Hurricane Katrina Reshaped New Orleans

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina forced an estimated 1.5 million people from their homes in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, creating a Gulf Coast diaspora. By 2015, approximately 40% of evacuees, especially those from Louisiana, could not return to their previous homes. New Orleans had 484,674 residents in 2000 and only 230,172 in 2006; the Census Bureau's 2025 estimate of 362,154 was still below its pre-Katrina population.

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