NEW ORLEANS — When
Hurricane Katrina hit and the murky
waters rushed through levee breaches, even the
facts were drowned.
There are 56,193 fewer children, a drop of nearly
44 percent, which means fewer people are having
children here.
The movements in the region can be seen with
Official
some clarity as well. St. Tammany Parish, a
documents
suburban refuge for many New Orleanians after
were
the storm, grew by nearly a quarter. St. Bernard
destroyed,
Parish, which is downriver from the city and was
years of
almost completely overwhelmed by the
photographs
floodwaters, shrank by nearly half.
were ruined,
and a city’s
ability to
know itself
was lost.
The Hispanic population of neighboring
Jefferson Parish, home to many of those who
came to fill the city’s ravenous appetite for
construction labor, jumped by 65 percent.
Answers to basic questions like how many people
Some may yet challenge these figures, arguing
lived here, where they lived and who they were
that the count overlooked people living in
could not be easily answered.
abandoned houses or moving in with one relative
Now there finally are some numbers, and they
show that the city is 29 percent smaller than a
decade ago.
The Census Bureau reported on Thursday that
343,829 people were living in the city of New
Orleans on April 1, 2010, four years and seven
months after it was virtually emptied by the
floodwaters that followed the hurricane. The
numbers portray a significantly smaller city than
in the previous census, in 2000.
The census findings reveal some other changes in
the population, as well. According to Andrew A.
Beveridge, a Queens College sociologist who
analyzed the census results for The New York
Times, the city has roughly 24,000 fewer white
residents than it did 10 years ago.
The city has 118,000 fewer black residents. New
Orleans, once more than two-thirds black, is now
less than 60 percent black.
after another as they wait for rents to come down
or houses to be rebuilt. There is no question such
people exist in New Orleans; whether they were
all counted is another matter.
Dr. Hill described shortcomings in housing
programs, particularly in initiatives meant to
restore the city’s rentals, that disproportionately
affected black residents. Such failings may have
been a reason why so many former residents
have not returned.
The 2010 census tracked people’s current
locations, not their past homes nor future
intentions. And indeed, it is difficult if not
impossible to know how many of the New
Orleanians of 2000 who are not here still want to
return. It is not even known where they are. But
nonprofit rebuilding groups say their waiting lists
are long.
Important Katrina Statistics
 August 29, 2005 - Hurricane Katrina makes landfall as a Category 3 storm with
127 mph winds between Grand Isle, Louisiana, and the mouth of the Mississippi
River at about 6 a.m.
- Severe flooding damage to Gulfport, Mississippi, New Orleans, Louisiana and
areas in between.
- Some levees are overtopped in New Orleans and there is extensive damage to
the Superdome roof, where more than 10,000 people sought shelter from the
storm
 According to FEMA, Katrina is, "the single most catastrophic natural disaster in
U.S. history."
 According to FEMA, the total estimate damage for Katrina is $108 billion. This
makes it the "costliest hurricane in U.S. history."
 More than one million people in the Gulf region were displaced by
the storm.
 At their peak hurricane relief shelters housed 273,000 people. Later,
approximately 114,000 households were housed in FEMA trailers.
 40% of the deaths in Louisiana were caused by drowning. 25% were caused by
injury and trauma and 11% were caused by heart conditions.
 The population of New Orleans fell from 484,674 in April 2000 to 230,172 in July
2006, a decrease of over 50%. By 2012, the population has increased to 369,250.
 70% of New Orleans' occupied housing, 134,000 units, was damaged in the
storm.

Fatalities:
- Alabama: 2
- Florida: 14
- Georgia: 2
- Louisiana: 1,577
- Mississippi: 238
- Total: 1,833