| Page 3 of 4 < > |
Silence After the Storm
|
TOOLBOX
   Resize
COMMENT
 Discussion Policy
 CLOSE
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging  |
Many asked: What is there to come back to?
"We loved our neighborhood, we loved our life, we loved our home," said Denise Charbonnet, 53, a Navy contractor whose job was transferred from New Orleans to Memphis. "But it's not the same. There are no stores. There are no gas stations. They do have streetlights on the main streets, but within the communities, it's dark. Can you imagine being the only person living on a block?"
Lester and Cynthia Horne and their two children were drawn back almost as soon as electricity was restored. They parked a trailer in front of their flooded two-story home and posted a sign outside that says, "I Will Rebuild! I Am New Orleans!"
"I was just so happy," said Cynthia Horne, 46, an executive assistant. "I figured lots more would come home, too."
But nearly a year after Hurricane Katrina, the Hornes are the only ones who have moved back to Beechwood Court.
Some people ask: How could so much of a major American metropolis and the adjoining Gulf Coast have been abandoned for so long?
The federal government is planning to spend more than $107 billion on the region's recovery. But a year out from the storm, even the cleanup has not been finished.
Nearly a third of the hurricane trash in New Orleans has yet to be picked up, according to federal Gulf Coast Recovery Coordinator Donald E. Powell, and there is still some to be cleared in Mississippi, as well.
Debris-removal efforts have been hampered by complicated regulations meant to protect against hazardous waste and the destruction of private or historic properties.
"We talk a lot about debris -- it's the most symbolic evidence of things moving forward," Powell said. "You might say, 'Well, gosh, it's been a year.' But it's important to realize how large a catastrophic event this was."
The amount of insured damage from Katrina was more than $55 billion, greater than that from Hurricane Andrew, the World Trade Center attacks and the Northridge earthquake combined.
More than 124,000 homes were destroyed or severely damaged throughout the South in last year's hurricane season, a large majority of them in Louisiana and Mississippi, according to statistics from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
