Baton Rouge is the capital of Louisiana.  Baton Rouge is historically the second largest city in Louisiana behind New Orleans but the effects of Hurricane Katrina have, at least temporarily, reduced the population of New Orleans such that Baton Rouge is larger than New Orleans.

On August 29, 2005, Baton Rouge was heavily impacted by Hurricane Katrina. Although the damage was relatively minor compared to New Orleans (generally light to moderate except for fallen trees), Baton Rouge experienced power outages and service disruptions due to the hurricane. In addition, the city provided refuge for residents from New Orleans. Baton Rouge served as a headquarters for Federal (on site) and State emergency coordination and disaster relief in Louisiana.

The city executed massive rescue efforts for those who evacuated the New Orleans area. Schools and convention centers such as the Baton Rouge River Center opened their doors to evacuees, and churches around the city were sometimes serving two hot meals per day for whoever could come. B’nai Israel Synagogue opened its doors to evacuees with its emergency shelter, the only synagogue in the region to do so. LSU’s basketball arena, the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, and the adjacent LSU Field House were converted into emergency hospitals. Victims were flown in by helicopter (landing in the LSU Track Stadium) and brought by the hundreds in buses to be treated. Here patients were triaged and, depending on their status, were either treated immediately or transported further west to Lafayette, Louisiana. As a result, by August 31, TV station WAFB had reported that the city’s population had more than doubled from about 228,000 to at least 450,000 since the mandatory evacuation had been issued.

Government
Baton Rouge has served as the capital of Louisiana since 1842 and is the headquarters for all branches of parish, state, and federal government. As a result, government is one of the city’s largest employers, providing jobs for almost one-fifth of the workforce. Throughout Louisiana, laws are handled somewhat differently than in other states. For example, Louisiana has parishes rather than counties. Unique to the nation, parish divisions are based on the old boundaries established by the many Roman Catholic churches in the state. Louisiana is also the only state in the Union that bases its civil laws on the old Napoleonic Code of France.