Tens of thousands of people found a temporary home in North Texas after Hurricane Katrina.

• Dallas' convention center was converted into a massive shelter, North Texans donated essentials and schools reopened enrollment to help the evacuees.
• Now, 20 years after the storm, we have a clearer picture of how many stayed. Nearly 12% of all Katrina evacuees were living in the Dallas area in 2019, per new data.

The latest: Since the storm, many researchers and journalists have tried to understand where the displaced New Orleanians ended up.

• Tracking evacuees, however, has been difficult. Population data shows trends but doesn't follow individuals and their decisions.
• Government officials granted only one researcher access to that kind of specificity within the data: Elizabeth Fussell, who is now a professor at Brown University.

The intrigue: Around 38% of New Orleans residents displaced by Katrina were still living in Texas — the most in any state — in 2019, per Fussell's analysis of census data.

• Houston in 2019 was the most popular metro for the displaced New Orleanians, followed by the Dallas and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, metros.

Flashback: The hurricane made its final landfall in Louisiana on Aug. 29, 2005, becoming the most destructive natural disaster in U.S. history.

• Our Axios New Orleans colleagues have spent the month sharing stories about how their region rebuilt after the hurricane.

The big picture: Nearly 1,400 people died across the Gulf states, mostly in Louisiana, according to the National Hurricane Center.

• New Orleans lost more than half of its population in the hurricane's aftermath.

Between the lines: "People found more reasons to stay in Texas than they did in Baton Rouge or Atlanta," Fussell tells Axios.

• Atlanta's almost 15% share of displaced New Orleanians in 2006 dropped to nearly 8% by 2019, while Dallas' share doubled from 6% to 12%.
• "That's what's interesting: What made the places stickier for some people and less sticky for others? … You need more than friends and family; you need jobs and housing," Fussell says.

Go deeper: How hurricane survivors moved their church to the Texas Hill Country

The U.S. Gulf Coast is facing billions of dollars in yearly property damage by 2050 due to extreme weather tied to climate change, per a new analysis.

Why it matters: Even as Gulf states are still reckoning with the aftermath of 2005's Hurricane Katrina, more pain and loss seems inevitable.

Driving the news: Damage from extreme weather will cost $32 billion annually across Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida by 2050 in a "middle of the road" climate change scenario, per a new Urban Institute analysis using FEMA data.

• That's more than double the projected $15 billion when ignoring climate change.

How it works: The Urban Institute's analysis is based on FEMA's Future Risk Index, which estimated future costs associated with coastal flooding, extreme heat, wildfires, hurricanes and drought.

• FEMA published the tool last December. It's since been taken down amid the Trump administration's purge of publicly accessible federal data and info about climate change.

Zoom in: Dense, populous counties may see the biggest overall annual costs, like Harris County (about $2.6 billion by 2050).

• The projected annual loss in Dallas County is $324 million in 2050. Tarrant County is estimated to lose $191 million.

Context: The researchers chose a more moderate emissions scenario because it's actionable and realistic for policymakers, Sara McTarnaghan, principal research associate at the Urban Institute, tells Axios.

Dallas rapper BigXthaPlug has one thing in common with country music: heartbreak.

Driving the news: His new album features big names in Nashville, including Luke Combs, Jelly Roll and Ella Langley.

• The title track blends BigX's lyrical flow with Darius Rucker's crooning to mourn a lost relationship. It's good.

What he's saying: BigX said hip-hop and country both rely on storytelling. The album is meant to show he can work in other genres.

• "I feel like I'm not just a hip-hop artist — I want to be the best artist in the world," he told the New York Times.

Zoom in: BigX, born Xavier Landum, grew up in the Dallas area, and like every good Texan, he played high school football. He went on to play at a small college in Minnesota.

• But he got in trouble off the field and started writing after landing in solitary confinement while incarcerated.
• His debut album, named after his son, was released in 2023. The single "Texas" got the attention of country stars Luke Combs and Morgan Wallen, who BigX hadn't heard of before.
• He shut down traffic on the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge to film "Home" with country singer Shaboozey.

Friction point: BigX was arrested on the eve of his album release last week on marijuana and gun possession charges in Dallas, WFAA reports. He has since been released from jail.

• His Dallas album release party was postponed but the rapper celebrated this week in Nashville.

A Fort Worth neurologist says he was "devastated" to learn that Israel bombed a Gaza hospital where he recently volunteered. At least 20 people died. (NBC5)

📨 Multiple FEMA staff were placed on leave this week after signing an open letter criticizing the Trump administration's budget cuts to disaster preparedness. (Axios)

💗 A former Ku Klux Klan building in Fort Worth is being transformed into a center for arts and community healing. (Star-Telegram)

🎷 Get jazzy with it. The Riverfront Jazz Festival moves to Fair Park this year. The jazz, soul and R&B performances and vendors will be indoors. Food trucks will be outside.

• Friday-Sunday. Single-day tickets are $95. Weekend pass is $190.

🤍 Last chance. Don't commit a fashion faux pas and wear white for the last time this year at the All White Affair in Oak Lawn.

• 10pm Saturday at The Garden. Free entry.

🍹 Sippin' away again. The West End is hosting Labor Day Margarita Fest, featuring live music and dance contests. Restaurants will compete to make the best margarita.

• 4-9pm Sunday at North Market Street and Ross Avenue. Admission starts at $20.

🎶 Cover everything. Emerald City All-Stars Concert brings D-FW's favorite cover band to Frisco for a free concert. Bring a blanket. Food and drink for sale at Ice House and Top Golf.

• 7-9pm Sunday in the PGA District.

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