Hurricane Hilda hit New Orleans on Oct 3, 1964, my parent's 26th wedding anniversary. It spawned several tornados, one of which was coming for our house until it hit the ditch behind us and hit 3 houses over. That was the first time we (Mom, my sister and I) evacuated while Dad stayed in the house and to guard the neighborhood.
"Almost a complete evacuation of the entire Louisiana coast accounted for the low death toll of 38, most of which were caused by tornadoes spawned by the storm as it approached the coast. One twister at Larose, Louisiana, killed 22 and injured 200 people. Three other tornadoes caused much damage in the New Orleans metropolitan area but no deaths. In the town of Erath, Louisiana, 8 deaths were attributed to the collapse of the town's water tower onto their city hall, the eight men killed were volunteer civil defense workers. A tornado in Golden Meadow damaged several buildings and knocked down utility lines. The tornado damage, in combination with the crop damage from rainfall, caused a total of $126,000,000 in damage (1964 dollars). The highest rainfall report measured during Hilda was five miles northwest of Jeanerette, where 17.71 inches/449.8 mm fell. Damage totaled $3 million."
