Louisiana Hurricanes

Hurricane Betsy hit Louisiana on September 9, 1965. It was the first Atlantic storm to produce over $1 billion in damages, and caused between 70 and 80 deaths. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers developed the Hurricane Protection Program as a result of the storm’s impact on New Orleans levees. Betsy began as a tropical wave southwest of Cape Verde on August 23, 1965. It hit the Bahamas as a category 3 hurricane in early September, stalling for several days and inflicting the most damage during the period of time between September 6 and September 8. From there, the storm moved along the coast of Florida, causing flooding in the low-lying coastal areas of the region. Betsy made landfall in New Orleans on September 9, 1965 as a category 4 hurricane, with wind speeds reaching up to 140 mph as it moved across the state. Betsy’s storm surge reached Lake Pontchartrain, and levees along some of New Orleans’ canals failed. An estimated 164,000 homes were flooded, with most located in the Lower Ninth Ward, and it was 10 days before the waters subsided. Within 24 hours of the storm’s landfall, President Johnson visited New Orleans at the behest of Russell Long and promised the city federal aid. 

Listed below are some recommended subject headings for searching for Hurricane Betsy. Full steps on how to use these subject terms can be found on this LibGuide's homepage.

Disaster relief -- Louisiana -- New Orleans.
Disaster victims -- Louisiana -- New Orleans.
Evacuation of civilians -- Louisiana -- New Orleans.
Hurricane Betsy, 1965.
Hurricanes.
Hurricanes -- Gulf States.
Hurricanes -- Louisiana.
Louisiana -- Hurricane, 1965.
Louisiana -- Hurricanes.

A few of the collections held by LSU Libraries Special Collections are listed below. Additional collections may be found utilizing the subject headings listed in the sections above. 

Books and other published materials

Manuscript collections

Oral Histories

Additional resources for Hurricane Betsy may be located at the following link.

Images in the banner from left to right are numbered below 1 to 8.

1. Hurricane Audrey  2. Hurricane Betsy  3. Hurricane Camille  4. Hurricane Andrew  
5. Hurricane Katrina  6. Hurricane Rita  7. Hurricane Gustav  8. Hurricane Ike

Images 1-4 are in the public domain because they contain materials that originally came from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, taken or made as part of an employee's official duties. 
Images 5-8 are in the public domain in the United States because they were solely created by NASA. NASA copyright policy states that "NASA material is not protected by copyright unless noted". (See NASA copyright policy page.)