{New Orleans ~ 12 weeks after Katrina}
I went to New Orleans on November 18th and 19th, 12 weeks after the hurricane. I really went there for a family wedding. (Part of my husbands family is from New Orleans and the surrounding suburbs and many of them were directly affected by Katrina.) Going to New Orleans was especially emotional for Steve and I.…. But I took some time to travel around the city... and to document what I saw. (please see the photos that i will post). And all I have to say is the destruction is just overwhelming! In some areas, house after house are condemed and they are not fit for living in. And a good portion of the city just needs to be demolished!
First I need to say…… the photo’s don't do it justice. It is so much more overwheling when you are there to see it! I was amazed that after 3 months…. The condition of New Orleans is still overwheling! On some areas they have only had a chance to clear roads…. And in some areas not even that has happened yet. Every house as you drive by has been searched by the military and after they do their search they put a spray painted "X" on the house…. And within the 4 sides of the "X" were different marks. I’m not sure what the symbols meant in the top, left and right sides of the "X" but the number on the bottom was the amount of dead that were found in the house when it was searched. (i have some photos showing this) Most houses had a zero (0) but there were some that we saw that had a number there….. I saw one house that had a six (6) at the bottom of the "X". Some houses it would say that they found animals but no people.
The piles of debris on the streeet were overwhlming…. There was one pile of debris I saw that was about as tall as a 3 story building. And was probaboy about 100 ft long and 100 feet wide! Even with the huge pile of debris, so much more still needs to be cleaned up.
As we drove by the houses, in some areas of town that were not hit so bad, people were there cleaning, and trying to rebuild their lives, their houses, and piece together their memories. This was very emotional to watch!
Everywhere there were police and military. And the police that were patroling New Orleans were there from every state…. Oregon, Missippi, Alabama, Florida, and New York! Those were just a few that I saw… And I’m sure I am forgetting some of them.
(Here is a side story, just to give you some background) New York came down to New Orleans not long after Katrina happened. to help as many states did. And they showed up to this city in a long line of police car after police car. For those in Louisiana it was very emotional to see New York come to their aide! When 9/11 happened and New York was in crisis… the state of Louisiana pulled money together and sent a couple of brand new fire truck’s to New York state. And how appreciated and needed those were…. As I know you can imagine! Also once the New York police arrived a huge ad was taken out in every paper in Louisiana, that said "New York loves Louisiana" something very heartwarming, emotional and humbling for those that were so effected by Katrina. (My mother-in-law cried when she saw that ad. We were lucky and they were not affected much by Katrina except they had to endure several hours of power outage).
The military still has a large presence in New Orleans. It is weird to see miliraty vehicles going down the street and to see military walk the street with large guns. Made me feel as though we were in a war zone… felt very weird. I will say I had never felt so safe as I did with all of the military and police presence.
There were several signs we saw that said "you loot, we shoot", and a few others to that effect! And there were several Wal-marts, and grocery stores that were just empty…. They looked as though they had been looted….and probably were.
I also went to see the distruction in the neighborhoods just on the otherside of the 17th street levee. just on the other side are large house’s of some well off people. And the destruction in these neighborhoods was unbelieveable. The water was rushing so fast through that levee break that it pushed some houses right off off their foundation. Some houses had the piles under their concrete slabs exposed! And the foundations are crumbling.
The common thread throughout the city was a waterline that stretched from building to building. And different areas of the city had waterlines at different heights. Some areas had them just a foot or 2…. While others were much higher. Some areas, the homes looked very "grimy" but you did not see a waterline. And that was because the water was so high that it was up to the roof!
There are FEMA trailer parks everywhere. People who do not have houses anymore but have no place else to go, are living here. There are several around the city of New Orleans and even some in Baton Rouge. Many people who live in those FEMA trailers do not have jobs anymore and many businesses that lost everything in New Orleans are not moving back and are relocating. So people are forced to find other jobs. My sister in law is fortunate in that her house was not a total loss and it is almost completly repaired. but her CPA firm has moved to texas and she has been spending the weeks in Houston (where the commpany relocated to) while she drives home to see her twin 3 year old son's and her husband ib the weekends. She is forced to fund another job soon, as she cannot travel to Houston during the weeks forever. While she iis in houston, her husband and mother in law watch the twin boys.
I heard a statistic while there and it said: "The population of New Orleans is now equivalent to what it was in 1963."
It certinaly seems like the city is deserted. In some of the photos I took, I was able to stand in the middle of the street and not have to worry about cars coming in either direction. Those vehicles that I did see were large dump trucks, other construction vehicles, police cars, and every once in a while you would see a resident driving. The city definatley feels very deserted! Very eerie!
Another statistic I heard while I was there was that there are at least 250,000 vechicles now need to be hauled off to the dump.
Just amazing how much work needs to be done!
After touring those parts of New Orleans the other day, it is soooo overwheling and just leaves me with my jaw hanging open. It is amazing to me that wind and water can cause so much widespread damage! Although I know that the wrath of nature is really capable of so much!! Seeing it just leaves me amazed!!! As I drove through the city I just got this feeling of…. "Where do you start?" There is so much to clean up!!! And as you keep driving all you see is more of the same. Destruction. And it just goes on and on and on. It seems to be neverending. I am greatful that my family members all faired well (s best as can be expected) from Katrina, and they are working to regain some normalcy in their lives.
12 weeks after Katrina there is still so much clean-up to do!
First I need to say…… the photo’s don't do it justice. It is so much more overwheling when you are there to see it! I was amazed that after 3 months…. The condition of New Orleans is still overwheling! On some areas they have only had a chance to clear roads…. And in some areas not even that has happened yet. Every house as you drive by has been searched by the military and after they do their search they put a spray painted "X" on the house…. And within the 4 sides of the "X" were different marks. I’m not sure what the symbols meant in the top, left and right sides of the "X" but the number on the bottom was the amount of dead that were found in the house when it was searched. (i have some photos showing this) Most houses had a zero (0) but there were some that we saw that had a number there….. I saw one house that had a six (6) at the bottom of the "X". Some houses it would say that they found animals but no people.
The piles of debris on the streeet were overwhlming…. There was one pile of debris I saw that was about as tall as a 3 story building. And was probaboy about 100 ft long and 100 feet wide! Even with the huge pile of debris, so much more still needs to be cleaned up.
As we drove by the houses, in some areas of town that were not hit so bad, people were there cleaning, and trying to rebuild their lives, their houses, and piece together their memories. This was very emotional to watch!
Everywhere there were police and military. And the police that were patroling New Orleans were there from every state…. Oregon, Missippi, Alabama, Florida, and New York! Those were just a few that I saw… And I’m sure I am forgetting some of them.
(Here is a side story, just to give you some background) New York came down to New Orleans not long after Katrina happened. to help as many states did. And they showed up to this city in a long line of police car after police car. For those in Louisiana it was very emotional to see New York come to their aide! When 9/11 happened and New York was in crisis… the state of Louisiana pulled money together and sent a couple of brand new fire truck’s to New York state. And how appreciated and needed those were…. As I know you can imagine! Also once the New York police arrived a huge ad was taken out in every paper in Louisiana, that said "New York loves Louisiana" something very heartwarming, emotional and humbling for those that were so effected by Katrina. (My mother-in-law cried when she saw that ad. We were lucky and they were not affected much by Katrina except they had to endure several hours of power outage).
The military still has a large presence in New Orleans. It is weird to see miliraty vehicles going down the street and to see military walk the street with large guns. Made me feel as though we were in a war zone… felt very weird. I will say I had never felt so safe as I did with all of the military and police presence.
There were several signs we saw that said "you loot, we shoot", and a few others to that effect! And there were several Wal-marts, and grocery stores that were just empty…. They looked as though they had been looted….and probably were.
I also went to see the distruction in the neighborhoods just on the otherside of the 17th street levee. just on the other side are large house’s of some well off people. And the destruction in these neighborhoods was unbelieveable. The water was rushing so fast through that levee break that it pushed some houses right off off their foundation. Some houses had the piles under their concrete slabs exposed! And the foundations are crumbling.
The common thread throughout the city was a waterline that stretched from building to building. And different areas of the city had waterlines at different heights. Some areas had them just a foot or 2…. While others were much higher. Some areas, the homes looked very "grimy" but you did not see a waterline. And that was because the water was so high that it was up to the roof!
There are FEMA trailer parks everywhere. People who do not have houses anymore but have no place else to go, are living here. There are several around the city of New Orleans and even some in Baton Rouge. Many people who live in those FEMA trailers do not have jobs anymore and many businesses that lost everything in New Orleans are not moving back and are relocating. So people are forced to find other jobs. My sister in law is fortunate in that her house was not a total loss and it is almost completly repaired. but her CPA firm has moved to texas and she has been spending the weeks in Houston (where the commpany relocated to) while she drives home to see her twin 3 year old son's and her husband ib the weekends. She is forced to fund another job soon, as she cannot travel to Houston during the weeks forever. While she iis in houston, her husband and mother in law watch the twin boys.
I heard a statistic while there and it said: "The population of New Orleans is now equivalent to what it was in 1963."
It certinaly seems like the city is deserted. In some of the photos I took, I was able to stand in the middle of the street and not have to worry about cars coming in either direction. Those vehicles that I did see were large dump trucks, other construction vehicles, police cars, and every once in a while you would see a resident driving. The city definatley feels very deserted! Very eerie!
Another statistic I heard while I was there was that there are at least 250,000 vechicles now need to be hauled off to the dump.
Just amazing how much work needs to be done!
After touring those parts of New Orleans the other day, it is soooo overwheling and just leaves me with my jaw hanging open. It is amazing to me that wind and water can cause so much widespread damage! Although I know that the wrath of nature is really capable of so much!! Seeing it just leaves me amazed!!! As I drove through the city I just got this feeling of…. "Where do you start?" There is so much to clean up!!! And as you keep driving all you see is more of the same. Destruction. And it just goes on and on and on. It seems to be neverending. I am greatful that my family members all faired well (s best as can be expected) from Katrina, and they are working to regain some normalcy in their lives.
12 weeks after Katrina there is still so much clean-up to do!
posted by Dena Simoneaux at 10:39 PM
3 comments
