Despite Hilda's intensity at landfall, much of the damage attributed to the hurricane was a result of heavy rains associated with the storm and its interaction with a nearby frontal boundary. Rainfall caused by the storm peaked at northwest of Jeanerette. The strong winds and rain caused extensive crop damage; 98% of Louisiana's sugar crop sustained some measure of damage. Although most of the state's cotton crop was harvested prior to Hilda's landfall, the heavy rains flattened unpicked cotton in southern Louisiana, resulting in US$10 million in damage. Overall, the effects of Hilda in Louisiana destroyed or heavily damaged nearly 2,600 residences and inflicted minor damage on an additional 19,000. The United States Red Cross estimated that about 5,000 people were injured and that of those 357 were hospitalized.