Hurricane Katrina was one of the strongest storms to hit the United States in the past 100 years and will likely go down as one of the worst natural disasters in history. The storm initially hit Florida as a Category 1 then regained strength in the Gulf of Mexico before hitting Grand Isle, La., as a Category 3 storm on Aug. 29.

The storm led to more than 1,400 deaths along the Gulf Coast and more than $75 billion in damage. With forecasts for increased hurricane activity over the next 15 years, it is imperative that Louisiana take steps to prepare and protect itself from catastrophe.

Katrina was reminiscent of 'Billion-Dollar Betsy,' a 1965 Category 3 storm that made landfall near the mouth of the Mississippi River, killing 75 people and causing $1.42 billion in damage. It was the first hurricane to inflict damage in the billions, leading to the nickname.

The deaths and damage from Katrina were increased by breaks in the levees that protect the city of New Orleans, which sits below sea level, from surrounding lakes. The winds and rainfall from the slow-moving storm and the resulting storm surge led to major levee damage that put more than three-quarters of New Orleans under water within 24 hours of Katrina making landfall.

At the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had completed repairs on 220 miles of floodwalls and levees, and declared that in most areas the hurricane protection system is in equal or better condition than it was pre-Katrina.

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By 2010, using the lessons learned from Katrina, the Corps is expected to complete projects to increase the height and strength of the levees and floodwalls surrounding New Orleans. The cost of repairs and improvements is estimated at $6 billion.

Ivor van Heerden, deputy director of the Louisiana State University Hurricane Center, told The New York Times that even though New Orleans was devastated by Katrina, the city must be rebuilt to withstand an even stronger storm.

· 'Nature’s given us a second chance. Katrina was the warning. Katrina showed us a lot of our weaknesses. We’ve got to hope and pray that before we get anything like another Katrina, that we’ve raised the levees, armored them and built the necessary floodgates.'

Learn more about hurricanes and their impact from LSU’s Hurricane Center.