Gentilly, New Orleans lying between the London Avenue Canal and Bayou St. John, fall outside of Gentilly, as do the Lakefront subdivisions of Lake Terrace and Lake Oaks, and the Lakefront campus of the University of New Orleans. Apart from the natural high ground along the Gentilly Ridge and the Lakefront section, itself raised above sea level on man-made land created by a project of the Orleans Levee Board in the early 20th century, Gentilly was badly damaged following Hurricane Katrina. The London Avenue Canal floodwalls were breached in two places by Katrina's storm surge, flooding most of the area. Gentilly's population has
New Orleans tornado of 2017 that toppled a metal truss tower, badly damaged a metal building, and destroyed manufactured homes. An EF1 struck the town of Donaldsonville, causing considerable damage to structures and killing one person. A large EF2 wedge tornado that passed near Killian and Akers downed many trees and destroyed small house built on a cinder block foundation. Another EF2 destroyed a flea market near Harperville, Mississippi as well. A total of 15 tornadoes were confirmed across parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, and Kentucky. New Orleans tornado of 2017 The New Orleans tornado of 2017 was a large and powerful