How well a family recovers from a natural catastrophe may be tied to the household's pre-disaster make up and socio-economic status. Researchers compared the number of households in New Orleans, LA that broke up following Hurricane Katrina to the national rate of household break-ups over an equivalent period. An estimated 1.3 million people fled the Gulf Coast during that emergency in 2005 -- the largest urban evacuation America has ever seen. Overall, the rate at which extended-family households broke up after the storm exceeded comparable national figures.