NEW ORLEANS — Before there was Hurricane Betsy. Sixty years ago, on Sept. 9, 1965, Betsy struck New Orleans as one of the most destructive hurricanes of its time.

Levee breaches sent water pouring into the Lower Ninth Ward, parts of Gentilly, the Seventh Ward, St. Bernard Parish, and New Orleans East.

The storm claimed at least 75 lives along the Gulf Coast.

Betsy was also the first Atlantic hurricane to cause more than $1 billion in damage. The storm’s impact on the Bayou parishes was referenced in discussions of later storms, including Hurricane Ida in 2021, and its devastation remained a benchmark for destruction until Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Payton Malone Recalls Hurricane Betsy’s Tropical Impact As Hurricane Season Peak Approaches

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