Historic Floods, From Rains to Hurricanes

John Magill is Historian and Curator at The Historic New Orleans Collection. This podcast is the fifth in a six-part series of interviews that highlight New Orleans' history. In this podcast, John talks about flooding in New Orleans. As we all know, flooding can be caused either by rainfall or by water overtopping levees as a result of hurricanes. John talks about both types of flooding that have occurred in New Orleans over the course of time since the early 1800s.

One of the floods John describes is the devastating flood of 1927. The 1927 flood was one of the worst rain floods in New Orleans' history. Not only was the city flooded from heavy rainfall, but the Mississippi River was at the top of the levees and threatened to flood the entire Crescent City.

Many native New Orleanians who are very familiar with the city's devastating encounter with Hurricane Katrina's inundation in 2005 are unaware that  the city has flooded several times during its history. Listen as John describes each historic flood.

If you have been enjoying these podcasts about New Orleans history let us know. We would also be happy to hear your suggestions for new topics.

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