Damage caused by Hurricane Katrina. Gulfport, Mississippi USA. Hurricane made landfall in Louisiana / Mississippi on 29th August 2005. Category 4 on landing. The diameter of the storm was approximately 250 miles, the eye 32 miles wide. It was significantly larger than most storms of its intensity - roughly twice as large as Camille.It originated near the Bahamas as a tropical storm, increasing to hurricane force off the coast of Florida, where landfall was made on the tip and then back out into the Gulf coast. The maximum wind speeds were 175 mph.It is considered the most expensive natural disaster in US history, with total cost of storm estimated at 200 billion dollars. It left approximately 500,000 homeless. Over 1000 deaths were attributed to the storm.Hurricanes spin counterclockwise in the Northern hemisphere and vice versa in the Southern Hemisphere.