The devastion of the flooding in New Orleans post Hurricane Katrina was something surreal to witness even through the lenses of video and coverage on TV. The above photo was from post-Katrina in the Ninth Ward. It has been over two years after the flooding, and Shelby and I just returned from a weekend get away to New Orleans. For two straight days we ate, shop and partied in the French Quarter of New Orleans. You would not have known what this city experienced from the sights, sounds and atmosphere of the French Quarter.
Before our return, we embarked on a guided tour of the city and post-Katrina New Orleans. We witnessed the levees and canal breach locations, as well as the recovery efforts in affluent neighborhoods like Lakefront. Many of the homes and businesses in this area have yet to return. All through the tour, you could see the brownish yellow line which still marks the water line that branded much of this city for three weeks. Our tour also took us through the storm ravaged, lower and middle class areas of Chalmette and the Ninth Ward. Much of these areas remain ghost towns to this day, with homes gutted, mold infested and awaiting demolition. Other homes have yet to be "reclaimed" by owners that evacuated only to never return. There are positive signs of recovery even in the hardest hit areas of New Orleans. Habitat for Humanity has teamed with local celebrities to build new homes for those still yet living in FEMA trailers and other accomodations apart from their pre-Katrina homes. Below is a picture of some of the uplifting images of post-Katrina Ninth Ward.
The city and lives of those impacted will never be the same. Many will never return. Many will never rebuild or recover to the full extent. Visiting post-Katrina New Orleans was a humbling, sickening, and uplifting experience all in one. The Big Un-Easy is slowly returning to its Big Easy roots and life pre-Katrina.
