Editing St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana (section)

===Hurricane Katrina effects===
[[Hurricane Katrina]] made its final landfall in eastern St. Tammany Parish. The western [[eye wall]] passed directly over St. Tammany Parish as a [[Category 3 hurricane]]  at about 9:45 AM CST, August 29, 2005.<ref>[http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/ms-word/TCR-AL122005_Katrina.doc] Richard D. Knabb, Jamie R. Rhome, and Daniel P. Brown, National Hurricane Center, "Tropical Cyclone Report Hurricane Katrina", August 23–30, 2005. Retrieved September 11, 2009.</ref>  The communities of Slidell, Avery Estates, Lakeshore Estates, Oak Harbor, Eden Isles and Northshore Beach were inundated by the storm surge that extended over {{convert|6|mi|0}} inland. The storm surge impacted all {{convert|57|mi}} of St. Tammany Parish's coastline, including Lacombe, Mandeville and Madisonville.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fema.gov/hazard/flood/recoverydata/katrina/katrina_la_sttammany.shtm |title=FEMA: Hurricane Katrina Surge Inundation and Advisory Base Flood Elevation Maps |publisher=Fema.gov |date=June 4, 2009 |access-date=July 22, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100710083558/http://www.fema.gov/hazard/flood/recoverydata/katrina/katrina_la_sttammany.shtm |archive-date=July 10, 2010 }}</ref> The storm surge in the area of the Rigolets Pass was estimated at {{convert|16|ft}}, not including wave action, declining to {{convert|7|ft}} at Madisonville. The surge had a second peak in eastern St. Tammany as the westerly winds from the southern eye wall pushed the surge to the east, backing up at the bottleneck of the Rigolets Pass.

The twin spans of I-10 bridges between Slidell and New Orleans East were virtually destroyed, and much of I-10 in New Orleans East was under water. The Lake Pontchartrain Causeway and the [[U.S. Route 11 in Louisiana|U.S. Highway 11]] bridge, connecting the north and south shores of Lake Pontchartrain, were open only to emergency traffic.

Initial search and rescue operations were conducted south of [[U.S. Route 190 (Louisiana)|U.S. Highway 190]] from Lacombe east to the state line.<ref>[http://www2.stpgov.org/news/2005/TuesdayAug30_9am.html] St. Tammany Parish Emergency Operations Center Parish Status Update, Tuesday, August 30, 2005, 9:00 AM. Retrieved September 11, 2009.</ref>  Fire District No. 1 and the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's office evacuated over 3,000 people from flooded homes and rescued about 300 people in imminent danger.<ref>[http://www2.stpgov.org/news/2005/10272005-StateoftheParish.html] "State of the Parish" Speech, October 27, 2005, St. Tammany Parish President Kevin Davis. Retrieved September 11, 2009.</ref>  Radio communications among first responders functioned throughout the rescue period, but the 9-1-1 system was not operational for ten days.<ref>[http://www2.stpgov.org/news/2005/09082005_Thur_5PM_status_update.html] St. Tammany Parish Emergency Operations Center Parish Status Update, Thursday, September 8, 2005, 5:00 PM. Retrieved September 11, 2009.</ref> Utility services were not available anywhere in the parish. Generator power was available for hospitals and a special needs shelter. Hospitals were running at capacity on generator power.

The hurricane-force winds toppled trees and telephone poles parish-wide, blocking all transportation routes. Land debris cleanup continued into 2007, with over 6.6 million cubic yards (5&nbsp;million m<sup>3</sup>) collected.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.stpgov.org/pdf/1179167900.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=September 14, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724015847/http://www.stpgov.org/pdf/1179167900.pdf |archive-date=July 24, 2008 }} "State of the Parish" Speech, October 27, 2005, St. Tammany Parish President Kevin Davis. Retrieved September 11, 2009.</ref> Debris cleaning in waterways continued at least through 2009.
Hurricane Katrina damaged 48,792 housing units in St. Tammany Parish from flood waters, high winds, or both.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/GulfCoast_HousingDamageEstimates_021206.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=July 29, 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120305162439/http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/GulfCoast_HousingDamageEstimates_021206.pdf |archive-date=March 5, 2012 }}"Current Housing Unit Damage Estimates, Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma", February 12, 2006, Analysis by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Office of Policy Development and Research</ref>