Katrina caused Causation extensive destruction Destroying and casualties Catastrophe : overall , at least 1,836 people died Death in the hurricane Catastrophe and subsequent floods , making Causation Katrina the deadliest United States hurricane since the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane .

Several of Florida 's lakes , including Lake Okeechobee , rose Motion_directional past their banks , inundating Destroying coastal areas .

Many vegetable plantings , citrus groves , and cattle were submerged Motion or drowned Death as the storm Catastrophe exacerbated Cause_change_of_position_on_a_scale already high water levels and briefly threatened Warning to breach the dikes surrounding Lake Okeechobee .

Most of the deaths Death occurred Coming_to_be near Lake Okeechobee , when a large storm Catastrophe surge breached muck dikes and drowned Death hundreds of people .

The Okeechobee hurricane Catastrophe of 1928 , also known as the San Felipe Segundo hurricane Catastrophe , was one of the deadliest hurricanes in the recorded history of the North Atlantic basin ; it was the fourth tropical cyclone , third hurricane , and only major hurricane of that year 's hurricane season .

In the city , more than 1,711 homes were destroyed Destroying ; the effects Influence were most severe around Lake Okeechobee .