Originally, Lakeview was mostly middle class, but it became more economically upscale in the last couple decades of the 20th century. By the late 20th century, many larger newly constructed homes had replaced older, more modest homes in much of Lakeview. Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina hit southeast Louisiana on August 29, 2005. As the waters of Lake Pontchartrain rose with the storm, a section of levee floodwall along the 17th Street Canal near its mouth with the lake collapsed catastrophically. This was one of the most significant levee failures which occurred in the wake of Katrina's landfall and put the majority of the city underwater. Floodwaters from the floodwall breach inundated large parts of the neighborhood in a matter of minutes. Near the breach itself, the force of the rushing water uprooted trees and even separated some houses from their foundations. Some areas received as much as fourteen feet of floodwater. Most Lakeview residents had the means to escape the city before the storm came ashore, but decaying bodies were found in the attics of several houses. Additional corpses were discovered as late as March 2006. Most of Lakeview's victims were elderly, as elsewhere in the city. By early 2006, only a handful of homes had been restored. Some two-story homes had been reoccupied on the second floor while the first floor was gutted and renovated. By spring of 2007, Lakeview was showing signs of life again. As in much of the city, FEMA trailers dotted the area, providing temporary housing while homes were being repaired and rebuilt. The first handful of businesses reopened, including some retail stores and restaurants. Army Corps of Engineers repair work on the 17th Street Canal floodwalls in Lakeview is still ongoing as of May 2007. Some houses on property near the canal have been expropriated by the Corps of Engineers. Proposals to expropriate more homes — including a number of homes that have been repaired and reoccupied — have generated controversy. Education Primary and secondary schools New Orleans Public Schools (NOPS) and the Recovery School District have a system of public schools. Hynes Elementary School is located in Lakeview. It opened on September 9, 1952. On August 29, 2005 Hurricane Katrina caused flood damage, and the school was closed for the remaining portion of the 2005–2006 school year. In March 2006 NOPS granted a Type 3 charter to the school. Public libraries New Orleans