Almost all hurricanes weaken significantly before making landfall. Maybe the wording was confusing but Katrina was the 4th most intense atlantic storm on record

Almost all hurricanes weaken significantly before making landfall. Maybe the wording was confusing but Katrina was the 4th most intense atlantic storm on record at the time of landfall. The Hurricane Severity Index which combines size and intensity has Katrina tied for 3rd at the time of landfall. I agree the human toll was primarily a systems failure, but the destructive power of Katrina was a major contributing factor. A less intense storm with milder storm surge likely wouldn't have breached all the levees that were breached.