Drowned City: Hurricane Katrina & New Orleans: Pages 1–29

by Don Brown
This acclaimed nonfiction book tells the story of Hurricane Katrina in graphic form.

This list covers vocabulary from pages 1–29.

Here are links to our lists for the work: List 1, List 2, List 3

Here is a link to our list for Unwanted by Don Brown.
15 words 1441 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. careen
    move sideways or in an unsteady way
    Katrina careens into the Gulf of Mexico, drawing up eighty-five-degree water that multiplies its strength.
  2. catastrophic
    extremely harmful; bringing physical or financial ruin
    By August 26, it is the most catastrophic of hurricanes, a category 5, with roaring 155-MPH winds.
  3. levee
    an embankment built to prevent a river from overflowing
    It depends on levees and pumps to keep it dry even in the driest of times.
  4. surge
    a sudden forceful flow
    ...New Orleans faces a surge of high water that will be twenty-five feet above normal.
  5. sermon
    an address of a religious nature
    Sirens, bullhorns, church sermons, and radio and TV sound the alarm.
  6. evacuate
    move out of an unsafe location into safety
    Still, approximately 80 percent of residents evacuate, which is a remarkable success.
  7. mandatory
    required by rule
    New Orleans's mayor, Ray Nagin, issues a mandatory evacuation order Sunday morning, but it is too late: the police are in no position to enforce it.
  8. ferry
    transport from one place to another
    Three hundred and sixty city buses are available to ferry people to safety, but they are nowhere to be seen.
  9. devastation
    an event that results in total destruction
    It's complete devastation.
  10. dislodge
    remove or force out from a position
    A drilling platform dislodges and wedges beneath a highway bridge.
  11. frantically
    in an uncontrolled manner
    The flood doesn't stop, and the couple frantically scratches a hole in the roof with a knife to escape.
  12. barge
    a flatbottom boat for carrying heavy loads
    A five-hundred-foot barge rides through a gap in the levees and floats among houses.
  13. refine
    treat or prepare so as to put in a usable condition
    A nearby oil refiner tank is smashed by rushing water, and 1.1 million gallons of crude oil join the muck and debris swamping houses.
  14. crude
    not refined or processed
    A nearby oil refiner tank is smashed by rushing water, and 1.1 million gallons of crude oil join the muck and debris swamping houses.
  15. debris
    the remains of something that has been destroyed
    A nearby oil refiner tank is smashed by rushing water, and 1.1 million gallons of crude oil join the muck and debris swamping houses.
Created on Wed Jul 24 15:19:04 EDT 2019 (updated Mon Jul 14 16:08:08 EDT 2025)

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