Situated on a barrier island at the tip of Louisiana, Grand Isle has cleared away about 80 percent of the debris as of August 2006, according to city officials. About 20 percent of the businesses remain closed, but nearly 95 percent of the pre-Katrina population has returned.

Sometimes described as Hurricane Katrina’s ground zero, Waveland was almost obliterated by the storm. The last FEMA disaster recovery center in Mississippi closed August 18, 2006, in Waveland, after visits from more than 46,000 people who sustained losses. As of August 2006, the Army Corps of Engineers reports that 99 percent of the debris they were in charge of clearing has been removed.

In the small Hancock County town of Bay St. Louis, nearly every business and home was heavily damaged or destroyed. Today, city officials estimate about 75 percent to 80 percent of businesses are back, although some have relocated away from the heavily damaged Beach Boulevard, once a main thoroughfare of the area that is still being repaired after Katrina.

In Gulfport, all 2.9 million cubic yards of debris left behind when Hurricane Katrina swept through the city has been cleaned up by FEMA, according to the city. But other debris generated from house demolitions and similar projects is still in the process of cleanup. One of the two casinos has reopened.

Biloxi officials estimate about 88 percent of the debris left by Katrina’s wrath has been removed, an amount that would cover a football field 124 stories high, according to the city. Seven casinos are scheduled to be open by October.

Ocean Springs lost 800 homes and buildings to Katrina, but its historic downtown escaped the floodwaters. As of August 2006, Ocean Springs and the Army Corps of Engineers have removed about 85 percent of hurricane debris, according to a city public works official. An estimated 95 percent of businesses are open.

By August 2006, Pascagoula had removed about 97 percent of the debris from Katrina, according to officials, although some property owners were just beginning their cleanup. The city is marking the anniversary of Katrina by unveiling a steel monument in the shape of a wave, in remembrance of the events.

In the state of Alabama, coastal communities like Mobile and Dauphin Island were among the hardest hit. In July 2006, more than 1,200 people were still living in travel trailers statewide, according to FEMA. (In February 2006, about 7,000 lived in trailers.) More than 3 million cubic yards of debris has been cleaned up statewide and less than 1 percent of home inspections statewide remain.