(The Center Square) – An estimated 1.5 million people were displaced during Hurricane Katrina across Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi, but most significantly from New Orleans.

It is estimated that 40% of displaced families did not return to the city.

As the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina arrives Friday, The Center Square spoke with former New Orleans resident Lauren Breaux, who was evacuated with her family during the destructive storm.

“We had evacuated many times leading up to Katrina,” Breaux said. “I think already once that year, so we were nonchalant about the entire situation. I remember we started to realize the gravity of the situation when we were driving home and our side of the road was completely clear going back into the city.

“We didn’t know until seeing the cars bumper to bumper trying to exit the city, how bad it was going to be.”

Breaux and her family lost their home, part of the $125 billion destruction caused by a storm that mercifully dropped from Category 5 to Category 3 when making landfall.

A study conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated that 1.12 million of those displaced from their homes were living in Louisiana before Hurricane Katrina. Of the remaining evacuees, 288,000 were residing in Mississippi and 88,000 in Alabama.

“Once the levee broke, there was no hope for our home,” said Breaux. “We had water through our attic, and possibly above our roof, but we are not 100% sure since no one could be down there at the peak water height.”

Her family eventually settled across Lake Pontchartrain in Pearl River months after evacuating.

Saint Tammany, Orleans, Jefferson, Saint Charles, Terrebonne and Saint Bernard were among the most displaced counties in Louisiana during the storm. Each county had between 10,000 to 350,000 residents evacuated.

While Breaux and her family did not return to New Orleans, 61.9% of Louisiana evacuees returned to their prior residence after the storm. It is reported that on average, families who evacuated but returned to their former address were displaced for 33 days.

Those who did not return settled in other parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Texas, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida and Arkansas.

Now, the New Orleans population sits at 380,000, a drop of about 80,000 – or roughly a tick more than can fill the Superdome for Saints football games. The NFL team lost its home, too, relocating to various other “home” venues from San Antonio to New York.

Residents who moved back to the city had to rebuild or move entirely and still feel the effects of the storm 20 years later.

Emilee Ruth Calametti currently serves as Staff Reporter for The Center Square covering the Northwestern Louisiana region. She holds her M.A. in English from Georgia State University and an additional M.A. in Journalism from New York University. Her articles have been featured in DIG Magazine, Houstonia Magazine, Bookstr, inRegister, EntertainmentNOW, AOL, MSN, and more. She is a Louisiana native with over seven years of journalism experience.

(The Center Square) – The University of Michigan’s hospital system, Michigan Medicine, announced it will no longer provide hormonal therapies and puberty blocker medications for minors.

This came in response to the Trump Administration opening criminal and civil investigations into those providing transgender treatments for minors throughout the country

“In light of that investigation, and given escalating external threats and risks, we will no longer provide gender affirming hormonal therapies and puberty blocker medications for minors,” said a statement from Michigan Medicine released Monday.

“We recognize the gravity and impact of this decision for our patients and our community,” it continued. “We are working closely with all those impacted, and we will continuously support the well-being of our patients, their families, and our teams.”

Michigan Medicine was just one of more than 20 doctors and clinics that were subpoenaed by the Department of Justice in early July.

They were subpoenaed for their part in “performing transgender medical procedures on children,” according to the department.

“Medical professionals and organizations that mutilated children in the service of a warped ideology will be held accountable by this Department of Justice,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi.

On Michigan Medicine’s webpage which previously listed its transgender treatments, it posted more details about its decision to end those for all patients under the age of 19.

“In response to unprecedented legal and regulatory threats to our clinicians and our institution, we have made the difficult decision to stop prescribing puberty blockers and gender affirming hormones for patients under age 19,” it stated. “We will continue to care for our gender diverse patients, providing all appropriate care other than puberty blockers and gender affirming hormones. Care for patients age 19 and over is not affected by this change.”

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel pushed back against Michigan Medicine’s decision to end those transgender treatments, calling it “shameful, dangerous, and potentially illegal.”

In response to Michigan Medicine’s decision, Nessel’s office reissued an open letter to all Michigan health care providers.

The letter outlines that to refuse these health care services might be discrimination under Michigan law.

“This cowardly acquiescence to political pressure from this president and his administration is not what patients have come to expect from an institution that has labeled itself, ‘the leaders and the best,’ and my department will be considering all of our options if they violate Michigan law,” Nessel said. “UM has chosen instead to sacrifice the health, well-being, and likely the very lives of Michigan children, to protect itself from the ire of an administration who, oftentimes, engages in unlawful actions itself.”

Earlier this month, Nessel also joined a multi-state lawsuit seeking to protect transgender health care for minors.

Others have applauded this move and the Trump Administration’s push to end these treatments nationwide.

“Pressure from the Trump Administration is working,” said a statement from the American Principles Project, a conservative policy group that has been outspoken against transgender treatment for minors. “Thank you, POTUS.”

Elyse Apel is a reporter for The Center Square covering Colorado and Michigan. A graduate of Hillsdale College, Elyse’s writing has been published in a wide variety of national publications from the Washington Examiner to The American Spectator and The Daily Wire.

(The Center Square) − As  New Orleans has rebuilt and rebounded, Hurricane Katrina’s impact has informed much of the policy and initiatives throughout the state.

The Louisiana Fortify Homes Program, Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple told The Center Square, focuses not just on flood protection but on stronger homes and communities.

“The city, the state, and the federal government spent over $14 billion to fortify levees and build additional pump stations,” Temple said. “But we’re still going to have hurricanes. Our properties are still going to be subject to hurricane-force winds. That’s why the focus now is on resilient housing stock.”

The Crescent City was braced for a Category 5 hurricane in the gulf 20 years ago this week. It arrived that Aug. 29, Category 3 at landfall, tearing through levees, homes and lives. It remains among the most deadly and costly of all time from the Atlantic basin.

Temple said the state’s investments in levees and pump stations after Katrina reduced the risk of another catastrophic flooding event. But, he warned, Louisiana remains highly vulnerable to hurricane-force winds that can tear apart homes and destabilize entire communities.

The Louisiana Fortify Homes Program provides grants of up to $10,000 for homeowners to upgrade roofs to nationally recognized standards able to withstand stronger winds. Since launching in 2023, the program has awarded more than 3,700 grants, with thousands more homeowners fortifying their roofs without state help.

Temple said the program’s impact goes beyond lowering individual insurance costs. Strengthening homes, he said, helps keep communities intact in the wake of major storms.

“When people’s homes are damaged, the longer it takes to repair and rebuild, the less likely they are to move back,” he said. “More resilient homes mean people are more likely to return, insurance remains affordable, and entire communities recover faster. That’s a part of resilience that hasn’t been talked about enough.”

The program’s next registration round opens Sept. 2, with 500 grants available. Homeowners in Louisiana’s coastal zone, Lake Charles, Sulphur and Westlake are eligible to apply. Those who registered in the September 2024 or February lotteries will be automatically reentered into the new round.

Temple said his office is working to make the process smoother for applicants.

“The last time, we had over 10,000 people sign up,” he said. “We’ve tried to make sure people don’t have to resubmit every single time. Once you put your name in the hat, it should stay there until you’re selected.”

The program’s momentum is part of what Temple calls a shift toward long-term resiliency in Louisiana.

“We built the levees,” he said. “We built the pump stations. Now we’re focused on building resilient properties so insurers are willing to stay in coastal Louisiana – and so people can afford to live here.”