Hurricane Katrina: What went wrong? Preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation. These are the four elements that make up a well-planned and successful natural disaster mission. When Hurricane Katrina brought landfall on the Gulf Coast in August 2005, many factors were devastating. Some of these factors include levee failure, the response of federal and mutual aid units, and late evacuations just before the storm brought land down. All of these factors will have impacted federal, state and local agencies in how they prepared for and responded to the disaster. On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall on the Gulf Coast of the United States. The storm was measured as a category three hurricane that had reached winds of approximately one hundred and forty miles per hour. The storm initially measured nearly four hundred miles in diameter, affecting areas of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. Of these three affected areas, Louisiana suffered the most damage; However, one city in particular suffered the greatest damage and was the main target of this disaster. It was the city of New Orleans. The city of New Orleans was at incredibly high risk for several reasons. One reason was that New Orleans was surrounded by large bodies of water. Each of these bodies of water contained sea walls built in the 20th century, some stronger than others. Levees that were not built properly had the greatest risk of being breached and also causing dangerous flooding. Another factor was that New Orleans was located below sea level, which included "the poorest and most vulnerable part of the city." of the storm. This resulted in the closure of dispatch centers, leaving dispatchers unable to provide necessary information to emergency services about ongoing emergencies. In summary, the events of Hurricane Katrina had a lasting and devastating impact not only on the general public, but also on public safety stakeholders, including local, state, and federal agencies. The storm affected nearly hundreds of square kilometers, leaving thousands of victims, as well as people lost and homeless. Additionally, many factors contributed to the major life, including the geography of New Orleans, the way the levees around New Orleans were constructed, as well as the lack of coordination between local, state and federal..