Cameron, Louisiana
| Cameron, Louisiana | |
| Census-designated place | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | Louisiana |
| Parish | Cameron |
| Elevation | 3 ft (0.9 m) |
| Coordinates | 29°47′17″N 93°18′42″W / 29.78806°N 93.31167°WCoordinates: 29°47′17″N 93°18′42″W / 29.78806°N 93.31167°W |
| Area | 12.6 sq mi (32.6 km2) |
| - land | 11.4 sq mi (29.5 km2) |
| - water | 1.2 sq mi (3.1 km2) |
| Population | 406 (2010) |
| Density | 35.5/sq mi (13.7/km2) |
| Timezone | CST (UTC-6) |
| - summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| Zip code | 70631 |
| Area code | 337 |
| FIPS Code | 22023 |
  Location of Cameron in Louisiana
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 Location of Louisiana in the United States
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Cameron is a census-designated place (CDP) in and the parish seat of Cameron Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is part of the Lake Charles Metropolitan Statistical Area. After sustaining extreme damage from Hurricane Rita in 2005 and Hurricane Ike in 2008, the 2010 Census showed Cameron having a population of just 406, a 79% drop in population between the years 2000 and 2010.
In 1957, Cameron was nearly destroyed by Hurricane Audrey. A storm surge of 12 feet (3.7 m) and 150 miles per hour (240 km/h) winds caused the death of more than 300 residents of the town.
Nearly fifty years later, in late September 2005, Hurricane Rita hit the town. This time, virtually everyone had evacuated beforehand, and only one man was reported killed in the town. He was reported as having been sick and decided to stay in town through the storm. His body was found in Lake Charles, 52 miles inland.
On September 14, 2008, Hurricane Ike leveled Cameron with a 22-foot (6.7 m) storm surge just as the town was recovering from Rita in 2005. Ike destroyed more than 90 percent of the homes in the parish seat and caused catastrophic flooding in every part of the parish. Damage due to storm surge and winds was far worse than what was took place with Hurricane Rita. A 2010 report on the damage sustained from the effects of Rita and Ike stated that few people returned to the town to rebuild after the hurricanes, due to stricter building codes and high insurance costs that increased the cost of living dramatically. None of the stores have been rebuilt; only a gas station, bank, post office, and a restaurant remain (the latter two of which are still housed in trailers). Most of the residents still live in mobile homes. The First Baptist Church in the community was rebuilt in 2010.
Cameron is on the Creole Nature Trail, a National Scenic Byway.
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Wikipedia