New Orleans: Post-Katrina
New Orleans
Hurricane Katrina was the costliest natural disaster in the history of the United States, and is the sixth most powerful hurricane on the Atlantic ever recorded. Five years after it flooded 80 percent of New Orleans, Katrina’s mark has left both challenging and empowering marks on the city.
While New Orleans still thrives as a whole, certain areas have been deemed “forgotten.” The Lower 9th Ward is the most prominent of these. Out of 1,800 people who perished in the flood, 1,500 of them were from this part of the city.
Make It Right, a foundation started by Brad Pitt two years after the destruction, is working to build sustainable homes that will stand up to future storms. Progress has accelerated the comfort and quality of life of hundreds of citizens, providing them with homes that are meant to keep families safe from further devastation. Unfortunately, only 22 percent of the 18,000 misplaced residents have returned.
Rebuilding projects span further than the Lower 9th Ward and over to the water itself. The Army Corps of Engineers has spent $14 billion improving pumps, barriers, gates and levees designed to protect New Orleans for the next 100 years of storms. After five years and $14 billion dollars, the project isn’t done, but completion is expected next year. Most experts say what really needs to be done is a 500-year storm surge, which is the largest type of surge barrier in the world.
Despite delays in rebuilding safeguards for the city, some say that the overall quality of live in New Orleans is rising, mostly due to grass-roots campaigns to build activism. While employment is still below pre-Katrina levels, the number white-collar jobs are rising, schools are improving and new commerce is emerging.
One part of the returning legacy revolves around jazz. Trumpet player Irvin Mayfield is adamant about “bringing jazz back” to the French Quarter, and says that he plays to each guests as if it’s their first time hearing it.
One by one, people are making a difference in New Orleans. From the Army Corps of Engineers who build new technology, to the construction workers aiding Brad Pitt’s housing projects, down to the art and beat of Irvin Mayfield’s jazz, New Orleans is on its way.
If you’re looking for a place to put your tourist dollars to good use, search and compare flights to New Orleans.
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Thank you so much for continuing to write about our city. My husband and I own a small B&B Inn in the Lower Garden District (St. Charles Guest House) which we have operated for over 30 years. Five years ago, after the “thing,” we were very afraid that we would never be able to keep our business because the tourist business dried up for us, but then, you know what happened? VOLUNTEER GROUPS happened. They became our new “tourists.” Many of them were from your city. They worked like dogs, clearing rubble, framing, painting, just whatever needed to be done on the jobsites they attended. We gave them dirt-cheap rates, treated them like family with barbeques, round-table discussions about the city, hot biscuits in the morning, cookies at night, just anything that made them feel at home, and let them know how much we appreciated them, not only for the business they gave us, but for the wonderful selfless back-breaking work they did for our people. And they helped us stay in business.
While there is still work to be done, New Orleans is, and has been, ready for it’s regular tourists to “come on down.” Whether you come as volunteers, or just regular guests, you’ll find our music, food, architecture, local characters, cultural attractions, museums, and natural resources sparkling and unparalled, and our prices to access these treasures, many of which are FREE, are some of the lowest in the country. We’ll show you what real southern hospitality is all about.
Joanne Hilton