5 year Anniversary of Katrina

Hard to believe it has been almost 5 years since Katrina changed New Orleans, and the lives of my family, for ever...

Every time I go home the neighborhood and the city look a little more..normal...but then around almost every corner is a reminder of the storm: a boat still sitting upside down in the middle of an alley; a house that was flooded that nobody ever came back to; a car sticking through the wall of an abandoned building; a boarded up business with a 5 year old hand written sign saying "Closed for repairs, back soon!!"

My Dad took this pic a few blocks from our house and had the following to share:

This is a picture of the first historical marker in Louisiana commemorating an engineering failure.  It was put up this week after several years of work by levees.org to get the wording approved.  They hope to get plaques placed at the other 49 levee breaches.  This one is on city property as the land behind the fence now belongs to the Corps of Engineers.  There used to be beautiful homes and trees here. You can see the new levee behind the fence.  This is where the water came from that flooded our house and about 5000 more in our neighborhood alone.

Send this to all your friends and let them know that this was a man-made disaster, NOT a natural disaster.  The levees failed when the water was 5 feet from the top!  No waves or other complicating factors.  Katrina was NOT the storm that had been predicted (for years) to overwhelm the levees and inundate the city (which, of course, could still happen with the right storm on the right path). This flooding was directly caused by the failure of the Corps levees, way below design height, due to poor design and construction. 

With all the publicity surrounding the 5th anniversary of Katrina, this is a good time to set the record straight about New Orleans. 

Please pay attention as it is my understanding that 55 percent of the US population is protected by levees built by the Corps. Home owners insurance does NOT cover flooding.  The Federal Government underwrites flood insurance and the maximum is $250,000 for the house and $100,000 for contents.  Depending on where you live, this might or might not cover rebuilding and replacing every appliance and furniture, in particular when all prices get raised because of the demand.


My Mom also sent this out:

The YouTube link below is a must watch. Even if you are not from New Orleans or never even been there (shame on you), Vince Vance is outstanding; this is not some epic R & R song. It is a story.  Hope you enjoy.




Going home in 2 weeks for Grandma's 90th and to go back to the SuperDome to watch the Saints vs. Vikings, rematch of the NFC Championship game that Ana and I were at.

http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php/topic,22384.0.html

I am continuously amazed, impressed and awed by the toughness and resilience of the people of South Louisiana...if you all 'aint never visited, you really should!!!!

Sincerely,

Jim

Thanks for sharing Jim.  That was a real sad time and Im stoked that your grandma is having a 90th b day!!!!?? congrats.  Have fun on your trip and think of the positive...who daT!!!!!

right on for sharing

ever watch "treme" on HBO? ull probly dig it

right on for sharing

ever watch "treme" on HBO? ull probly dig it

No HBO over here, but have heard great things from family and friends...will rent/buy when it comes out on DVD!

Sincerely,

Jim

Have fun on your trip Jim...I've never been there but I'm planning a cross country road trip with my nephew (It's time he gets out of the central valley for a while) and that's one place where I know we'll be stopping.

Have fun on your trip Jim...I've never been there but I'm planning a cross country road trip with my nephew (It's time he gets out of the central valley for a while) and that's one place where I know we'll be stopping.

Angel, PM me once you know when you are gonna be going out there...got tons of family that are always ready to help out my friends visiting from out of town...

If you can coincide your trip with JazzFest you won't regret it!!

http://www.nojazzfest.com/

Here's my report from last Thanksgiving....fishing, family, and fun!!

http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php/topic,21609.0.html

Sincerely,

Jim

Jim, I'm not sure if you were aware of this but NCKA stepped forward during that tragic event......


http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php/topic,1604.0.html


BRAVO TO NCKA!!!

Very cool Mooch!!!!!

I remember one day while we were gutting our house down there, this Red Cross rig rolls up and asks if we want a hot meal!!   

We had been living mostly on MREs that we had gotten from the National Guard so were SO stoked to fill our bellies with some real food!!

One more reason to love NCKA...doesn't surprise me at all that you guys went out of your way to contribute to the recovery efforts down there!!

 

Sincerely,

Jim

Have a good time back home Jim.

It's hard to fathom what Katrina did even from videos and pictures.  A few years ago when I went to Venice, we stayed at a friends fish camp (trailer) and while driving through town I noticed that all the supermarkets were boarded up and closed.  Then it really hit me when we saw that the only school in town was closed.  When you close a school, you kill a community. 

Nate

Thanks for sharing and have a great time back home Jim!

Wife and I have always wanted to visit NO to put a dent in the crawfish population. 

Go saints (sack that purple grandpa).

It's hard to fathom what Katrina did even from videos and pictures.  A few years ago when I went to Venice, we stayed at a friends fish camp (trailer) and while driving through town I noticed that all the supermarkets were boarded up and closed.  Then it really hit me when we saw that the only school in town was closed.  When you close a school, you kill a community. 

Nate

For sure Nate....Venice and all those towns south of the city (and outside the levees) got slammed by the main force of the storm....my Dad's boat (and the shed it was in) were just gone...not knocked over or damaged, gone.

I think it as both a blessing and curse that the French Quarter and Bourbon Street were not hit very hard and recovered relatively quickly...tourists (and much of the nation) saw and thought that everything was all better, but that was far from the truth in the neighborhoods and communities outside of the Quarter...

My grandma had a stroke the night after she went and saw her house for the first time and saw all her belongings and memories rotting and destroyed...

This is a woman who smuggled my Mom and my aunt and two uncles up to NOLA on a banana boat from Honduras after my granddad threw her down the stairs and when she didn't get up, put a pistol to her head and said "you know what we do to horses who can't walk anymore".

She worked 3-4 jobs at a time to raise her kids, and eventually remarried to a man who I knew as my grandpa, then once he passed away and she was past 65 she decided to go to school since she had never had time...higher edcuation is free for senior citizens in NOLA, and she got a bachelors, two masters, and her PHD at age 83...

I say all this to show what a strong woman she is and how traumatic Katrina was for her (and thousands more like her)...

Anyway, this also shows why the whole town gets SO happy every time the Saints play...win or lose, we just love being able to watch a football game and take our minds off all the shit that Katrina brought...

Sorry for my rambling...I get carried away sometimes.

Sincerely,

Jim

Sorry about your family home, Jim, Your Granny sounds like a interesting lady. Have fun out there. We plan to go out there when Hailey is about 4yrs old, road trippin it... Home you family is well tell the old man Hello!

Thats a cool little Jam Vince has there.. dig it!

Jim,
I was in Tikrit, Iraq when the storm hit.  I had friends in the Tiger Brigade from LA (LA ARNG).  They were on the plane heading back home after being deployed for almost 18 months, only to have to find out many of them had lost everything, could not locate their families, or had much of a welcoming home.  I know a lot of Vietnam Vets had horrible expierences returning from their tours, but I cannot fathom one worst then coming home and knowing everything you were hoping to return to had been ripped from you.  I hope your family is doing well after all of this. 

I hope the city also plans on putting up a sign in every place where they screwed up as well. From the Mayor's office, to the lame police who left their posts, to the thieiving politicians who continue to bleed that city & state in every way possible. 

Jim, my heart goes out to you, your family/friends, and to all the residents of Louisiana. When the Katrina destruction occurred I was utterly shocked, especially the response time from our government to help our brothers and sisters! It's hard to grasp that many levees throughout our country are unmaintained or poorly designed.

I know that there are many reminders still present in NO, but NO has heart of gold (and black ). As they say: "Who dat? Who dat? Who dat say gonna beat dem Saints?"

Thanks for sharing the pictures, video of V. Vance (which fits perfectly), and insights from the locals. Our thoughts and prayers will always be with NO/LA.