New Orleans Hurricanes from the Start

An encyclopedic history of the Crescent City’s most violent storms, with analysis, predictions, and suggestions for the future protections.

According to the US Army Corps of Engineers, the city of New Orleans is twice as likely to be struck by a hurricane as any other metropolitan area bordering the Gulf of Mexico. In this work, authors David F. Bastian and Nicholas J. Meis explore the historical records of storms that have affected the region in and around south Louisiana since the first colonizers set foot on the Mississippi delta in the late seventeenth century. Using letters, personal diaries, official records, newspaper articles, and expert analyses, Bastian and Meis delve into the effects of the monstrous storms that have irreparably impacted south Louisiana, including what went awry during Katrina in 2005. Also examined is the evolution of New Orleans's protection systems as well as what the city can do to avoid another catastrophe.