Buras-Triumph is a census-designated place (CDP) in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 3,358 at the 2000 census. On the peninsula, Buras has been located higher, with Triumph located southeast of Buras.
History
The town of Buras was established, informally, in the 1840s. Several small settlements on the West Bank of the Mississippi River north of Fort St. Philip became known collectively as the Quartiers des Burats, the Burat Settlement, anchored on the property of Sebastian Burat, near where Cazezu Boulevard meets Parish Highway 11 today. Burat was later anglicized to Buras. In 1854, the Buras Post Office was established, along with a regular mail route by packet boat on the river. By 1864, a new church, Our Lady of Good Harbor, was established in Buras as the community grew. Buras-Triumph has become famous as the location where, on August 29, 2005, at 6:10 AM CDT, the eye of Hurricane Katrina, by far the costliest natural disaster (and one of the deadliest) ever to strike the United States, made its strongest landfall. The storm surge and high winds began on the previous day, August 28, 2005. Before dawn on the 29th, the town had been obliterated. The recovery and rebuilding continues in Buras, Triumph and surrounding communities. Emblematic of the recovery is the new Buras water tower. The image of the previous tower, collapsed in the rubble, was an icon of the destruction Katrina brought.
Geography
Buras-Triumph is located along the west bank of the Mississippi River at 29°21′6″N 89°30′50″W / 29.35167°N 89.51389°W / 29.35167; -89.51389 (29.351783, -89.513815)[1] and has an elevation of 3 feet (0.9 m)[2]. Buras-Triumph is within the federal hurricane protection levee system. Approximately 3,000 acres of the area are drained by two stormwater pumping stations, one north of Buras and one in Triumph.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 7.2 square miles (18.6 km²), of which, 5.0 square miles (13.0 km²) of it is land and 2.2 square miles (5.6 km²) of it (30.32%) is water.
Demographics
As of the census[3] of 2000, there were 3,358 people, 1,146 households, and 850 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 670.9 people per square mile (258.8/km²). There were 1,408 housing units at an average density of 281.3/sq mi (108.5/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 71.68% White, 10.90% African American, 1.67% Native American, 12.30% Asian, 1.28% from other races, and 2.17% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.10% of the population.
There were 1,146 households out of which 40.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.6% were married couples living together, 12.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.8% were non-families. 20.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.92 and the average family size was 3.40.
In the CDP the population was spread out with 30.3% under the age of 18, 10.0% from 18 to 24, 29.7% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 7.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 105.9 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $33,059, and the median income for a family was $41,216. Males had a median income of $35,980 versus $16,917 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $13,426. About 18.1% of families and 20.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.2% of those under age 18 and 15.2% of those age 65 or over.
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