I should have posted these photos a long time ago of the Katrina damage I saw while in New Orleans. I kept searching for the right words to put with them, but those words never formed in my head. Instead, I’ve decided to let the images speak for themselves. [Note: I took all the images from inside the van we were touring in, so they are not the greatest shots in the world.]

The 9th ward. Where neighborhoods once were, driveways lead to nowhere.

All houses had this marking that you see on this garage door. The top of the “X” is the date the house was entered and searched, the left-hand side is the task force that searched it, right-hand side was for number of hazards inside, and finally the bottom of the “X” was for victims (either people or animals).

The lighthouse on Lake Pontchartrain.

In the area where the 17th street canal levee failed, one house still sits abandoned, while right next door life goes on. Many neighborhoods were like this. Some FEMA trailers were parked in driveways while work was being done on houses, while others sat on the foundation of where a house once stood.

I hope these images have had some impact on you. I saw much more of the devastation that Katrina left behind, and every time I try to put it in words I fail. The slogan “We’re coming back” printed on t-shirts and caps tells us that the people of New Orleans have great courage and heart. But as you can see, some people have nothing to come back to.

Monday September 29, 2003, Hurricane Juan made landfall in Nova Scotia as one of most powerful and damaging hurricanes to ever affect Canada. Although the final determination classified it as category 2 hurricane, in Halifax, we had category 3 damage. Much of our damage was to the landscape, for example, Point Pleasant Park alone lost over 80,000 trees… Yes, there was loss of life, 8 people died.
Katrina landed as a category 3; the same as Juan did here in Halifax, there are differences of course. Our population is not a densely packed as New Orleans and we in no way suffered the devastation, damage and flooding that occurred due to the levee break. I’m in horror of the what happened to New Orleans. Shame on the governments’ initial reaction to the people of New Orleans & area. It is shocking that so many people are still displaced and have not received the help they require to rebuild their homes and lives.

Yes, Paula, shame on our (U.S.) government indeed.

How very sad…

And you are both right.  Those people should have been helped right away. They should have all been taken care of by now.  It’s beyond shameful that they are still stuggling.