Hurricane gets upgrade to Category 4 storm, 54 years after making landfall

More than half a century after a hurricane made landfall in southeast Louisiana, forecasters have revealed the devastating storm was more powerful than they originally thought.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration'sHurricane Research Laboratory said in a report last month that Hurricane Betsy, which made landfall on Sept. 9, 1965, has been upgraded from a Category 3 to a Category 4 storm on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.

A reassessment of the original observations collected -- mainly by ships, weather station, aircraft reconnaissance planes and the earliest available satellite images -- revealed the storm had maximum sustained winds of 130 mph when it roared ashore.

Category 4 storms have sustained winds between 130 and 156 mph, and bring  “catastrophic” damage, according to the National Hurricane Center.

“Well-built framed homes can sustain severe damage with loss of most of the roof structure and/or some exterior walls,” the NHC explains.

In addition to most trees being snapped or uprooted, fallen trees and power poles can "isolate" residential areas, with prolonged power outages that leave areas "uninhabitable for weeks or months."

In the U.S., Betsy was blamed for the deaths of 75 people in Florida and Louisiana. It also became the first billion-dollar hurricane in terms of damage, according to the report.

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