurricane Rita. In recent years, storms like Hurricane Harvey (2017), Maria (2017), Ida (2021), and Ian (2022) have caused billions of dollars in damage, mass displacement and prolonged recovery for frontline communities.
- Disaster displacement became part of a global migration pattern. More than 1 million people were displaced, forcing a mass climate migration across 50 states and 7 countries. Many of those people, communities and cultures never returned to the places they called home.
- Today’s risks are higher. Sea surface temperatures in the Gulf are at record highs, creating perfect conditions for rapid hurricane intensification.
- Communities are still unprotected. The communities that were hit hardest in 2005 remain the most vulnerable today.
- Federal agencies are being weakened. FEMA and NOAA are being gutted and defunded. Both agencies have lost millions of dollars, severely decreasing capacity for disaster response.
- Drilling is still expanding: The same oil and gas infrastructure that fuels the climate crisis also puts frontline communities at risk of chemical spills when storms hit.
A Call to Action:
Taproot Earth facilitates the Katrina 20 Local Planning Committee, a community-led effort to honor the lives lost, prepare for future storms, and organize community governance of a sustainable future. More than 200 residents, artists, youth, faith leaders and organizers across Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, who were impacted by Hurricane Katrina compile the committee. Join the K20 Local Planning Committee as they finalize plans for a regional commemoration. For more details on the Katrina 20 Week of Action visit www.katrina20.org
Taproot Earth is Available for Interviews On:
- Community-led disaster preparedness and recovery
- The legacy of Hurricane Katrina
- Climate migration and displacement
- The intersection of oil drilling, the climate crisis and storms
Please contact: Jacobs Jacobs jjacobs@taproot.earth
