 When Hurricane Katrina hit on August 29, 2005, much of the Gulf Coast Region and almost the entire Metro New Orleans Area was forced to evacuate for several weeks, as local governments re-established basic infrastructure for electricity and water.Some residents emptied their refrigerators before they evacuated.However, most residents in the region did not know that they would lose power for weeks, or that they would be unable to return home until a month or more later.