Hurricane preparedness for New Orleans

Hurricane preparedness in New Orleans has been an issue since the city's early settlement because of its location.

New Orleans was built on a marsh. Unlike the first two centuries of its existence, today a little under half of the modern city sits below sea level. The city is surrounded by the Mississippi River, Lake Pontchartrain to the north, and Lake Borgne on the east.

The earliest-settled parts of New Orleans and surrounding communities are above sea level. However, flooding was long a threat, from the periodic high waters of the Mississippi and from more occasional severe tropical storms which pushed the waters of Lake Pontchartrain into settled areas. Construction of the levees along the River began soon after the city was founded, and more extensive river levees were built as the city grew. These earthen barriers were erected to prevent damage caused by seasonal Mississippi River flooding. The Lake Pontchartrain shore was mostly undeveloped swamp, and only small levees were built there in the 19th century.

Colonial era

Awareness of the city's vulnerability to hurricanes dates back to the early Colonial era. A major hurricane hit the city in September 1722, leveling many of the buildings in the young city.

1794 was perhaps as dreadful a year as the city of New Orleans ever experienced, as it suffered two hurricanes in addition to a major fire.

19th century hurricanes

The 19th century saw such hurricanes as the 1856 Last Island Hurricane and the 1893 Chenière Caminada hurricane, which were devastating.

The 19th century hurricanes were not nearly as media-covered, but they were still just as devastating as hurricanes are today. In this era, the news was not advanced enough to give minute by minute storm coverage. The 1856 Last Island Hurricane was the first major hurricane in the Atlantic hurricane season. Media coverage and storm identification were not at the stage to update the citizens of the area, so New Orleans and Last Island got completely decimated, and in turn got hit rather unexpectedly. Last Island ended up as a group of fragmented islands rather than a single one-completely destroying homes and families. The Chenière Caminada Hurricane of October 1893 also had a lasting impact whose wreckage was hard to prepare for. This natural disaster destroyed the island known as Chenière Caminada and about half the inhabitants were killed because of this disaster. Both of these islands were some of the earliest known islands in Louisiana.

Early 20th century hurricanes

1909 saw the Grand Isle hurricane hit the city. There was major flooding in the "back of town" area and in the undeveloped swamps north of town.

The 1915 New Orleans hurricane, or as it was called locally, "the Great Storm of 1915" struck with more wind damage than the 1909 storm. Flooding was more limited in scope and duration due to improved drainage pumping. However, Lake Pontchartrain rose to a higher level than previously recorded, overtopping some of the back levees. The Sewage and Water Board recommended taller levees to protect the city from flooding on the lake side.

A much larger project to build up levees along the lake and extend the shoreline out by dredging began in 1927. As the city grew, there was increased pressure to develop lower-lying areas. A large system of canals and pumps was constructed to drain the land. Flooding containment efforts until the mid-20th century primarily focused on floods from the Mississippi River.

In 1947, the Fort Lauderdale hurricane struck the New Orleans area. There was moderate wind damage. Flood prevention was largely successful in Orleans Parish