Lower Ninth Ward

Warning: This is a long post with many pictures. I think it is an important topic so I wanted to do it justice.

As mentioned before, I am working with Habitat in the Upper Ninth Ward. The Upper Ninth was damaged -- but not as devastating as the Lower Ninth. This is because the Industrial Canal, that splits the Ninth Ward, had a levee break on its East side and flooded the Lower Ninth. (The Upper Ninth flooded from a different levee break.) The following picture shows an aerial view of the break.

The dark square area (with a finger pointing down) on the left edge is an empty lot where Habitat's Musicians Village is now (in the Upper Ninth Ward). Due East is the main levee break on the Industrial Canal. A key point is the fact that where the levee broke (and all north) are homes. With precious few exceptions, none of the homes close to the levee are standing any more.

Today, I was stopped on the Claiborne drawbridge (at the bottom of the picture, where the word "Image" is) and took this picture towards the northeast.

The road on the left runs down the levee. You can see the slabs, where homes used to stand, but there are almost none left. About 15 blocks long by four blocks wide, there are maybe ten houses left where 200 or so used to stand. I was told that a thirty foot wave swept into the neighborhood when the levee broke, lifting the houses off their slabs or pedestals and slamming them into trees, cars, and other houses. The houses that remain look something like this,

this,

and this. You'll also notice the blue house in background. The dark spot is a repaired roof, from where the people inside broke open the roof to escape the flooding.

Another view of an roof that was the escape route for a family (this house was father away from the canal).

Here is a closeup of what is left of a home. You can see the stairs leading to a stoop, the cinder blocks that raised the house, and some sort of sculpture in the front yard.

Yes, the Lower Ninth was a poor area - but nearly 60% of the people living there owned their own homes. They were mostly employed and were contributing members of the great city of New Orleans. They were extremely unlucky -- in that the levee broke on their side of the canal -- and I think, for the most part, they want to return to their land (most don't have an inhabitable home any more).

The most hopeful sign was a FEMA trailer, just 2 blocks from the levee. The reason this is hopeful is that FEMA trailers can only be put where there is electricity and potable water. Eighteen months after Katrina, the Lower Ninth Ward finally has electricity on its most damaged streets. How can this happen in America?