New Orleans Hurricane of 1915
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| Category 4 hurricane (SSHS) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Formed | September 22, 1915 | |
| Dissipated | October 1, 1915 | |
| Highest winds |
|
|
| Lowest pressure | 931 mbar | |
| Damage | $13 million (1915USD) $239 million (2005 USD) |
|
| Fatalities | 275-279 | |
| Areas affected |
Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama | |
| Part of the 1915 Atlantic hurricane season |
||
The New Orleans Hurricane of 1915 was an intense Category 4 hurricane that made landfall near Grand Isle, Louisiana during the 1915 Atlantic hurricane season. The hurricane killed 275 people and caused $13 million (1915 US dollars) in damage.
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[edit] Storm history
The storm was first reported near the Leeward Islands between Puerto Rico and South America. The developing system crossed the Yucatan Peninsula and moved northward into the Gulf of Mexico where it rapidly strengthened into a Category 4 hurricane. As the hurricane moved closer to the U.S. Gulf coast, hurricane warnings were put up from Florida to Louisiana. The storm made landfall near Grand Isle, Louisiana, at peak intensity, with an estimated minimal pressure of 931 mbar at landfall, making it the ninth most intense hurricane to strike the United States [1]; the center was 20 miles east of New Orleans. The storm then moved northeast and weakened into a tropical storm as it crossed into Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee. The storm became extratropical as it moved north.
[edit] Impact
There were reports of damage in New Orleans, with roofs blown off buildings and the Presbytère on Jackson Square losing its cupola. The hurricane damaged the Times-Picayune building, hampering newspaper production. More church steeples in the city were blown down or significantly damaged than remained intact. The landmark Presbyterian Church on Lafayette Square collapsed. Wind damage was worse than the most recent previous hurricane to hit the city in 1909, but flooding was much less widespread; however, there were reports of waters from Lake Pontchartrain being forced backwards into the city's drainage canals by the storm, an event which would be repeated more catastrophically with Hurricane Katrina 90 years later.
Areas along the Lower Coast (south of New Orleans) were hard hit. A telegraph report states the situation:
- "Whole country between Poydras and Buras inundated. Levees gone, property loss appalling. Life toll probably heavy. Conditions estimated worse than ever before. Relief needed. No Communications..."
There were 23 dead in Venice, Louisiana, with similar numbers in coastal towns of Fremier and LaBranche. The town of Saint Malo was destroyed. In Plaquemines Parish, there was severe flooding and miles of levees were washed away. Thousands of people were left homeless. The hurricane also wrecked many of the oyster boats, damaging the local economy.
Though it was not as deadly as the 1893 Chenier Caminanda Hurricane, this hurricane was the deadliest Louisiana hurricane until Hurricane Betsy 50 years later.
A massive relief effort after the 1915 storm occurred in similar proportions to the relief efforts after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. [citation needed]
