Hurricane Katrina was a catastrophe that caused enormous destruction in its path when it hit New Orleans on August 29, 2005. Massive flooding occurred when several of New Orleans' levees broke, leaving much of the city having to be rebuilt. Much of the coastlands of Mississippi and Louisiana were ripped apart by the hurricane, which resulted in at least 1,420 deaths. A huge problem resulting from Hurricane Katrina was the breakdown in communications. Many radio antennas and cell phone towers were unable to withstand the high winds, which reached 150 miles-per-hour. Communications systems were crippled for many law enforcement agencies and public-safety systems, including both fire and police departments. Rescue efforts by emergency response personnel were severely compromised by the breakdown in communications. Some of the failures were due to interrupted phone lines, flooded generators, and failed backup generators. It took a few days before communications systems could be restored to a minimally acceptable state. Meanwhile, communication efforts were greatly assisted by the Internet. Web sites sprung up immediately that offered information, relief resources, citizen journalism and updates. Established federal government Web sites were also helpful, such as FirstGov.gov and the National Hurricane Center and Tropical Prediction Center. The Joomla open-source software community put up an excellent database at disastersearch.org that contained the names of 496,450 missing or found people. Article includes extensive listing of Web sites that covered Hurricane Katrina.