The
2005 Atlantic hurricane season was the most active
Atlantic hurricane season in
recorded history, shattering numerous records. The impact of the season was widespread and ruinous with an estimated 3,913 deaths and record damage of about $159.2 billion. Of the storms that made
landfall, five of the season's seven major hurricanes—
Dennis,
Emily,
Katrina,
Rita, and
Wilma—were responsible for most of the destruction. The
Mexican states of
Quintana Roo and
Yucatán and the US states of
Florida and Louisiana were each struck twice by major hurricanes;
Cuba, the
Bahamas,
Haiti,
Mississippi,
Texas, and
Tamaulipas were each struck once and in each case brushed by at least one more. The most catastrophic effects of the season were felt on the
United States'
Gulf Coast, where a 30 ft (10 m)
storm surge from Hurricane Katrina caused devastating flooding that destroyed most structures on the Mississippi coastline; subsequent
levee failures in
New Orleans, Louisiana caused by the storm crippled the city. Furthermore,
Hurricane Stan combined with an extratropical system to cause deadly mudslides across Central America, with
Guatemala being hardest-hit.