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Five years ago, the city of New Orleans flooded up to the rooftops after a category five hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico. Winds reaching 175 miles per hour in combination with torrential rains and surges of water broke through New Orleans’ levee system, large concrete barriers built to hold back water from Lake Pontchartrain and the Mississippi River.
New Orleans devastated by flood waters
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The New Orleans superdome, which sheltered thousands of stranded residents after Hurricane Katrina, became a symbol of the storm's tragedy and devastation. |
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Seventy-five percent of the city flooded, forcing tens of thousands of people to evacuate to other states. Thousands crammed into the football stadium, the Louisiana Superdome, which was not prepared to feed and house so many people.
Other residents were stranded in the attics of their flooded homes as they waited for government assistance. News videos taken from helicopters showed stranded families holding up hand-made signs begging for help.
It took twenty-four hours for Michael Brown, former director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to realize there was a disaster brewing in New Orleans. The Bush administration faced criticism from both Democrats and Republicans for what appeared to be a delayed response to the Katrina disaster. Once President Bush saw the damage done to the gulf coast first-hand he signed a $10 billion relief package passed by Congress to aid victims of the storm.
Still, in Louisiana alone the number of deaths from drowning, illness or injury was estimated at 1,450.
New Orleans faces new challenges with oil spill
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Since April, New Orleans has been doing double duty: cleaning the BP oil spill off its shores while continuing to rebuild from Hurricane Katrina. |
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Before Katrina New Orleans was a celebrated destination for travelers looking to enjoy its rich music, art and food, but the city suffered high crime rates, a vast gap between the rich and poor residents and a declining industrial sector.
Five years later, New Orleans faces new challenges – cleaning up the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico while continuing to rebuild the city after Hurricane Katrina. New Orleans has spent billions of dollars on flood protection to ensure the city’s safety in case of a future hurricane and residents are slowly returning.
The population of New Orleans fell from 455,188 before Katrina to 208,548 after Katrina—a loss of over half of the city’s population. Four years later, the population was back up to 354,850, almost 80% of what it was before the storm, according to the Greater New Orleans Community Data Center.
The recovery effort focused on schools, building many from scratch and experimenting with charter and magnet schools. Recently approved recovery projects will bring new libraries, police stations, and community centers to a once vibrant city.
Morale was also boosted during last years Super Bowl when the New Orleans Saints beat the Indianapolis Colts to take home their first championship victory. This exciting event brought positive attention back onto New Orleans.
The Big Easy celebrates
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New developments, such as the "Musicians' Village" in New Orleans' Upper Ninth Ward, are slowly replacing homes destroyed by the storm. |
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President Obama will visit the city to mark the anniversary, but overall, the day’s events will be low key as a way of acknowledging the work that still needs to be done.
The city-wide event, “Commemoration and Determination: Katrina V” will honor the resiliency and strength of New Orleans with performances by local musicians and a candle-lighting ceremony to honor those who died in the storm.
From ceremonies of remembrance to a week-long project where volunteers will help rebuild fifty homes, New Orleans plans to spend the five year anniversary both remembering and rebuilding.
New Orleans mayor Mitch Landrieu urged residents to think of rebuilding not as a way to get back to August 29, 2005, but a way to push the city forward to new heights. He said in his May inaugural address, “Stop talking about rebuilding the city we were and start dreaming about the city we want to become.
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I think we've been witnessing violence for years, whether in reality through the media or through video games, and I don't think that's a first-hand effect.
