St. Mary Parish - What Happened

Situated on the south central coast of Louisiana, St. Mary Parish was one of the fortunate parishes that was not directly hit by Hurricane Katrina, which struck to the east, or Hurricane Rita, which passed west of the parish. Destructive storm surges spared St. Mary during Hurricane Katrina but hit the parish coastline as well as some inland areas through man-made canals during Hurricane Rita.

The violent storm surged up to 15 feet as it moved towards the southern half of the parish, causing flooding in a localized area of the City of Franklin and in a widespread area of the parish south of U.S. Highway 90. Hurricane force winds of at least 75 mph from both Katrina and Rita also swept through St. Mary, causing wind damages.

While the number of evacuees from St. Mary Parish was minimal, more than 3,100 evacuees from New Orleans and other affected areas of Louisiana sought refuge in St. Mary Parish. When Hurricane Rita came ashore and caused three-to-four feet of flooding in some parts of Franklin, some of that city’s residents were immediately evacuated to higher ground; they soon were able to relocate back to their homes. The effects of each storm subsided approximately 72 hours after landfall.