The Gulf Coast and New Orleans observed the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, one of the deadliest storms in American history, in ways both devout and festive.

Many of the dead were from New Orleans where levees protecting the city burst, submerging 80 percent of the Crescent City in water.

At the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, thousands of people gathered to take part in an evening of prayer, music and speeches including by former President Bill Clinton. He had helped raise money for Katrina victims.

He weighed into a debate that has bubbled up during the Katrina anniversary about whether New Orleans' post-Katrina story is one of a city resurrected or of people left behind.

In Biloxi, Mississippi, clergy and community leaders gathered at a newly built minor league baseball park for a memorial to Katrina's victims and later that evening the park hosted a concert celebrating the recovery.

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