 Storm conditions battered New Orleans , Louisiana , on August 11 , with winds of up to roughly 50 mph ( 80 km / h ) and heavy rainfall . The hurricane wrought a great deal of damage throughout southeastern Louisiana . At least 35 to 40 people drowned when a low @-@ lying community at the eastern end of Lake Pontchartrain was inundated with flood waters up to a depth of 12 feet ( 3 @.@ 7 m ) , a result of intense and persistent winds generating a significant storm surge . It was reported that in the town " there is hardly a house remaining " . A railroad wharf near the lake was largely destroyed , and another settlement called Milneburg was flooded ; residents were rescued by boat . In Plaquemines Parish , where vast areas of land were left underwater , the hurricane was the most severe since 1812 . At least 20 additional people drowned , although it was suspected that since up to 200 fishermen along the Mississippi River would have had extreme difficulty finding shelter amid the rapidly rising waters , the death toll was likely substantially higher . The storm flattened sugarcane fields across the parish : " the knowing ones will say that two thousand hogshead of sugar less will be made here " , according to a post @-@ storm account . Monetary losses from the destruction totaled over $ 250 @,@ 000 . Rice and corn crops were also ruined , and 300 head of cattle drowned in the flood on Cat Island . 
