Louisiana residents say the Category 3 hurricane will be one they’ll never forget. Hear how lives along the Gulf Coast were changed forever.
NEW ORLEANS – Developers are tearing down the Six Flags amusement complex in New Orleans two decades after it was decimated during Hurricane Katrina.
Many remember the devastation of Hurricane Katrina that devoured the city of New Orleans in 2005, leaving the Six Flags Complex in Eastern New Orleans in shambles.
20 years later, the ruins of the once great amusement park remain as an ugly scar in the city’s history. The area is finally undergoing a much-needed renovation.
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NEW ORLEANS, LA – June 6: Rides and attractions sit empty inside the abandoned Six Flags Jazzland in New Orleans on June 6, 2024. (Cropped) (Photo by Emily Kask for The Washington Post via Getty Images) ( )
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NEW ORLEANS, LA – June 6: Rides and attractions sit empty inside the abandoned Six Flags Jazzland in New Orleans on June 6, 2024. (Photo by Emily Kask for The Washington Post via Getty Images) ( )
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NEW ORLEANS, LA – June 6: Rides and attractions sit empty inside the abandoned Six Flags Jazzland in New Orleans on June 6, 2024. (Photo by Emily Kask for The Washington Post via Getty Images) ( )
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UNITED STATES – SEPTEMBER 15: Six Flags New Orleans, an amusement park , is underwater in New Orleans, Louisiana, September 13, 2005. (Photo by James Efstathiou/Bloomberg )
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NEW ORLEANS, LA – June 6: Rides and attractions sit empty inside the abandoned Six Flags Jazzland in New Orleans on June 6, 2024. (Photo by Emily Kask for The Washington Post via Getty Images) ( )
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Weeds overtake the entrance to the Six Flags amusement park in New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S., on Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2009. Six Flags Inc., the New York-based theme park owner, lost a bid to finance its exit from bankruptcy with loans and a stock sale when a judge said breakup fees in the proposed contract were too high. Photographer: Patrick Semansky/Bloomberg via Getty Images ( )
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NEW ORLEANS, LA – June 6: Rides and attractions sit empty inside the abandoned Six Flags Jazzland in New Orleans on June 6, 2024. (Photo by Emily Kask for The Washington Post via Getty Images) ( )
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Six Flags amusement park rides sit idle in New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S., on Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2009. Six Flags Inc., the New York-based theme park owner, lost a bid to finance its exit from bankruptcy with loans and a stock sale when a judge said breakup fees in the proposed contract were too high. (Photographer: Patrick Semansky/Bloomberg)
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NEW ORLEANS, LA – June 6: Rides and attractions sit empty inside the abandoned Six Flags Jazzland in New Orleans on June 6, 2024. (Photo by Emily Kask for The Washington Post via Getty Images) ( )
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NEW ORLEANS, LA – June 6: Rides and attractions sit empty inside the abandoned Six Flags Jazzland in New Orleans on June 6, 2024. (Photo by Emily Kask for The Washington Post)
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NEW ORLEANS, LA – June 6: Rides and attractions sit empty inside the abandoned Six Flags Jazzland in New Orleans on June 6, 2024. (Photo by Emily Kask for The Washington Post)
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NEW ORLEANS, LA – June 6: Rides and attractions sit empty inside the abandoned Six Flags Jazzland in New Orleans on June 6, 2024. (Photo by Emily Kask for The Washington Post)
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NEW ORLEANS, LA – June 6: Rides and attractions sit empty inside the abandoned Six Flags Jazzland in New Orleans on June 6, 2024. (Photo by Emily Kask for The Washington Post via Getty Images) ( )
An estimated 1,833 people died from Hurricane Katrina and the flooding that followed. Wind gusts up to 100 mph were observed during this record-breaking storm.
In addition, torrential rains overwhelmed the city’s extensive levee system, triggering extensive flooding. Up to 80% of New Orleans was underwater.
FOX Weather correspondent Brandy Campbell had the privilege of growing up in the New Orleans area, and remembers the amusement park well.
“It was a spot my sisters and I loved going to as it was one of the biggest attractions in the city for families,” said Campbell. “The big rides were my favorites, like the Mega Zeph. It’s the big wooden coaster that you can still see as you pass the park from the interstate. Unfortunately, it’s been a reminder of what Katrina took from the city that was never revived. Something I wished could have returned.”
Six Flags amusement park rides sit idle in New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S., on Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2009. Six Flags Inc., the New York-based theme park owner, lost a bid to finance its exit from bankruptcy with loans and a stock sale when a judge said breakup fees in the proposed contract were too high.
(Photographer: Patrick Semansky/Bloomberg / Getty Images)
Katrina caused $161 billion in damage and was the costliest hurricane on record, according to The George W. Bush Library.
What are the plans going forward?
Developers Bayou Phoenix plan on carefully studying the pre-existing infrastructure and foundational issues within those structures before moving forward tearing down 62 structures – including the Mega Zeph – according to FOX 8 New Orleans.
Plans for reconstruction strive for a family-friendly environment—a destination with a valued marketplace to fill the hole that New Orleans has been missing since 2005. The master development plan from Bayou Phoenix states that the area will include an indoor/outdoor waterpark, a sports complex, and a family entertainment center.
UNITED STATES – SEPTEMBER 15: Six Flags New Orleans, an amusement park , is underwater in New Orleans, Louisiana, September 13, 2005.
(Photo by James Efstathiou/Bloomberg / Getty Images)
There will be a resort hotel that will contain up to 300 rooms, as well as a franchise hotel that will hold 100 rooms. There will be more than 3,000 parking spaces available to visit the complex.
The developer hopes these ideas will bring the community together and help the local economy flourish.