(KPLC) - For the next year, KPLC will be looking back at significant people and milestones that helped shape our communities leading up to our country’s 250th birthday.

Browse through significant events in Southwest Louisiana history below.

Sept. 1, 2008: Hurricane Gustav made landfall in Terrebonne Parish, bringing heavy rain, storm surges and tornadoes to the Gulf Coast. The storm led to the largest evacuation in Louisiana history, with 1.9 million people evacuating. Gustav claimed 153 lives, including 48 in Louisiana. Before making landfall in the U.S., Gustav devastated several Caribbean islands as a Category 4 storm.

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