An oak tree that survived Hurricane Katrina in Waveland

An oak tree that survived Hurricane Katrina in Waveland, Miss., is still there five years later, though the house beyond it has been rebuilt.  John Brecher / msnbc.com

A man clings to the top of a vehicle before being rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard

Runner-up, 2008 OSCE photo contest A man clings to the top of a vehicle before being rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard from the flooded streets of New Orleans, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, in Louisiana September 4, 2005.
Credit: REUTERS/Robert Galbraith