St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana

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St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana
Image:Todo Image:Todo
County flag County seal
Location
Location of St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana
Location of St. Bernard Parish within Louisiana.
Political Charateristics
Country
  State
United States
  Louisiana
Parish Council

Parish President
District A
District B
District C
District D
District E
At-Large West
At-Large East


Henry "Junior" Rodriguez
Mark Madary
Judy Darby Hoffmeister
Kenneth "Kenny" Henderson Craig P. Taffaro, Jr.
Tony Ricky Melerine
Joseph S. DiFatta, Jr.
Lynn Dean

Formed 1803
County Seat Chalmette
Physical Characteristics
Area
     Land
     Water
4,606 km²
     1,204 km²
     3,441 km²
Population
     Total (2000)
     Density

     67,229
     56/km²
Time zone
     Summer (DST)
Central (UTC−6)
     Central (UTC−5)
Official website: http://www.sbpg.net/

St. Bernard Parish is a parish located in the state of Louisiana. As of 2000, its population was 67,229. The parish seat is Chalmette.

Contents

Geography

The parish has a total area of 4,646 km2 (1,794 mi2). 1,204 km2 (465 mi2) of it is land and 3,441 km2 (1,329 mi2) of it is water. The total area is 74.07% water.

The parish of St. Bernard comprises an area of 680 square miles, and embraces numerous small islands. The parish may be classed among the alluvial lands of the state. The ridges comprise the arable lands of the parish and have an area of 37,000 acres. The principal streams are the Bayous Terre aux Boeufs and La Loutre. There are numerous smaller streams which are efficient drainage canals. The principal forest growth is cypress, of which the most valuable trees have been cut and manufactured.

Adjacent parishes

As of September 1, 2005, most homes in the parish were underwater due to Hurricane Katrina, which hit the parish especially hard when the "eye" of Katrina passed directly over the center of the parish and Lake Borgne. Approximately 99.999% of the Parish was flooded. Independent engineering analysis of the storm surge has indicated that the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet, a little used navigation channel to the north of the parish caused an unprecedented storm surge of as much as 35 feet to pass directly into the center of the heaviest populated areas of the parish. Unlike the flooding in New Orleans, the water rose in what witnesses have reported as about 15 minutes. While this had been predicted for over 40 years by local leaders, the Army Corps of Engineers has denied the channel had any effect. An assistant for local politico Rep. William Jefferson has called fears related to the Channel "irrational" despite the massive flooding that occurred. Some leaders have indicated they feel the scant amount of jobs supported by the "MRGO" as critically important, obviously more than the lives of the citizens of St. Bernard. Local leaders from the devastated area have demanded the Channel be closed to prevent the loss of life from occurring again.

Unlike the city of New Orleans itself, over two months after the storm the parish remains without proper services, such as electricity, water, and sewage. Federal and State relief was notably lacking in the Parish and continues to be so as of October 24. The Parish President, Henry "Junior" Rodriguez, has declared all of the parish's homes unliveable. Many areas of the parish may have to be completely destroyed, although there is much uncertainty about whether or not this will happen. Several residents have begun to repair houses which they believe are more cheaply repaired than bulldozed and rebuilt. There is much fear about the lack of funding because there are 0 residents to collect taxes from. St. Bernard Parish's levee system, which was completely destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, is being restored and is expected to be to pre-Katrina levels in June, 2006.

Demographics

As of the census2 of 2000, there are 67,229 people, 25,123 households, and 18,289 families residing in the parish. The population density is 56/km2 (145/mi2). There are 26,790 housing units at an average density of 22/km2 (58/mi2). The racial makeup of the parish is 88.29% White, 7.62% Black or African American, 0.49% Native American, 1.32% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.73% from other races, and 1.52% from two or more races. 5.09% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 25,123 households out of which 33.70% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.40% are married couples living together, 14.60% have a female householder with no husband present, and 27.20% are non-families. 22.90% of all households are made up of individuals and 10.10% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.64 and the average family size is 3.12.

In the parish the population is spread out with 25.20% under the age of 18, 9.20% from 18 to 24, 29.20% from 25 to 44, 22.60% from 45 to 64, and 13.80% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 37 years. For every 100 females there are 93.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 90.10 males.

The median income for a household in the parish is $35,939, and the median income for a family is $42,785. Males have a median income of $34,303 versus $24,009 for females. The per capita income for the parish is $16,718. 13.10% of the population and 10.50% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 16.50% of those under the age of 18 and 11.40% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.


Cities and towns

External links



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State of Louisiana

Capital:

Baton Rouge

Regions:

Acadiana | Florida Parishes | Greater New Orleans | Northwest Louisiana

Largest cities:

Alexandria | Baton Rouge | Bossier City | Houma | Kenner | Lafayette | Lake Charles | Metairie | Monroe | New Iberia | New Orleans | Shreveport

Parishes:

Acadia | Allen | Ascension | Assumption | Avoyelles | Beauregard | Bienville | Bossier | Caddo | Calcasieu | Caldwell | Cameron | Catahoula | Claiborne | Concordia | De Soto | East Baton Rouge | East Carroll | East Feliciana | Evangeline | Franklin | Grant | Iberia | Iberville | Jackson | Jefferson | Jefferson Davis | La Salle | Lafayette | Lafourche | Lincoln | Livingston | Madison | Morehouse | Natchitoches | Orleans | Ouachita | Plaquemines | Pointe Coupee | Rapides | Red River | Richland | Sabine | St. Bernard | St. Charles | St. Helena | St. James | St. John the Baptist | St. Landry | St. Martin | St. Mary | St. Tammany | Tangipahoa | Tensas | Terrebonne | Union | Vermilion | Vernon | Washington | Webster | West Baton Rouge | West Carroll | West Feliciana | Winn

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