Former President George W. Bush and his wife Laura paid a visit to New Orleans on Friday to commemorate the 10 year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, arguably the worst natural disaster to ever hit the U.S.

Over 1,800 people died after the 2005 storm decimated large parts of New Orleans and the federal government failed to offer relief to many of the residents trapped under water in a timely fashion.

To mark the 10th anniversary of the tragedy, which notoriously marred Bush's legacy, Bush and the former first lady met with New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu and former Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco on Friday, reports NPR. They also paid a visit to the Warren Easton Charter High School, which was rebuilt with support from Laura Bush's foundation.

During a speech delivered at the school, the former president recalled the images of "misery and ruin" from Katrina. He also commended New Orleans for its resiliency, saying it was a city where "the levies gave out but ... [the] people never gave up."

Following the event, Bush opted not to take questions from reporters. Nor did he mention the controversy surrounding his administration's lackluster initial response to Katrina. Instead, he mainly focused on the growth of charter schools.

"Because of the success schools like this have achieved, it gives a message to Americans that New Orleans is back, and better than ever," Bush said at the school.

Bush, however, left without touring the parts of New Orleans that have yet to recover from the storm, such as the Lower 9th Ward, reports The Associated Press. On the other hand, President Barack Obama mingled with hundreds of residents in the low-income community on Thursday.

During his visit, Obama admitted that the disaster was largely man-made and was an example of "a failure of government to look after its own citizens."