Ten years later: Oil rig safety lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina
According to government data, Katrina destroyed 46 oil platforms and damaged 100 pipelines in August 2005. Massive waves sunk entire platforms and snapped seabed anchors. Hurricane Rita dealt a second blow less than a month later.
Federal regulators and the oil and gas industry state that no lives were lost or major spills reported offshore during Katrina despite the destruction. Environmental groups continue to challenge the spill claim, saying it airbrushes the impact of hundreds of smaller recorded spills.