Hurricane Katrina Updte
Description
Collection
Title:
Hurricane Katrina Updte
Text:
First I would like to say thank you to the Academy, ABC , AOPA and to the
many individuals for their support since hurricane Katrina. It has been three
and a half months since the storm ravaged the Gulf Coast. Many of you are
seeing in the national media that things are getting back to normal in New
Orleans and surrounding parishes. Nothing could be further from the truth. Just
as many of you, I can not believe that things are taking so long and that so
many people ( over 300,000) have not returned to the area. Last week my
wife and I drove across New Orleans. It is a depressing sight. Driving from
the city of Slidell at the northern edge of the lake there is tremendous
damage. My in-law's old home is now only a slab and a few bricks. Many of our
favorite restaurants are no longer there. They were pulled off their
foundation by a 25 foot tidal surge from the lake. My son-in-law's parents are still
cleaning out their home from 18 feet of flood water. FEMA trailers are
beginning to dot the landscape but most are still not hooked-up for use. There are
tent cities. Camps for the many relief workers in the area. As you drive
through New Orleans East you are struck by the lack of traffic. The only
vehicles on the streets are relief workers and thousands of cars and trucks that
were totally submerged under 12-14 feet of water. You can spot them easily by
the gray haze painted by the water and the haphazard location where they
floated. There is a great deal of roof damage to homes and businesses but the
greater damage was done by the flood waters. Some homes at first glance do not
appear too bad until you realize they are no longer on their foundation. My
childhood home is in this area. We had lived through many of hurricanes in
that house and had never been flooded. As we passed through the old
neighborhood I realized it will never be the same. A grayish- brown line marks the
water height just below the roof of our old home. That water sat in the house
for nearly three weeks. What could be saved after that? Down the street a
child's chair is stuck 20 feet up in a tree. We drove on to the French
Quarter in hopes of doing some Christmas shopping at some small specialty shops. We
saw on the news that stores were open. Surprised by the mess yet on the
ground we remained optimistic and drove pass the Krauss Building on Canal Street
where we have a condo in construction. It remained boarded-up with no work
being done. Most of the shops and restaurants remain closed in the downtown
and French Quarter areas. There are no tourist walking the streets, only
disaster relief workers and a few locals. We decide not to stop.
My Aunt and Uncle live not too far away. Fortunately their home was
spared, but they stayed with us for three weeks while they waited for the City
to give them the O.K. to return. My other relatives were not so lucky most
are still displaced, waiting on insurance and government.
As we drove to the Lake View area many of the older well maintained
homes look as though a war had occurred here and no one has bothered to check
on the ground after the bombs struck. There are no people here. The signs on
the walls show a body recovered from one. We pass an old friends restaurant.
The sign for inspection of bodies here had to be placed on the roof of his
building since the water was so deep. In front is an antique bench which my
father-in-law had given to him 30 years earlier. It is black with mold. It was
in his restaurant that I asked my farther-in-laws permission to marry my
wife. Thousands of the homes in this area are beginning to crumble. Cracks in
the bricks, houses listing to one side. My wife says she really can't go
through more of this . It is just too painful.
So we drive towards the airport and hope the Malls in Metaire are open
as we have been told. Another disappointment. The Mall is open but many
of the stores are still closed. The ones that are open are working short of
staff and with limited merchandise. A search for an open restaurant is also a
challenge. One that is open is on a limited menu.
What can we do? Much blame has been placed on the Corp of Engineers
for the levee break. No one knows for certain why it broke. But in any case,
it is the responsibility of the federal government to build and maintain
these levees. Letting the people in Washington know that it is important that
the levee system be repaired back to a category three system and put a plan in
to action for better protection in the future will go a long way to restore
peoples confidence and help people make the decision to repopulate the city.
If this does not happen soon the city and the entire Gulf Coast will be
doomed to financial ruin. This will have national implications in the future.
Please let your elected officials know the American people support
what it takes to rebuild the Gulf Coast region.
Thank you for reading this lengthy e-mail.
Rick Parr, CPO, FAAOP
Slidell, LA
many individuals for their support since hurricane Katrina. It has been three
and a half months since the storm ravaged the Gulf Coast. Many of you are
seeing in the national media that things are getting back to normal in New
Orleans and surrounding parishes. Nothing could be further from the truth. Just
as many of you, I can not believe that things are taking so long and that so
many people ( over 300,000) have not returned to the area. Last week my
wife and I drove across New Orleans. It is a depressing sight. Driving from
the city of Slidell at the northern edge of the lake there is tremendous
damage. My in-law's old home is now only a slab and a few bricks. Many of our
favorite restaurants are no longer there. They were pulled off their
foundation by a 25 foot tidal surge from the lake. My son-in-law's parents are still
cleaning out their home from 18 feet of flood water. FEMA trailers are
beginning to dot the landscape but most are still not hooked-up for use. There are
tent cities. Camps for the many relief workers in the area. As you drive
through New Orleans East you are struck by the lack of traffic. The only
vehicles on the streets are relief workers and thousands of cars and trucks that
were totally submerged under 12-14 feet of water. You can spot them easily by
the gray haze painted by the water and the haphazard location where they
floated. There is a great deal of roof damage to homes and businesses but the
greater damage was done by the flood waters. Some homes at first glance do not
appear too bad until you realize they are no longer on their foundation. My
childhood home is in this area. We had lived through many of hurricanes in
that house and had never been flooded. As we passed through the old
neighborhood I realized it will never be the same. A grayish- brown line marks the
water height just below the roof of our old home. That water sat in the house
for nearly three weeks. What could be saved after that? Down the street a
child's chair is stuck 20 feet up in a tree. We drove on to the French
Quarter in hopes of doing some Christmas shopping at some small specialty shops. We
saw on the news that stores were open. Surprised by the mess yet on the
ground we remained optimistic and drove pass the Krauss Building on Canal Street
where we have a condo in construction. It remained boarded-up with no work
being done. Most of the shops and restaurants remain closed in the downtown
and French Quarter areas. There are no tourist walking the streets, only
disaster relief workers and a few locals. We decide not to stop.
My Aunt and Uncle live not too far away. Fortunately their home was
spared, but they stayed with us for three weeks while they waited for the City
to give them the O.K. to return. My other relatives were not so lucky most
are still displaced, waiting on insurance and government.
As we drove to the Lake View area many of the older well maintained
homes look as though a war had occurred here and no one has bothered to check
on the ground after the bombs struck. There are no people here. The signs on
the walls show a body recovered from one. We pass an old friends restaurant.
The sign for inspection of bodies here had to be placed on the roof of his
building since the water was so deep. In front is an antique bench which my
father-in-law had given to him 30 years earlier. It is black with mold. It was
in his restaurant that I asked my farther-in-laws permission to marry my
wife. Thousands of the homes in this area are beginning to crumble. Cracks in
the bricks, houses listing to one side. My wife says she really can't go
through more of this . It is just too painful.
So we drive towards the airport and hope the Malls in Metaire are open
as we have been told. Another disappointment. The Mall is open but many
of the stores are still closed. The ones that are open are working short of
staff and with limited merchandise. A search for an open restaurant is also a
challenge. One that is open is on a limited menu.
What can we do? Much blame has been placed on the Corp of Engineers
for the levee break. No one knows for certain why it broke. But in any case,
it is the responsibility of the federal government to build and maintain
these levees. Letting the people in Washington know that it is important that
the levee system be repaired back to a category three system and put a plan in
to action for better protection in the future will go a long way to restore
peoples confidence and help people make the decision to repopulate the city.
If this does not happen soon the city and the entire Gulf Coast will be
doomed to financial ruin. This will have national implications in the future.
Please let your elected officials know the American people support
what it takes to rebuild the Gulf Coast region.
Thank you for reading this lengthy e-mail.
Rick Parr, CPO, FAAOP
Slidell, LA
Citation
“Hurricane Katrina Updte,” Digital Resource Foundation for Orthotics and Prosthetics, accessed November 2, 2024, https://library.drfop.org/items/show/225842.
