The cat 4 hurricane that hit Galveston Texas on Sept. 8, 1900 resulted in a loss of over 8,000 people. Still the largest disaster in human loss in the U.S.
New Orleans will take a huge hit but there are probably some fairly sound structures that will survive the wind. The water maybe the most deadliest part.
There are a lot of people hunkered down including, police, emergency people, hospitals, utility people, etc. I'm hoping they are safe for the night. Then the recouperation efforts become important to get people out, food in, etc.