 The easterly winds created a storm surge on Lake Pontchartrain and inundated eastern and northern areas of New Orleans . The dynamics of the flood were considered " unprecedented " , having come within 0 @.@ 75 mi ( 1 @.@ 21 km ) of the Mississippi River . Flood waters rose until early on October 4 , when they slowly began to recede . The Jackson Railroad , on the western and northwestern shore of the lake , was flooded up to a depth of 5 ft ( 1 @.@ 5 m ) , and 11 mi ( 18 km ) of track were washed out . Numerous families in residents near the railroad were forced to leave their homes and seek shelter upon the onset of rising waters . Numerous coal boats and steamboats were swamped and sunk in and around Baton Rouge , which experienced its first severe hurricane strike in many years . Countless trees were uprooted along the Mississippi , and crop damage continued its prevalence going further north . Natchez saw the highest winds in the town since a tornado in 1840 , and although the hurricane struck further west than the previous two , gale winds still extended eastward to Pensacola . 
