New Orleans 5 Years After Katrina

In my last blog, I made reference to the 5th Anniversary of Katrina in New Orleans.  And as I was finishing it off, I realized that the topic deserved far more attention.

So, 5 years later.  The topic has been getting a lot of attention on TV this week, and I am sure will continue through the weekend and next short while.  I just hope and pray that it continues to get attention in the way that will energize people and politicians to get this city restored. 

Since Katrina, there is a new President and a new Mayor for the City of New Orleans, Mitch Landrieu.  From what I have read about him, he seems to be a no-nonsense, get things done kind of Mayor.  Let's hope that he doesn't get the inflated sense of celebrity that Ray Nagin seemed to embrace during and after Katrina, and in my eyes, at the expense of getting things done for the people of New Orleans.

And as I make the term "celebrity" sound like a bad thing in my sentence above, it is in fact celebrities that have had such positive influence and personal involvement in the rebuilding of this city.  As mentioned in my last post, the Make It Right Nola Foundation for the rebuilding of the Lower 9th Ward was the brainchild of Brad Pitt. 

The first four pictures below are pictures that I took in the Lower 9th Ward in April of 2007.  This was after much of the rubble had been cleared away. You can see the destruction to the houses that managed to remain standing.  The drooping ceiling fan is an indication of just how high the water reached and that it must have maintained that level for quite some time.  You can see the concrete slab in one picture where a house used to be, and the fields you see used to be filled with homes as close together as those shown below. 

The picture below is some of the Lower 9th ward in July of 2009.  There are still many empty lots, but you can see the activity of Make It Right Houses being constructed. 

And the building of Musician's village was co founded by Harry Connick Jr. and Branford Marsalis.  Below is a picture of Musician's village I took in February of 2008.  This was also in the 9th Ward. 

And Harry Connick Jr. has been instrumental in the building of a new educational and community building, the Ellis Marsalis Centre for Music which was announced yesterday should be ready for next year.  Below is a picture from the New Orleans Times Picayune of Harry at the announcement ceremony yesterday.

Sandra Bullock has made very substantial personal donations to the rebuilding of the Warren Easton Charter School in New Orleans to include an on site health clinic.

Louisiana State Senator Ed Murray presents newly inducted Hall of Fame member Sandra Bullock with a proclamation thanking her for her support of Warren Easton Charter High School, the state’s oldest public high school. (Photo by Stanwycks Photography)

I was lucky enough to have visited New Orleans for the first time in December of 2004 and developed an instant love affair with the city. Little did I know that less than 12 months later Katrina would arrive and cause so much devastation. I remember being glued to the TV as Katrina approached New Orleans and breathing huge sighs of relief to see that it did not initially cause so much damage.

And then there was the disbelief and horror as I watched what happened when the levees broke. We had been at the Superdome to watch a Bowl game in 2004 and it was incredible to see the damage to the roof that Katrina caused, and so difficult to image those thousands upon thousands of people taking refuge there. It was surreal to see the flooding on Canal Street where we had shopped less than 12 months earlier.

The first image below was actually taken in 2008 and is a good depiction of what Canal Street looked like when I first saw it in 2004, although I did not take any pictures of it that visit.

The next picture is taken from the news pages looking in the same direction down Canal Street. 

And the Convention Centre - I cannot describe just what a large facility this is. When you drive along Convention Centre Drive, the complex seems to just go on and on and on. I tried measuring it on a map, and I believe that is is close to being 3/4 of a mile long - just one huge building, but yet so inadequately prepared for the number of people that took refuge there from the flooding.  I felt so helpless watching on TV and I couldn't drag myself away from the coverage. 

I didn't return to New Orleans until April of 2007, over a full year after Katrina, and it was so disheartening to see how little had been done. You can see for yourself in the pictures earlier in this post. I absolutely cannot imagine how the residents of the city must have felt, and in many cases, still feel.

Although it is hard to believe that fully 80% of the City was flooded, but if you visit there, it is easier to comprehend the extent of the devastation.   As recently as November 2009 when I was last there, there were so many areas of the city other than the Lower 9th where the effects of the flooding were so readily visible - boarded up stores and entire plazas, houses with the blue tarps on the roof, homes without tarps that look as if they can't decide whether to keep standing or just collapse, water level marks on the outside of others along with the Katrina "X"s, many white FEMA trailers and vacant lots overgrown with vegetation and perhaps a few boards or concrete blocks still visible enough to remind you that someones house was once there. 

 

On the first picture below, taken in July of 2009 in the Lakeview area, you can see the green Katrina "X" painted on the house at the top right of the door frame.  This X would have been painted by people sitting in a boat. 

On this house, also in the Lakeview area, which is raised a couple of feet above ground, you can still clearly see the water line 2/3 of the way up the door and the damage to the brickwork still there in 2009.

I took the picture below in an area of New Orleans called Bywater.  Although it is difficult to tell, the black is actually sculpted iron that replicates the original Katrina X that was painted on the wall of this shotgun house.  It is attached in a manner that makes it stand out from the wall an inch or two making it a permanent reminder of Katrina. 

So as this 5th Anniversary approaches, I will continue to hope and pray for continued recovery from Katrina and the oil spill for the people of the City of New Orleans.  And, I will personally continue to support their tourism industry by visiting whenever possible!