By August 1927, when the flood finally subsided, the disaster had displaced about 700,000 people. Twenty-six thousand square miles were inundated to depths up to 30 feet, levees were crevassed, and cities, towns and farms lay waste. Crops were destroyed and industries and transportation paralyzed.
At a time when the federal budget barely exceeded $3 billion, the flood, directly and indirectly, caused an estimated $1 billion in property damage.
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.mvd.usace.army.mil/Offices/pa/photos/27%2520Flood%2520Victims.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.mvn.usace.army.mil/pao/RELEASES/02-06_1927_Flood_Anniversary2.htm&h=527&w=803&sz=112&tbnid=PHkVVXq_h9DXQM:&tbnh=93&tbnw=142&hl=en&start=1&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dflood%2Bof%2B27%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D
Yup. Just imagine what it would be in "constant dollars".
A FAR worse catastrophe than Katrina for Louisiana, though adding in the effects of Rita hitting southwest Louisiana, then the effects "might" approach the impact of the 1927 flood.
