New Orleans - geography.

New Orleans - geography. I INTRODUCTION New Orleans, one of North America's most distinctive and culturally diverse cities, located in southeastern Louisiana on the Mississippi River, about 180 km (about 110 mi) from the Gulf of Mexico. The city was founded in 1718 on the east bank of the Mississippi and south of Lake Pontchartrain. New Orleans, named for Philippe II, Duc d'Orléans, regent of France under Louis XV, has been a leading commercial center since its founding and has one of the most active ports in the United States. After World War II (1939-1945), the city's rich cultural heritage contributed to its emergence as a major international tourist center. New Orleans has a semitropical climate, with an average daily temperature range of 5°C (42°F) to 16°C (61°F) in January and 23°C (73°F) to 33°C (91°F) in July. The city averages 157 cm (62 in) of precipitation per year. New Orleans's location near the Gulf Coast makes it vulnerable to tropical storms. The city is especially susceptible to flooding from hurricane storm surges due to its position in a bowl-shaped area mostly below sea level between the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain, which connects with the Gulf of Mexico. The city was devastated in August 2005 by Hurricane Katrina, the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history, which necessitated mass evacuation of the city. II NEW ORLEANS AND ITS METROPOLITAN AREA The original French settlement of New Orleans was built on the east bank of the Mississippi, where sediment from the river had created areas of elevated land. As the population grew, the city spread out into the low-lying area bordering Lake Pontchartrain. Originally, this area was a huge cypress swamp, but in the early 20th century engineers began building a network of pumps to drain it dry. Over the years, engineers also built about 560 km (about 350 mi) of earthen levees, concrete floodwalls, and canals to keep water out of the city. At the same time, this system of protection meant that water had no natural way of flowing out. Even rainwater had to be pumped over the lip of the bowl formed by the levees. Today, more than 80 percent of New Orleans is below sea level and the lowest parts of the city are about 3 m (10 ft) below sea level. The city has been sinking at a rate of about 1 m (3 ft) every 100 years. The city was constructed on soft silt, sand, and clay--sediments deposited by the Mississippi River over centuries of flooding. However, after a massive flood in 1927, levees along the river were raised and lined with concrete to prevent further flooding. As a result, the river's sediments have been channeled into the Gulf of Mexico. Over time, New Orleans's underlying sediments have compacted, and without the river's replenishing sediments the land has sunk. Rising sea levels due to global warming threaten to speed up the sinking process. Although levees and other barriers have long prevented flooding from the Mississippi River, they have been less effective against storms from the Gulf of Mexico. In September 1947 an unnamed hurricane flooded Jefferson Parish, a suburb on the east bank of the Mississippi River, to depths of about 1 m (3 ft). After the storm, hurricane-protection levees were built along Lake Pontchartrain's southern shore. In 1965 Hurricane Betsy made landfall about 80 km (about 50 mi) east of New Orleans, blasting the city with winds of at least 200 km/h (125 mph). The storm surge, which neared 3 m (10 ft), left almost half the city flooded and 60,000 residents homeless. After that hurricane, existing levees were raised to heights ranging from 4 to 7 m (14 to 23 ft). However, the levees were constructed to withstand no more than a Category 3 hurricane. In August 2005 Hurricane Katrina struck with the force of the upper end of a Category 3 storm. Winds reaching 225 km/h (140 mph) and a storm surge of nearly 9 m (29 ft) lashed the Gulf Coast. The storm surge breached several of the city's levees bordering Lake Pontchartrain. On the 17th Street Canal, a section about 90 m (about 300 ft) wide collapsed, allowing a torrent of water to enter the city. The rapidly rising waters flooded more than 80 percent of New Orleans. The disaster prompted a mandatory evacuation of the entire city. A week after the storm, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers finished patching the 17th Street Canal levee and began pumping water out of the city. But by then the damage was catastrophic. The city's low-lying central and eastern areas were hit especially hard by the flooding from Hurricane Katrina. In those areas, floodwaters reached a depth of 6 m (20 ft) in places. Areas on higher ground were largely spared, including the center core of high-rise buildings, the historic French Quarter and Garden District neighborhoods, and suburbs such as Algiers. Rebuilding the city was expected to take years and billions of dollars. For more information on the effects of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, see the History section of this article. A French Quarter The French Quarter, also known as the Vieux Carré, is the site of the original settlement. Exotic houses and wrought-iron balconies reflecting French and Spanish architectural styles dominate this unique district's narrow streets. The French Quarter's central plaza is Jackson Square, which features a bronze statue of Andrew Jackson, who led the defense of New Orleans during the War of 1812 (1812-1815) and later became U.S. president. The square is surrounded by the Saint Louis Cathedral, built in 1794 and remodeled in 1851; the Cabildo and the Presbytère, former government buildings erected in the 18th century; and the Pontalba Buildings, large apartment buildings constructed in 1849. East of Jackson Square on Decatur Street is the French Market, home of numerous shops. On nearby Chartres Street stands the Ursuline Convent, which was founded by Ursuline nuns in 1734 and is thought to be the oldest building in the Mississippi Valley. On the eastern boundary of the French Quarter on Esplanade Avenue is the Old U.S. Mint, which was built in the 19th century and refurbished in 1981. A streetcar line parallels the Mississippi River and provides transportation from one end of the French Quarter to the other. Jazz is still a popular attraction on Basin and Bourbon streets, where this treasured American musical form first appeared and gained fame in the early 20th century. B Central Business District On the western end of the French Quarter is Canal Street, the location of the U.S. Custom House, which housed the Union Army headquarters during the American Civil War (1861-1865), and the boundary between the French Quarter and the Central Business District, the city's commercial hub. Riverwalk, a large shopping center, and the New Orleans Convention Center, which holds hundreds of conferences a year, are the business district's most prominent buildings. C Garden District Farther to the west lies the Garden District, a neighborhood of numerous beautiful 19th-century homes. Still farther west is Uptown, another fine residential neighborhood. The Old Carrollton Court House, now Lucher School, is its most notable structure. The Saint Charles Avenue Streetcar Line, a national historic landmark, connects Uptown and the Garden District to the Central Business District and the French Quarter. On the northern side of the city, in the Garden District, and adjacent to the French Quarter, are several cemeteries that are noted for their architecturally distinctive aboveground crypts of marble and granite. Of special interest is the Saint Louis Cemetery, which was unique in its day because it contained not graves but crypts and vaults, since the city's mud foundations made underground burial impossible. D Metropolitan Region The New Orleans metropolitan region covers 8,800 sq km (3,400 sq mi) and includes the counties--known in Louisiana as parishes--of Orleans, Jefferson, Saint Bernard, Saint Charles, Saint John the Baptist, Saint Tammany, Saint James, and Plaquemines. At the center is the city of New Orleans, which is coextensive with Orleans Parish. It has a land area of 468 sq km (181 sq mi). Extending from this base are numerous suburban towns in the surrounding parishes. Metairie, Harahan, and Kenner are residential communities on the east bank of the Mississippi River in Jefferson Parish, as is LaPlace in St. John the Baptist Parish. After the opening of the Mississippi River Bridge in 1958, several communities on the west bank of the river became similar suburban localities. These include Algiers, which was once a noted local center for shipbuilding and railroads and more recently became the location of the Naval Support Activity, and the three communities of Harvey, Marrero, and Gretna in Jefferson Parish. Gretna is known as the home of the David Crockett Fire Company Number 1, the oldest volunteer fire company in the United States. Chalmette, site of the 1815 Battle of New Orleans and also the location of Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Company, is a mixed residential-industrial area in St. Bernard Parish. After 1960, due to the opening of Lake Pontchartrain Causeway and Interstate 10, this burgeoning suburban sprawl extended north of Lake Pontchartrain into Slidell, Mandeville, and Covington in St. Tammany Parish. III POPULATION The population of the city of New Orleans substantially declined after large numbers of families began relocating from the inner city to the suburbs in the 1950s. The city's population peaked at 627,525 in the 1960 census, but that figure shrank to 496,938 by 1990--a loss of nearly one-third over three decades. In 2000 the city's population was 484,674, and by 2005 it was estimated at 454,863. Hurricane Katrina further devastated the city's population. By October 2006 the city's population had declined about 60 percent to 187,525, according to the first authoritative survey undertaken by agencies of the state of Louisiana. These figures were yet to be reflected in the numbers for the population of the entire metropolitan area (including suburban parishes), which was estimated at 1,024,678 as of 2006. According to the 2000 census, the black population constituted 67.3 percent of the city's population; the whites, 28.1 percent; Asians, 2.3; Native Americans, 0.2 percent; and people of mixed heritage or not reporting race, 2.2 percent. Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders numbered 109 at the time of the census. Hispanics, who may be of any race, represented 3.1 percent of the people. The impact of Hurricane Katrina, however, altered the city's population and its racial makeup. The first official survey of the city's post-Katrina population was reported in October 2006. Overall, the population had declined by about 60 percent. The survey estimated that New Orleans had a population of 187,525 in 2006, well below the 2000 census of 484,674. Because most of the city's rental housing was destroyed by the storm and because federal aid for reconstruction was delayed, many of the city's poor and working-class residents were unable to return after the disaster. The survey estimated that the city's racial makeup was 44 percent white and 46 percent black, a significant change from the period prior to Katrina, when blacks made up about 67 percent of the population. The French originally settled New Orleans between 1718 and 1762, and then passed the city into Spanish hands. The result was a unique French-Spanish culture known as Creole. Many Creoles still live in the city and have a major influence on the city's cuisine and cultural life. Another effect of the city's French and Spanish heritage is the dominance of the Catholic faith among the city's inhabitants. The large black population of New Orleans also had a strong influence on the city. The black population started to grow with the importation of black slaves from Africa. In the 1790s the slave uprising in Haiti brought an influx of whites and blacks from the West Indies to the city. West Indian blacks introduced Vodun (commonly spelled voodoo) religious rites and the song and dance rhythms of Haiti into Creole culture. These Haitian rhythms, mixed with those of American blacks, became a basis for New Orleans jazz. Many descendants of the Germans, Irish, Italians, and Anglo-Americans who immigrated to New Orleans during the 19th century moved to the suburbs in the 20th century. Although most suburbanites blended into mainstream American society, the Isleños, descendants of immigrants from the Canary Islands who arrived in the late 18th century, formed an uncommon community in St. Bernard Parish where they continued to speak Spanish and made their living fishing and trapping. IV EDUCATION AND CULTURE Education began in New Orleans in 1727 when Ursuline nuns opened a convent school for girls. The parochial school system, which extends into the outlying metropolitan parishes, is now one of the largest in the United States. The city also has many institutions of higher learning including Tulane University, Loyola University, Xavier University of Louisiana, Dillard University, Southern University at New Orleans, the University of New Orleans, and Louisiana State University Medical Center. The Amistad Research Center at Tulane University is one of the finest facilities for the study of African American culture and history in the United States. New Orleans also has an extensive public library system. New Orleans enjoys a rich cultural atmosphere that is unique in the United States. The city's annual Mardi Gras (French for "Fat Tuesday") celebration is internationally renowned. Held during the week before Lent, Mardi Gras is marked by spectacular parades featuring floats, pageants, elaborate costumes, masked balls, and street dances. Another of the city's major events is the annual Spring Fiesta, when many homes and gardens are opened to the public. The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and the New Orleans Food Festival also contribute greatly to the city's cultural life. Saint Patrick's Day, Saint Joseph's Day, and All Saints' Day also signal important religious celebrations for New Orleans's Catholic population. Among the city's cultural institutions are the New Orleans Museum of Art; the Louisiana State Museum, a history museum housed in the Cabildo and nearby buildings that features a bronze death mask of Napoleon I; the Historic New Orleans Collection, a gallery and research library; the Confederate Museum, a Civil War museum; Le Petit Théâtre du Vieux Carré, one of the oldest little theaters in the United States; and Preservation Hall, home of traditional New Orleans jazz. The city sustains a philharmonic orchestra and an opera association. The city is also home to numerous nationally famous restaurants, as well as many lesser-known culinary establishments of excellent quality. Examples of popular New Orleans cuisine include gumbo (a thick stew with okra), oysters Rockefeller, jambalaya (a spicy Creole dish of rice with a mixture of fish and meat such as shrimp, chicken, ham, and spicy sausage), shrimp or crawfish étouffé (a Cajun stew served over rice), pompano en papillote (a type of fish served in a paper bag with sauce), and beignets (deep-fried pastries). V RECREATION Recreational facilities abound in New Orleans. Among the city's major parks are Audubon Park and Zoo, the expansive City Park, the Aquarium of the Americas, and Woldenberg Riverfront Park. The Moonwalk Promenade fronts on the Mississippi River near Jackson Square. The French Quarter is the headquarters for the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve, which stresses the region's diverse ethnic history and has component sites throughout the metropolitan area. The Louisiana Nature Center is also an important educational facility. The Louisiana Superdome, one of the world's largest enclosed stadiums, suffered structural damage from Hurricane Katrina in 2005 but was reopened in time for the start of the 2006 football season. The Superdome is home to the New Orleans Saints professional football team, the annual Sugar Bowl of college football, and the Tulane University football team. The city's sports teams also include the New Orleans Zephyrs minor league baseball team and the New Orleans Brass professional hockey team. Numerous public and private golf courses and tennis courts were spread throughout metropolitan New Orleans. English Turn Country Club hosted the Freeport-McDermot Classic, a regular event on the professional golf tour. The city supported thoroughbred horse racing at the Fair Grounds Race Track. VI ECONOMY The New Orleans economy has traditionally relied heavily upon manufacturing and shipping--both river barge and ocean vessel traffic--although tourism and gambling have grown in importance in recent decades. Extensive dock facilities line the banks of the Mississippi River; the Gulf of Mexico section of the Intracoastal Waterway, which skirts the mainland from Texas to Massachusetts; and the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet, a deep channel completed in 1963 that provides a shortcut to the Gulf of Mexico. Exports from the city include grains, clothing and textiles, food, and petroleum products. Imports, many of which come from Latin America, include cocoa, coffee, crude petroleum, rubber, and steel. Starting in the 1980s, however, the Port of New Orleans experienced a drop in business due to competition from railroads, the trucking industry, and oil pipelines. Supertankers, an increasingly important component in ocean shipping, are too large to come up the Mississippi River. These vessels commonly dock at East Coast ports and then ship their freight by rail to the interior of the United States. New Orleans officials responded to these challenges with programs to enhance the city's docking facilities and to improve rail connections to the wharves. Six railroad lines now serve the port. Although damaged by Katrina, the city's port facilities recovered quickly after the storm. The city's industrial base has been highly diversified. The leading industries have included shipbuilding, petroleum refining, food processing, and the manufacture of clothing, construction materials, wood products, primary metals, and petrochemicals. Additionally, a facility located just outside of New Orleans produces equipment for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Large manufacturers--especially the oil and natural gas firms and the makers of transportation equipment--soon returned to their pre-Katrina levels of employment. But smaller manufacturers, including food processors, were slow to return to the area. Despite its importance to the economy, manufacturing has caused problems. Waste from the petrochemical plants that occupy the banks of the Mississippi from Baton Rouge, the state capital, to New Orleans, has risen in past years and threatens the area's drinking water and the supplies of river fish. Before Katrina New Orleans was a major tourist destination. Visitors enjoyed the city's jazz music, architecture, sights, and fine food. Cruise ships and casinos docked along the riverfront, conventioneers flocked to meetings and trade shows, and the annual Mardi Gras festivities drew huge crowds. The New Orleans Convention Center, damaged by the storm, reopened in November 2006, and tourists began to return to the city. Although hotels and restaurants began to reopen, they (and other facilities) faced the problem that their employees had no place to live. New Orleans and its suburbs are linked by a remarkable system of bridges. The Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, which connects New Orleans and St. Tammany Parish, spans 39 km (24 mi), making it the longest above-water highway bridge in the world. The Huey P. Long Bridge, 6 km (4 mi) long, crosses the Mississippi River from the western part of New Orleans. Traffic on U.S. Highway 90, which follows the Old Spanish Trail from Florida to California, passes over this bridge. The Greater New Orleans Bridge connects New Orleans with communities on the other bank of the Mississippi. The Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport handles commercial and passenger air traffic to and from all parts of the world. The New Orleans Lakefront Airport on Lake Pontchartrain serves smaller craft, and the Alvin Callender Naval Air Station is an installation used by reserve units of the armed forces. VII GOVERNMENT A mayor-council system was adopted in 1954 and governs New Orleans. The mayor heads the executive branch of municipal government, and a council of five district and two at-large members form the legislative branch. The mayor and seven council members serve four-year terms in office. The chief administrative officer assists the mayor in the executive branch of city government and coordinates the activities of the various municipal departments. Several independent boards and commissions within Orleans Parish direct specialized governmental functions, such as the Sewerage and Water Board and the Orleans Parish School Board. The Orleans Levee Board and the Board of Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans (the Dock Board)--two vital governmental organizations for a city that is largely below sea level and depends mightily upon its port for economic prosperity--are actually Louisiana state agencies. VIII HISTORY Small villages of the Quinapisa and Tangipahoa peoples occupied the site of present-day New Orleans when the first European visitor, French explorer René-Robert Cavelier, sieur de La Salle, arrived in 1682. In 1699 another French explorer, Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville, visited the site. Recognizing the potential of the location, Bienville established a settlement there in 1718 after he became governor of the French colony of Louisiana. He named it Nouvelle-Orléans, for the duc d'Orléans, regent of France. In 1721 French engineer Adrien de Pauger laid out the first town plan, a rectangular grid of 66 squares (today's French Quarter). The following year the town became the capital of French Louisiana. In 1763 France divided Louisiana between England and Spain, and New Orleans became the capital of Spanish Louisiana. Unhappy with Spanish administration--notably, new trade regulations that included the forced importation of Spanish wine--French businessmen and soldiers rebelled in 1768 and 1769, but were swiftly subdued. Under Spanish rule, trade between New Orleans and Spanish colonies in the Caribbean flourished, especially in such products as tobacco, seafood, foodstuffs, and pork. Despite damaging fires in 1788 and 1794, the town grew more prosperous. In 1800 New Orleans was secretly returned to France, although this was not made official until 1803. In that year France transferred the city to the United States through the terms of the Louisiana Purchase. In 1805 New Orleans became an incorporated city, and in 1812 it became the capital of the new U.S. state of Louisiana. The city was the state capital from 1812 to 1830. In 1830 state legislators moved the capital to Donaldsonville in hopes of keeping the state government and its officials away from the distractions of New Orleans nightlife. However, New Orleans was capital again from 1831 to 1849, at which time its growing economic and political power prompted the rest of the state to pressure the Louisiana government to move the capital. In 1849 the capital was transferred to Baton Rouge. When the British and Americans were fighting in the War of 1812 (1812-1815), Major General Andrew Jackson and his troops were sent to defend the city of New Orleans from British attack. Leading a ragtag force of pirates, Creoles, blacks, and regular troops, Jackson defended the city against British invasion in the Battle of New Orleans. When the British attacked the Americans, Jackson's forces held their positions and launched an artillery and musket assault that devastated the enemy. The British commander, Sir Edward Pakenham, was killed in the barrage, and the British were forced to retreat. A Growth and Prosperity Between 1810 and 1850 steamboat traffic on the Mississippi River made the city one of the busiest ports in North America. By 1840 New Orleans was the fourth largest city in the United States. This new growth and prosperity attracted a large influx of immigrants, mainly Anglo-Americans, Germans, and Irish. These immigrants swelled the city's population, contributed to urban growth, and added to local tension. Conflict between the Creoles and the newcomers led to the division of New Orleans into three separately governed municipalities in 1836. Though the city officially reunited under a single government in 1852, the ethnic conflict continued in often-violent political disputes until the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861. At the outset of the Civil War, New Orleans was the largest city in the South, a center for the cotton trade, and a major exporter of goods from the Midwest. Although slavery was widespread in New Orleans at this time, commerce formed the economic base of the city. Because of this, many New Orleans merchants initially opposed the secession of Louisiana from the United States because they feared that it would disrupt commercial ties with the North. After the war began, however, the city's inhabitants readily embraced the Confederate cause. New Orleans was a major port and military center for the Confederacy. However, in April 1862 a Union fleet captured the city, and it remained a Union stronghold for the rest of the war. In May 1862 General Benjamin F. Butler became the military governor of New Orleans. Many of the city's inhabitants resisted his policies and the Union occupation of the city. Butler's harsh treatment of the native population caused his dismissal as governor seven months later. Under the leadership of his Union successors, living conditions in the city improved, and new trade regulations restored commercial prosperity. During Reconstruction, the process of rebuilding that followed the Civil War, Republicans controlled city government and eliminated several areas of racial segregation--most notably in education and public transit. After Reconstruction ended in 1877, the Democrats gained power in the city and reinstituted segregation by creating separate black and white facilities. The Democrats established a political organization known as the Old Regulars under the leadership of John Fitzpatrick and Martin Behrman. The Old Regulars worked to enhance the city's economy and improved municipal sanitation and the water supply. They also used their extensive influence to maintain political control in New Orleans, while at the same time forming alliances with rural political leaders to protect their interests in state government and to preserve racial segregation in Louisiana. In the 1880s Louisiana sugar and cotton planters brought in Italian laborers to work on plantations. However, many of these Italians preferred to live and work in New Orleans and became active in local industry. This influx of Italian immigrants created tensions. When the local police chief was murdered, people suspected a criminal group known as the Italian Mafia. This event provoked strong anti-Italian sentiment among the native population and led to the lynching of 11 Italians in 1891. B New Orleans in the 20th Century In the late 19th century, shipping activities in the city declined with the demise of the steamboat, but by the end of World War I (1914-1918), river barges contributed to a substantial commercial rebound. Also during the early 20th century, engineer A. Baldwin Wood developed powerful pumps that allowed the draining of swampland within the city and opened vast new sections of New Orleans for settlement. For many years the geographic location of the city on muddy subtropical lowlands that were surrounded by water prevented its growth. The rising waters of the Mississippi River frequently flooded the city, and heavy rainfall enlarged the swamps. However, Wood's pumps along with canals, a line of levees, and the Bonnet Carre Spillway--which diverts runoff from the Mississippi into Lake Pontchartrain--allowed the city to grow. In 1934 New Orleans Democrats opposed Louisiana Senator Huey P. Long and his statewide political organization, which he controlled first from his position as state governor and then from the U.S. Senate. Long's forces in the state legislature subsequently undermined the power of the Old Regular Democrats and installed Robert S. Maestri, a Long associate, as mayor of New Orleans in 1936. Maestri improved the city's fiscal machinery and tax collection early in his administration, but during World War II (1939-1945) city services faltered badly and criminal activity increased. After the war, reform Democrat deLesseps S. Morrison became mayor and ended the reign of the old political machines. During the administrations of Morrison (1946-1961) and his successors Victor H. Schiro (1961-1970) and Maurice "Moon" Landrieu (1970-1978), an era of commercial and industrial growth ensued that supported the completion of a series of major public works programs. Building projects included new bridges and overpasses, a new city hall and municipal court complex, a main public library, the Poydras Street commercial corridor, the Louisiana Superdome, the Aquarium of the Americas, and the renovation of the French Quarter as a tourist attraction. As the racial composition of the city started to change during the 1950s, blacks attained a more prominent role in municipal government. In 1960 New Orleans public schools began to desegregate. In 1978 Ernest "Dutch" Morial became the city's first black mayor. During the 1990s race remained an issue in New Orleans. Drug use, high crime rates, and dilapidated housing persisted in predominantly black neighborhoods. Furthermore, the departure of many residents for the suburbs eroded the city's tax base. In 1991 the city council sparked a major controversy when it voted to prohibit racial and gender discrimination in Mardi Gras organizations, a bastion of the white upper class. Several carnival krewes (private organizations that sponsor parades and other events), including Comus, the oldest, abandoned their annual parades rather than integrate. Additionally, legislation called for the renaming of all public schools that had been named for slave owners, including George Washington. At the turn of the century, New Orleans faced many social and economic challenges. To be competitive, many people believed that the city needed to diversify its economy and increase its commercial aggressiveness or risk losing business to other port cities. Additionally, the city faced questions of racial relations, poverty, and crime. For example, about a fifth of New Orleans residents lived below the poverty line, and those living in poverty were overwhelmingly African American. However, the city remained a popular tourist destination, well known for its food, music, and colorful annual events. C Hurricane Katrina New Orleans faced its largest challenge yet after Hurricane Katrina pummeled the Gulf Coast in 2005 with Category 3 winds. New Orleans was spared the brunt of the hurricane, which made landfall southeast of the city on August 29. However, the storm surge breached the city's levees. Floodwaters inundated more than 80 percent of the city, rendering it uninhabitable. Mayor Ray Nagin called for a complete and mandatory evacuation, issuing a "desperate SOS" for more buses to help evacuate people trapped in the city. Residents had been warned to evacuate before the hurricane struck, but an estimated 100,000 people had remained. Some stayed by choice, but others--including many elderly, sick, and poor residents--simply did not have the means to leave. In the wake of the storm, tens of thousands of people in New Orleans were in desperate need of drinkable water, food, medical care, and rescue. About 30,000 displaced residents assembled at the Superdome seeking emergency assistance and evacuation by bus. An additional 25,000 people sought refuge at the nearby Convention Center. The buildings lacked running water, electricity, and other basic amenities, and conditions deteriorated as people waited several days for help. The slow government response raised many questions about the country's disaster readiness, including why agencies such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) appeared unprepared to deal with a forecasted natural disaster. Soon after the storm, the Army Corps of Engineers patched the city's three levee breaches--on the 17th Street, London Avenue, and Industrial canals--and began pumping out the water. The draining of the floodwaters was completed three weeks after the storm. However, another hurricane struck the Gulf Coast on the TexasLouisiana border in September. In New Orleans the storm surge from the second storm, Hurricane Rita, breached the patched section of the Industrial Canal, flooding the city's Ninth Ward again. Nevertheless, at the end of September residents were allowed to return to sections of the city that had not been devastated by flooding, including the French Quarter, the Garden District, and the west bank suburb of Algiers. Meanwhile, the death toll from Hurricane Katrina continued to rise as search crews reached more homes in the previously flooded neighborhoods of New Orleans. The rebuilding of New Orleans was expected to take years and billions of dollars. The total cost of Hurricane Katrina was estimated at $125 billion or more, making it by far the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history. More than half the city's homes were severely damaged or destroyed by Katrina. Floodwaters and mud rendered them unlivable. The areas hardest hit by the storm have been slowest to recover. Some may never recover. There were some signs of hope. In September 2006 the Superdome reopened to the New Orleans Saints, the city's professional football team, and many residents greeted the event as a symbol of the city's early stages of recovery. In February 2007 New Orleans geared up to welcome revelers for Mardi Gras. An estimated 700,000 showed up. New Orleans was slow to recover from the disaster, however. Federal aid, although promised, failed to reach many of those in need. Although many residents hoped to return to the city, they found that services were unavailable when they arrived. Cleanup and demolition lagged, public transportation was lacking, school and healthcare facilities were inadequate, and crime was on the rise. Many businesses that provided needed services--for example, beauty parlors, dry cleaners, and gas stations--had not reopened. Government red tape hampered many of the recovery efforts. Government payments arrived, if at all, only after long delays. Many poor and working-class residents of New Orleans still had not returned to the city as of 2008, and experts predicted that the city's economic and racial makeup would change permanently. The lack of adequate low-cost housing and a dearth of jobs were believed to be primarily responsible. The changing makeup of the city was thought to have political implications for the state of Louisiana since the city's working class and black population tended to vote overwhelmingly Democratic. As a result Louisiana often elected Democrats to the U.S. Senate and to the governor's house, as well as voting Democratic in presidential elections. As of 2008 half of the city's working poor, elderly, and disabled had not returned to the city after being forced to flee due to Hurricane Katrina. The city's black population had declined from 67 percent to 58 percent. Contributed By: Edward Haas Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.