Keith Sharon recalls his experience when he was embedded with an Orange County Fire Authority team sent to New Orleans in 2005.

Total damages from Katrina surpassed $125 billion, making it the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history. Entire coastal communities were obliterated, and some of the lowest-lying — and poorest — New Orleans neighborhoods were wiped out by a storm surge that reached as high as 28 feet.

Hurricane Erin may not be on track to make landfall, but it is still bringing dangerous and destructive impacts up and down the East Coast.

Home insurance does not typically cover flooding, which is the most significant threat to homeowners during a hurricane, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The hurricane winds push water toward the shore – known as a storm surge – and can cause severe flood damage in coastal homes.

New aerial imagery of damage by Hurricane Erin in North Carolina has been released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for public viewing.

Hurricane Erin is forecast to remain well offshore but still bring hazardous currents and possible erosion like previous offshore hurricanes before it.

Officials at the Outer Banks are still cleaning up a day after Hurricane Erin came close to the coast, this time due to waves crashing against the dunes. In a Friday

I lost all three — the job, the beauty salon, my home.” Though grateful for a place to stay, longtime teacher and beautician Mercedes Toregano said adjusting to life in Colorado was tough.

Strong storm waters brought on by Hurricane Erin offshore on Thursday night caused dune erosion and damaged 40 to 50 beach boxes in Cape May. The beach reopened Friday, but Steger Beach Service, which operates the boxes for beachgoers, had to temporarily close its business.

Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans and the Bayou region 20 years ago. The aftermath was beyond devastating.