New Orleans Hurricane Tracker
New Orleans is a bowl below sea level between the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain, and it stays dry because of levees, floodwalls, and 93 drainage pumps. Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005 is the benchmark for what happens when that system fails. The federal levees breached in more than 50 places, 80 percent of the city flooded, and more than 1,300 people died across the region. The $14.5 billion Hurricane and Storm Damage Risk Reduction System built afterward has held through every storm since, including Hurricane Ida on August 29, 2021, which came ashore at Port Fourchon with 150 mph winds on Katrina's anniversary.
Ida's lesson was different. The levees held, but all eight transmission lines into the city failed, Entergy's tower fell into the river, and most of New Orleans had no power for a week to ten days in late-August heat, with the deaths coming afterward from heat and generator carbon monoxide. Hurricane Francine on September 11, 2024 hit Terrebonne as a Category 2 and the city took wind and outages. Outside the levee system, in Lafitte, Grand Isle, Braithwaite, and lower Plaquemines, none of that protection exists, and those communities flood in every storm.
Radar
Composite radar, New Orleans.
Evacuation for New Orleans
There are no lettered zones. Louisiana evacuates in phases by geography: Phase 1 south of the Intracoastal Waterway at about 50 hours before tropical storm winds, Phase 2 south of I-10 at about 40 hours, and Phase 3 the New Orleans metro east bank at about 30 hours, when contraflow opens on I-10 west, I-55, and I-59 and all lanes run outbound. The city runs City-Assisted Evacuation for residents without transportation from the Smoothie King Center; register by texting EVACNOLA to 77295. Jefferson, St. Bernard, and Plaquemines issue tiered re-entry placards after an evacuation.
Local emergency management, shelters, pumps and outages
The city does not open shelters inside New Orleans for hurricanes. The plan is to leave, and state shelters open north of I-10. The Sewerage and Water Board pump status page and the Entergy outage map are the two pages to bookmark before a storm.
What New Orleans should watch for
Watch the phase announcements from the mayor and governor. Once Phase 3 and contraflow begin, there is no easy way to leave the metro and no way to turn back. If you are leaving, go before contraflow starts, because all interstate lanes run outbound and exits are limited.
Watch the Sewerage and Water Board pump status page. The drainage system, not the levees, is what fails in a heavy-rain event, and the city floods from rain on its own when pumps or their power are down. A storm that dumps 10 inches of rain with pumps offline will flood the bowl regardless of the surge walls.
Watch the Lake Pontchartrain side. A storm tracking to the west pushes the lake against the lakefront and into Slidell and the north shore, and the lake can also back up into the city's outfall canals. The outside-the-levee communities, including Lafitte, Grand Isle, Braithwaite, and lower Plaquemines, flood in every storm and are ordered out first.
Plan for power. After Ida the plan was a week or more without electricity in late-summer heat. Run a generator outdoors only, at least 20 feet from any opening, and have a place to go if you are elderly or medically dependent on power. More people died after Ida from heat and generator carbon monoxide than from the storm itself.
Frequently asked questions
Is New Orleans in an evacuation zone?
There are no lettered zones. The city evacuates in Phase 3 of the state plan, about 30 hours before tropical storm winds arrive, and everything south of the Intracoastal Waterway and south of I-10 goes earlier under Phase 1 and Phase 2. Once Phase 3 begins, contraflow opens on I-10 west, I-55, and I-59, and all lanes run outbound with no easy way to turn back.
Where are the hurricane shelters in New Orleans?
There are none inside the city for hurricanes. City-Assisted Evacuation buses residents who do not have transportation from the Smoothie King Center to state shelters north of I-10. Residents with cars are expected to leave. Register for City-Assisted Evacuation by texting EVACNOLA to 77295 before a storm threatens.
Will the levees hold?
The rebuilt Hurricane and Storm Damage Risk Reduction System is designed for a 1-in-100-year surge and held through Hurricane Ida in 2021 and Hurricane Francine in 2024. Areas outside the system, including Lafitte, Grand Isle, Braithwaite, and lower Plaquemines, are unprotected and flood in every storm. The bigger risk inside the levees is now the drainage pump system and the power grid, not the surge walls.
When was the last hurricane to hit New Orleans?
Hurricane Francine in September 2024 made landfall in Terrebonne Parish as a Category 2 and brought wind and outages to the city. Hurricane Ida in August 2021 was the last major hit, coming ashore at Port Fourchon with 150 mph winds on Katrina's anniversary. No hurricane made a US landfall in 2025. Tropical Storm Edouard came ashore in Cameron Parish on September 1, 2026, the first Louisiana landfall of the 2026 season.
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