Twenty years ago this week, and just short of one month after Hurricane Katrina destroyed parts of the Mississippi coast and put New Orleans under water for weeks , the unthinkable happened: An even stronger Category 5 hurricane threatened the Gulf States once again.

Overshadowed by Katrina in the annals of history, Hurricane Rita terrified residents across the Gulf Coast who were still in shock amid a historic hurricane season, and caused the evacuation of millions of people in Texas. Ultimately, the storm made landfall near the Louisiana/Texas border on Sept. 24, 2005, delivering the worst of the storm surge and extreme winds to the southwestern Louisiana coast.

Photo gallery: Hurricane Rita 20 years later

Hurricane Rita: 20 Years Later

Rita was strongest in the Gulf, ranked #2 for

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