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Katrina was here

— Two years on, New Orleans is struggling to rebuild after Katrina.”

In August 2005, New Orleans was hit by Hurricane Katrina. Over 1,500 people lost their lives and over 700 are still missing today.

Rough estimates suggest that damage to the states of Louisiana and Mississipi may exceed $150 billion dollars.

New Orleans currently has something like 60% of its pre-Katrina population. The people of this resilient city are rebuilding.

At 18:30 on Thursday August 25th 2005, the fifth hurricane of the season made landfall in southern Florida. It had been classified as a hurricane barely two hours earlier.

Katrina weakened while passing over Florida but defied common expectations by continuing westward across the Gulf of Mexico. Rapidly regaining intensity, the system expanded throughout the next two days.

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After Katrina

In 2005 a severe hurricane caused massive damage to the city of New Orleans and its citizens. Two years on, we saw some of the aftermath and the efforts to rebuild.

New Orleans gets ready

The National Hurricane Center in Miami issued a hurricane watch for Louisiana on the morning of August 26th after Katrina had not altered its westward course. The official response was a prolonged and very public period of confusion over responsibility for the ensuing emergency situation.

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin warned the city’s residents on August 26th to monitor the storm and prepare themselves. The following day, his message was that residents should leave voluntarily.

Apparently the city had concerns about its liability in the event of ordering a mandatory evacuation, since businesses would be forced to close. With hindsight, it is easy to view these deliberations as rather trivial.

Nagin finally announced New Orleans’ first ever mandatory evacuation on the morning of Sunday August 28th at 09:30. Around 90,000 citizens never evacuated.

Just after 10:00, in a precedent setting bulletin the National Weather Service’s local office declared that devastating damage was expected, that most of the area would be uninhabitable for weeks and that water shortages would make human suffering incredible by modern standards.

In default of the availability of the city’s school buses to evacuate citizens (the bus drivers had evacuated), Nagin declared the Louisiana Superdome a refuge of last resort. Together with State Governor Kathleen Blanco, Nagin advised those heading for the Superdome to pack basic supplies to last three days. Blanco called in the National Guard, only about half of whom were on duty it was later claimed.

Prior to landfall, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) installed and readied its response teams and the Federal Government declared southeastern Louisiana a disaster area.

Landfall

When Katrina made landfall early on August 26th it had again weakened slightly. However, the system was now so large that circulating winds extended well over 100 miles from the eye of the hurricane, some at speeds of up to 135mph. In addition to the extreme winds of the eyewall, the area was battered by the accompanying storm surge.

Though the eventual point of landfall was 15 miles away from the city, the damage done by Katrina was both immediate and catastrophic. Within 24 hours, 80% of New Orleans was submerged by flooding from some 53 breaks in the city’s levee system.

Close to 2,000 people died as a direct result of Katrina throughout the United States. Most of those who survived the flooding in New Orleans were left stranded for days after the hurricane had passed. Bodies floated in the streets.

Response

An adequate response to the disaster was made very difficult by failures in the communications infrastructure and a chronic shortage of basic supplies.

In an immediate public response to the authorities’ ineffectiveness, boat owners, amateur radio enthusiasts and volunteers assisted with rescue and care efforts wherever they found themselves useful. Many were still doing the same six months later.

The Superdome’s roof was damaged and no power, food or water were available. Evacuation of the Superdome and its main overflow the Ernest Morial Convention Center were completed by September 4th. Several people had died in both venues.

As the authorities concentrated on rescue and relief, public order broke down in New Orleans. There was widespread looting and destruction of property throughout the city, though many perpetrators were undoubtedly searching for food. The events and the reporting of them started to take on the uncomfortable tones of racism.

The blame game

Whilst Nagin attempted to manage the few resources he possessed, he criticized the state and federal governments.

Louisiana Governor Blanco authorised the National Guard to shoot and kill looters and rioters, later receiving enormous criticism for a perceived slow and inadequate response.

The Department of Homeland Security could only reiterate that emergency operations were the primary responsibility of the local and state officials. It would be another fortnight before Bush took responsibility for the federal inertia.

The international response

The international response to Katrina was a predictable combination of aid and criticism. Unlikely donors Cuba and Venezuela were the first to offer assistance and were promptly spurned.

Oil nations Kuwait and Qatar were the largest donors, presumably worrying about the effect the hurricane might have on their business in New Orleans.

The federal government declined several offers from around the world only to find itself having to beg for them again later.

Katrina’s end

Having made its third landfall and having destroyed lives and property throughout the state of Mississippi, Katrina continued northward through the central United States and dissipated thereafter in southern Canada.

In April 2006, the name ‘Katrina’ was retired by the World Meteorological Organization at the request of the United States government. The name will no longer be used in the classification of Atlantic hurricanes and will be replaced by ‘Katia’, applicable to the hurricane season in 2011.

Two years on

J and I took a trip through some of those parts of New Orleans worst affected by Hurricane Katrina.

The photos above were originally shot in colour. I removed the colour to prevent comparisons between certain variables.

In providing captions for these photos, I am mindful that my recall may be inaccurate. Accordingly, I happily invite any corrections.

Everywhere we went, we saw the spray painted markings of rescuers on the walls of properties. Sometimes, even when a house had been reoccupied, these markings remain seemingly for posterity.

As the team entered a property, it marked a diagonal slash and its identification on the left. The date was also sprayed on at the top. When leaving, the team crossed the existing slash to indicate that it had successfully exited the property. On the bottom a body count finished the task.

This system was not the only one in use for rescue teams, but it was the one we saw commonly.

The last photo is a portrait of George, our guide. When Katrina approached in 2005, he evacuated to Texas. His home was heavily damaged in the hurricane.

For some time after Katrina, he was only able to inspect his property and salvage items. He’s been back at work for a good while now and the refurbishment of his house is almost complete.

See also:

• Brad Pitt’s Make It Right project
• New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity
• Oregon Humane Society’s Animal Rescue and Relief journals