Effect of Hurricane Katrina on the New Orleans Hornets Effect of Hurricane Katrina on the New Orleans Hornets Hurricane Katrina devastated the city of New Orleans, Louisiana on August 29, 2005 and caused extensive damage to the New Orleans Arena. As a result, the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s New Orleans Hornets were unable to play any home games at the Arena for both the entire 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons, and temporarily relocated to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma to became the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets. After playing the majority of home games for both the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City, the Hornets returned to New
Hurricane preparedness for New Orleans from the Mississippi River. In 1947, the Fort Lauderdale hurricane struck the New Orleans area. There was moderate wind damage. Flood prevention was largely successful in Orleans Parish, but there was severe flooding in the new East Jefferson suburbs near the Lake. Hurricane Flossy in 1956 resulted in flooding in parts of Eastern New Orleans. Hurricane Betsy in 1965 alerted a new generation to the threat posed by major hurricanes. As radar showed the storm heading for the city, a mandatory evacuation of Eastern New Orleans was declared. The Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet Canal channeled storm surge into the metro area.