LINCOLN, Neb.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 28, 2025--
In the 20 years since Hurricane Katrina, the Arbor Day Foundation has helped plant and distribute more than 160,000 trees in forests and communities hit by the historic storm. Still, according to the tree planting nonprofit, the work is far from over.
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“The devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina was unlike anything our country had experienced before. Even 20 years later, the pain still feels raw,” said Dan Lambe, chief executive of the Arbor Day Foundation. “Through our work in tree recovery, we’ve learned that’s why so many people turn to planting trees after a disaster — it helps them heal.”
Hurricane Katrina made landfall in the Gulf Coast on August 29, 2005, and claimed approximately 1,800 lives. The storm was particularly catastrophic in New Orleans where 80% of the city was pulled under floodwaters, according to the National Weather Service. To date, Hurricane Katrina remains the costliest hurricane in U.S. history, causing $201 billion in damage when adjusted for inflation.
In the two decades since the storm, the Arbor Day Foundation has worked alongside local planting organizations as well as city and state leaders in New Orleans and other impacted communities to help recover tree canopy lost to the hurricane. The Foundation’s most recent planting in February brought dozens of new trees to New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward neighborhood. The attached satellite images compare the tree canopy of the Lower Ninth Ward, immediately after Hurricane Katrina to today.
Since Hurricane Katrina, the Arbor Day Foundation has been heavily invested in assisting disaster-affected communities and forestlands all over the country. The work has aided recovery efforts following hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires and floods, reaching more than half of U.S. states. In the last four years alone, the Foundation has planted and distributed over two million trees in communities recovering from natural disasters.
“Planting trees gives people a way to connect to the rebuilding process. It roots them in hope and resilience,” Lambe said. “No matter how much time passes, we’ll keep working to restore the canopy lost to major storms, including Hurricane Katrina, as we shape a stronger future through trees.”
Visit arborday.org to learn more about the Arbor Day Foundation’s disaster recovery work and how to get involved.
About the Arbor Day Foundation
The Arbor Day Foundation is a global nonprofit inspiring people to plant, nurture, and celebrate trees. They foster a growing community of more than 1 million leaders, innovators, planters, and supporters united by their bold belief that a more hopeful future can be shaped through the power of trees. For more than 50 years, they’ve answered critical need with action, planting more than half a billion trees alongside their partners.
And this is only the beginning.
The Arbor Day Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit pursuing a future where all life flourishes through the power of trees. Learn more at arborday.org.
Satellite imagery compares the tree canopy of the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans immediately after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 (left) to now (right).
Two decades after Hurricane Katrina, the effort to replant a lost tree canopy still continues. The Arbor Day Foundation’s most recent planting in February brought dozens of new trees to New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward neighborhood.
KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Voting began Thursday in Uganda’s presidential election despite a days-long internet shutdown that has been criticized as an anti-democratic tactic in a country where the president has held office since 1986.
Crowds gathered and long lines formed in some areas as polling station openings were delayed and voting materials were seen being delivered after the scheduled 7 a.m. opening time.
President Yoweri Museveni, 81, faces seven other candidates, including Robert Kyagulanyi, a musician-turned-politician best known as Bobi Wine, who is calling for political change.
The East African country of roughly 45 million people has 21.6 million registered voters. Polls are expected to close at 4 p.m. Thursday, according to the electoral commission. Results are constitutionally required to be announced in 48 hours.
Impatient crowds gathered outside polling stations expressing concerns over the delays Thursday morning. Umaru Mutyaba, a polling agent for a parliamentary candidate, said it was “frustrating” to be waiting outside a station in the capital Kampala.
“We can’t be standing here waiting to vote as if we have nothing else to do," he said.
Ssemujju Nganda, a prominent opposition figure and lawmaker seeking reelection in Kira municipality, told The Associated Press he had been waiting in line to vote for three hours.
In addition to delayed voting materials, biometric voter identification machines were not working properly, Nganda said, adding that delays likely will lead to apathy and low turnout in urban areas where the opposition has substantial support.
“It’s going to be chaos,” he said.
Uganda has not witnessed a peaceful transfer of presidential power since independence from British colonial rule six decades ago.
Museveni has served the third-longest term of any African leader and is seeking to extend his rule into a fifth decade. Some critics say removing him through elections remains difficult, but the aging president’s authority has become increasingly dependent on the military led by his son, Muhoozi Kainerugaba.
Museveni and Wine are reprising their rivalry from the previous election in 2021, when Wine appealed to mostly young people in urban areas. With voter turnout of 59%, Wine secured 35% of the ballots against Museveni’s 58%, the president’s smallest vote share since his first electoral campaign three decades ago.
The lead-up to Thursday's election produced concerns about transparency, the possibility of hereditary rule, military interference and opposition strategies to prevent vote tampering at polling stations.
Uganda's internet was shut down Tuesday by the government communications agency, which cited misinformation, electoral fraud and incitement of violence. The shutdown has affected the public and disrupted critical sectors such as banking.
There has been heavy security leading up to voting, including military units deployed on the streets this week.
Amnesty International said security forces are engaging in a “brutal campaign of repression,” citing a Nov. 28 opposition rally in eastern Uganda where the military blocked exits and opened fire on supporters, killing one person.
Museveni urged voters to come out in large numbers during his final rally Tuesday.
“You go and vote, anybody who tries to interfere with your freedom will be crushed. I am telling you this. We are ready to put an end to this indiscipline,” he said.
The national electoral commission chairperson, Simon Byabakama, urged tolerance among Ugandans as they vote.
“Let us keep the peace that we have,” Byabakama said late Wednesday. “Let us be civil. Let us be courteous. Let’s be tolerant. Even if you know that this person does not support (your) candidate, please give him or her room or opportunity to go and exercise his or her constitutional right."
Authorities also suspended the activities of several civic groups during the campaign season. That Group, a prominent media watchdog, closed its office Wednesday after the interior ministry alleged in a letter that the group was involved in activities “prejudicial to the security and laws of Uganda.”
Veteran opposition figure Kizza Besigye, a four-time presidential candidate, remains in prison after he was charged with treason in February 2025.
Uganda opposition presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, known as Bobi Wine, right, greets election observers, including former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, at his home in Magere village on the outskirts of Kampala, Uganda, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Hajarah Nalwadda)
Billboards of Uganda President and National Resistance Movement (NRM) presidential candidate Yoweri Museveni are seen in Kampala, Uganda, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Samson Otieno)
Electoral workers deliver ballot boxes to a polling station during presidential election in Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
Voters are reflected in a police officer's sunglasses as they wait in line after voting failed to start on time due to system failures during presidential election in Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
Voters wait to cast their ballots during the presidential election in Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
