The May 8th 1995 New Orleans Flood struck the New Orleans metropolitan area, shutting down the city for two days. It was a two-event phenomenon. It first hit the southshore of Lake Ponchartrain, including Jefferson Parish and Orleans Parish. Areas south of the lake began receiving tremendous amounts of rain at approximately 5:30 p.m. on May 7th, continuing into the early morning hours of May 8th. The flooding began on the Southshore, including New Orleans, Metairie, Kenner, River Ridge, and Harahan, on May 8. During a short period of twelve hours, some areas received twenty inches of rainfall. The next day, the Northshore of Lake Ponchartrain, including Slidell, Covington, etc. received similar amounts of rain and flooding.

Many compared this to the great November 1979 Louisiana Flood, or the more recent November 1989 Louisiana Flood, though the May 8th Flood was more extensive and costlier than both combined. It was the worst flooding the city had experienced between hurricanes Betsy in 1965 and Katrina in 2005. Perhaps the only comparable flood caused by rain alone was the Good Friday 1927 flood.

Six people died as a result of the flooding. The city of New Orleans had $360 million of damages, and the damage of the surrounding areas put that total above $1 billion. Tens of thousands of homes and cars were flooded. New pumping stations were built and canals were expanded to prevent further catastrophic rainfall floods. Some politicians began to push for pumping rain waters directly into the Mississippi River, but environmental groups argued against this plan. The idea has since been raised in brainstorming for ideas in how to prevent flooding in New Orleans post Katrina.

The cause of the massive rain fall totals was a stalled out frontal system from the northwest. It produced a train effect, in which rain and/or thunderstorms continued to form over the same area. Pumping stations were overwhelmed and could not pump out the water into Lake Ponchartrain.

The flood prompted expansions and improvements of the city's drainage and pumping system, especially in the worst hit portions of the city, especially Broadmoor.

See also

• Drainage in New Orleans

1995 | Floods | History of New Orleans | Historic weather events in the United States