RECOVERING FROM KATRINA

This page shows the slow recovery from Hurricane Katrina
I update often on the myriad of changes taking place in the Post K Gulf Coast.

Created in Slidell, Louisiana


Another butcher shop has opened in Slidell.
Yes,some trees are still growing crooked since Katrina

August, 2007. Two years post Katrina
what's changed/not changed since the storm, I present the following:

Here's a NYT article on the various architectural versions of Post Katrina Rebuilding

Old Town Slidell Soda Shop owner Frank Jackson stayed in his house next door on August 29, 2005 and rode out the monster storm. He watched the floodwaters — which covered the town in a massive, tsunami-like wave after Lake Pontchartrain overflowed — engulf the little company he and his wife built from scratch in 1988. He saw Katrina take down friends’ and neighbors’ businesses all around him.

“You just watch it go and move on,” said Jackson standing near the rusty old soda fountain in what’s left of his shop. “You watch your friends’ businesses go, and there’s nothing you can do about it. You figure life will be different.”

Around the corner from the broken-down old soda shop is another business that had to close down: Slidell Cleaners, a 77-year-old family venture owned by close friends of the Jacksons.

The upstairs apartment, where owners Eric and Mary DuBuisson lived for the 24 years they ran the cleaners, came out of Katrina unscathed. But the downstairs sustained immense damage – too much to keep it going after all the recovery they’d done since the 1995 flood a decade earlier.

“This time, we had six feet of water and it destroyed everything … clothes, equipment,” said Eric DuBuisson, 56. “It was a real heartbreaker. We knew really quickly that there was no point [in trying to rebuild].”

The decision not to reopen came about two days after Katrina hit, he said, when the DuBuissons realized it would have cost between a quarter-million and a half-million dollars to bring Slidell Cleaners back.

“When both of you work in the same business and it all ends in one day, it’s very scary,” said Mary DuBuisson, 52.

“We seriously were afraid of bankruptcy,” added her husband. “I didn’t know what we were going to do.”

On top of their problems getting back on their feet professionally, the DuBuissons also had to worry about where to live, as the lakefront house they’d planned to retire to was flooded by three feet of Katrina water.

Onto some brighter notes, the best Chinese Restaurant (IMHO) in Slidell endured 4-6 foot flooding and has come back nicely.

A little over a year after the storm, Slidell was blessed with the opening of Louisiana-bred Rouse's supermarket that caters to good food.

A welcome relief to Walmart Supercenters, we're glad to have Rouse's here in our "bedroom community".

In the fast food world, Slidell lost a few fast-food chains and gained a new one

McDonalds Hwy 190 (aka Gause Blvd) was razed and rebuilt in a few months.

More new businesses have sprung up along Slidell's main thoroughfares.

Kingfish "saloon" on Front Street's back

New businesses are moving in

And others sit silently - as if stopped in time as a result from the storm

Evangelines Coffee House

A once bustling Burger King off I-10

Cap's Produce is still just an empty lot

Vera's Restaurant is bigger and better than its former location on Lake Pontchartrain

The old Smith & Jones came through Katrina looking better than ever

On Bayou Liberty Road - February 2007

Irish Bayou 3-17-07

Seen in Slidell 2-28-07.
All I could do was giggle

Another photo taken on 2-28-07
Eighteen months post-Katrina and thousands upon thousands of trees look like this
This was taken by Northshore Square on Hwy 190 in Slidell
Hwy 11, south of Slidell 3-17-07
This little fella was originally created for the Worlds Fair when it took place in New Orleans in 1984

Slidell Votech, 3-17-07

Bayou Liberty Road 3-09-07

Laurent Road, Slidell 3-17-07

Carr Drive 3-09-07

Hwy 11 - where it runs thru Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge
Taken February 28 '07

Irish Bayou - Hwy 11
Taken February 28 '07

Another - newer - home in Irish Bayou
Hell, if that other house made it through Katrina, this one should be okay
Taken February 28 '07

Bayou Liberty Road
Taken February 25 '07

Eighteen months Post Katrina, Operation Blessing is still serving Slidell

The boat launch at Bayou Liberty
Taken February 20 '07

South Seas Chinese Restaurant is gone and will reopen as a clean, new restaurant

Eden Isles' guard shack has been replaced.
Well, Katrina blew it away

Neat sign on 3rd Street, Slidell

LAGUMBO dot com
Louisiana's Northshore Restaurant Guide
As up to date as possible in these Post-Katrina times, this guide provides a listing of restaurants and menus in the St. Tammany/New Orleans metro area.

One of my favorite restaurants is Palmetto's

Apartments that were inviscerated by Katrina are being rebuilt.
(taken January 2007)

Some homes just sit there...waiting for insurance or the Road Home
(taken January 2007)

This is what most Louisianians feel like when dealing with the dysfunctional Governor's Road Home Program.

(taken January 2007)

Pontchartrain Drive Mickey Dee's, February 2007

Slidell Hardware's going out of business
taken February, 2007

New businesses are populating much of Pontchartrain Drive
taken February, 2007

These folks must be done with recovery work. They're selling everything
taken February, 2007

Eden Isles Hardware
taken February, 2007

The former Bernard Lumber on Front Street
taken February, 2007

Cross Gates in South Slidell has taken over the old Blockbuster Video building on Pontchartrain Drive
(taken January 2007)

These "condo's" are up for bids.....
(taken January 2007)

For $85K. Put your bids in early!!!

Over in New Orleans East, these two mammoths still sit on Hwy 90....18 months post K.
(taken January 2007)

This house next to St. Genevieve Church in Bayou Liberty

Has finally been razed.
(taken January 2007)

St. Genevieve will also be razed.
(taken January 2007)

It's stained glass windows have been taken out and will be used in the new church
(taken January 2007)

The Bayou Liberty Marina is finally coming alive, with this bulkhead being built
(taken January 2007)

The new Chef Pass bridge is progressing....
(taken January 2007)

This building - on Hwy 90 - still sits, a huge silent shell
(taken January 2007)

Sadly, Fort Pike still sits, unattended since the storm.
(taken January 2007)

This resident of Pirates Harbor is making public how Traveller's Insurance screwed him

An apartment building on Rats Nest Road

Even though it was threatened to be torn down, the old Taco Tico still stands.

A Letter from New Orleans

Video of where NOLA is 11 months post-Katrina

Tres Amigos on Pontchartrain Drive in Slidell will be open soon.

At the entrance to Eden Isles was a home.

Here it is in July 2006, rebuilt

It used to be in Lauren Plaza, which is now quite empty and deserted

Pontchartrain Drive still has some clearing out to do...

But there are new businesses opening up weekly

Restaurants also

Captain Humbles just reopened before Labor Day

click here for a pictorial documentary of boats lost to Katrina

Vera's Restaurant - which used to be on Lake Pontchartrain is opening up far away from the water on Hwy 190 West

A FEMA trailer park in east Slidell (7-29-06)

Thousands of trees were paritally uprooted, yet despite that they continue to grow
(Hwy 90, Slidell)

July 2006
(East Fremaux Ave, Slidell)

This house is less than a mile from the picture above.

July 2006
(East Fremaux Ave, Slidell)

Photos of recovery from Pascagoula, Mississippi

Here is a home in Slidell that's been raised six feet

A raised home on Ratsnest Road, July 2006

Here's a link to some raised houses in New Orleans

Another raised house in Arabi, Louisiana

Another option for temporary housing is the Katrina Cottage
308 foot houses offer an alternative to the FEMA trailer.

Almost a year after Katrina, there are still homeowners fighting with Allstate Insurance for coverage that homeowners have been paying for for years. Allstate contends that Katrina's winds weren't strong enough to do some damage. Allstate is by far the worst insurance company when it comes to honesty and integrity. Here are two links showing what people have been going through.

Allstate insurance sucks dot com

A personal blog detailing one New Orleans resident's struggles in trying to get his house back to normal after Katrina's winds pushed it off the foundation

Tite's Boat Launch at the foot of the Hwy 11 Bridge - July 2006

My Katrina blog which helps me work through the whirlwind of emotions that impact me every day as I drive through Katrina's leavings in my daily commute to work.

Wendy Mukluk's pictures
This talented lady from Wisconson was down here a few months ago and took some haunting Post K pictures.
Thanks, Wendy!

Drove by Ray's Bull Pen over the weekend. It has been reduced to a pile of rubble

Christmas in July
Read about what New Orleanians are excited about

Katrina Fatigue/Welcome to the New Normal KATRINA PHOTO ESSAY
Photos of the gulf coast "recovery" at different times post Katrina

IBISEYE dot com
And incredible storm tracking website
You can also view the track and damaged caused by previous years storms

New Orleans' 9th Ward - June '06
Tsunami relief workers shocked by 9th Ward tour, say they expected more signs of recovery.
Two leaders of the Asian Coalition for Housing Rights who have spent the last 18-months helping victims of last year’s Tsunami took a walk through the Lower Ninth Ward recently.
Read more here

This site shows a short clip about a particular Housing Project slated for demolition

Dealing with post Katrina stress and/or depression? Click here

On Monday August 29, 2005 our lives were forever changed by Hurricane Katrina.
Very interesting site detailing what it's been like in this area since Katrina.

Thoughts on the meaning of Independence Day in Katrina Land

Go here to see and read about the rebirth of Chef Menteur Highway - aka Hwy 90 - in New Orleans East.

Legacy of the Storm - Depression & Suicide
A NY Times Article

Slidell's getting it's fresh produce market back soon!

Took a ride across the Hwy 11 Bridge this weekend, into New Orleans East (not too far)

In Irish Bayou, north of Hwy 90, there are several boats that survived Katrina

Back in Slidell, this is what the end of Rat's Nest Road looks like.

I believe this is the only house on the lake side of Rat's Nest Road to survive.

The bayous and waterways are being cleared with the help of helicopters...at $75 per minute

The Hurricane Superhighway - MRGO - is supposedly going to be closed down.
Here's how it's gonna happen

Thank you sooo much to Operation Blessing
Even after 18 months, they're still in New Orleans East, running a free clinic.

Aquarium of Americas reopened May 26th!
Thanks to all of the people around the country who helped restock and rebuild our damaged aquarium.

Remember the breaches in the levees? The 17th Street and the London Avenue Canals?

Well, nine months later this is what one of those neighborhoods in Lakeview look like

This panorama view was taken almost nine months after Katrina, close to the actual break of the 17th Street Canal at Lakeview New Orleans. Credit to Alfonso Bresciani who lives in St. Rose, Louisiana. Check out his website for more info on this sobering view.

Here is a link of Lakeview almost 18 months post K.

Some jokester thought it'd be funny to plant the tail end of a plane in a puddle along Hwy 11 in Slidell

New Orleans Hurricane Protection Projects Data
The Corp of Engineers website which contains reports and photographs of the status of the hurricane protection projects

The round house in Slidell
A couple on Rats Nest Road in Slidell are rebuilding by the lake. Their house is round and is purported to withstand winds up to 150 mph!

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June first....the start of hurricane season; the first Post K hurricane season.
Here's what we feel
'The five classic stages of grief (anger, denial, bargaining, depression and elections) have taken hold of this city in menacing waves -- constant, undulating, nauseating, relentless waves -- to the point that there have been 60, maybe 70 stages of grief since The Thing.'
An article by Chris Rose, TP columnist

Rising from the ruin
Virtual tours of Waveland and Bay St. Louis, MS. coming back after experiencing the eye of Katrina

New Orleans recovery from the mouths of it's residents regarding the feeling of being 'left behind' by our own government.

The Steamboat Natchez is up and running. Here's their website.

New Orleans' City Park is slowly coming back

This link will take you to their Katrina photo album showing their rebirth.

courtesy of http://neworleans.metblogs.com

June first means hurricane season officially begins. One decision all of us living in the Southeastern U.S. is 'should I stay or should I go?'

Here's some interesting reading on the subject.

And it looks like some parts of the big easy are coming back slower than others
Click here for a quick video - "Nine Months Post Katrina"

Part of the family, part of the disaster plan
Katrina changed the attitude that animals are just an afterthought

Politics, Life & Culture (or what passes for it) in Post-Katrina New Orleans.

Dauphin Island's Recovery Album
They're coming back after two powerful storms in two years

Louisiana Recovery Authority's "Road Home" website.
Information on how to obtain monies to rebuild homes/rental properties and businesses.

Under the current Road Home plan, eligible homeowners have choices about rebuilding their homes. Homeowners will receive compensation for damages minus any dollars received from insurance and/or FEMA repair payments, based on their home's pre-storm values. Homeowners may also be eligible for grants to help prevent similar damages in the future.

Check out this website for all of the info!!!!

A glimmer of dawn

A blog entry detailing what it's like almost nine months post K. How far along people are in rebuilding their homes, their lives

Area restaurants are opening!
Click here to see what New Orleans area restaurants are open (over 600 so far).

Progress Reports....
This link will take you to a website showing video progress reports in the city of NOLA. Of course, it's a Convention and Visitor Bureau website, so the progress only focuses on the good stuff. But it makes one feel good.

Great News!! Southside Cafe is open!! Back from flood and fire, they have rebuilt and opened on May 1st!! Their philly steak sandwich tasted soooooo good after eight months!!!

Mississippi Recovery Status
Watch these pages for news and updates on the "Nevada of the South" as casinos reopen, gambling boats once again ply the waters of the state's Gulf shores, and beach communities bounce back from Katrina's aftermath...

KATRINA NETWORKING

A website chock full of links for south Mississippi rebuilding, emergency care, Chamber of commerce, etc.

On that same note
Here's an article about what's going on in the Gulfport/Biloxi 9 months Post K. Part of what's written there:

State officials say Mississippi would have to build 14,000 homes a year over five years to come close to replenishing what the Coast lost in residential housing, a staggering figure that is a near impossibility given the huge labor shortage. A realistic number comes closer to 1,500 annually, which shows a stark picture of what's ahead.

The Gulf Coast Recovery Website,
assisting the region's recovery process by helping community partners find and obtain benefits for individuals affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Currently, this national guide contains information on 71 relief agencies, providing 128 discrete services to people impacted by the hurricanes.

A Flickr Photo Album on what's going on....
Gulf Coast Recovery

New Orleans' Public Library's website
If your curious what they went through and how they are healing, this is a good place to go.

There is power in numbers.

Are you a small business owner in the New Orleans area. Are you struggling to stay open?

Go to "secondwindnola.com"
and see how - by gathering together - you can make a difference in your survival...as well as other small business people - so that New Orleans and the surrounding area won't turn into that ~cringe~ cookie cutter city.
We gotta help ourselves!!!

Hurricane-struck Gulf Coast

still picking up the pieces

Rebuilding Together
Rebuilding Together is a neighborhood revitalization program of the Preservation Resource Center. The nation's largest volunteer organization, Rebuilding Together preserves and revitalizes low-income houses. After months of extensive planning and organization, Rebuilding Together teams up with volunteers and skilled tradespeople, along with the help of generously donated supplies, it works to repair the owner-occupied homes of low-income, elderly and/or disabled people in various New Orleans neighborhoods

The Irish Bayou truckstop & casino.
Reopened, August 2006

Links to blogs detailing life after Katrina:

The Soul of New Orleans blogspot
Here's an excellent blog that discusses the many aspects of how the city of NOLA is coping in the wake of the storm

Editor B
A young New Orleans couple, living in their flooded home, taking it one day at a time.

WetBank Guide
Remembering Katrina, Envisioning New Orleans (excellent writing)

The G Bitch Spot
a mad black woman rants about New Orleans, insomnia, teaching, various -isms and anything else involving a bitch, a spot or the letter g

The Garden of Irks and Delights
A blog of a New Orleans girl trying to navigate the pits and snares of post-hurricane life here, where nothing is easy and everything has changed.

NOLA RISES
New Orleans Site detailing post-Katrina status and news

The American Zombie
Commentary on life in Post K New Orleans

Tin Can Trailer Trash
Musings on living in a FEMA trailer and other Katrina related toughts

Hurricane Archive dot org
Many pictures from post Hurricane Katrina

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Ashley Morris' blog
Click here for a New Orleans' blog that is down to earth

Humid City
Information, Culture and Opinion from Post-K New Orleans . . . . . Get Wired, Rebuild!

Gentilly Girl
Thoughts and dreams of a New Orleans native

Dangermond.org
A personal account of life in NOLA in the wake of Katrina

Charley Varley,
A British photographer who's creating Disaster and Recovery: A Year in the Life of New Orleans: A photographic journal of New Orleans from the day Hurricane Katrina devastated the city
Excellent pix!! Thanks, Charley!

Flood and Loathing,
a New Orleans blog detailing Post K life in the Big Easy

Surviving Katrina in Pascagoula, Mississippi
Great reading here, detailing what it's like to put your life back together after your house takes on 8 feet of water

Ernie the Attorney

Northwest Carrollton
Northwest Carrollton Civic Association, New Orleans
Some interesting stuff

Maitri's Pictures
Great website reporting on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and its impact in the New Orleans area. Daily updates from and for residents and friends of the Crescent City.

METROBLOGGING
New Orleans Site containing a group of bloggers detailing daily life in a Post K world.

Your Right Hand Thief
Lauging off hard truths in New Orleans

Hurricane Katrina dot org

A blog created the night before Katrina hit, this site is chock full of important links and intelligent writing on life after a catastrophe. Excellent link.

Poppy Z. Brite
Well written journal detailing recovery from Katrina in NOLA

Post Katrina news and experiences.

People Get Ready
Make levees, not war

Click here for an excellent commentary on rebuilding New Orleans while working around the racial tensions

There's a restaurant open in Covington, by the new courthouse, that's run by "kin" to the people who owned Rocky & Carlos in Chalmette. Called DiChristina's they make gooooood food

The Chef Pass Bridge

The bridge that connects Lake Catherine with New Orleans. It runs on Hwy. 90, which was badly damaged by the storm surge.

U.S. 90 bridge work drags on
Slated to open in early August 2006. Keep your fingers crossed!!!

VENETIAN ISLES IS RECOVERING….Click here to see.

My Guestbook

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Captain Humble's Restaturant, Slidell

Captain Humble's is reopening soon on Pontchartrain Drive, right by Slidell Hardware. Glad you're comin' back, Cap!!

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Other Pieces of this Website
Katrina's Aftermath
A page detailing what Hurricane Katrina did to Slidell and the surrounding gulf coast

Thanks, Katrina
My blog helping me deal with my Post K feelings

Venetian Isles & Lake Catherine
Following their recovery post Katrina

New webpage!!!
Inspired by New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin. Click here to go there

The Tammany Trace Pictures
Pictures of scenes from the Tammany Trace, a 31 mile rails-to-trails bikepath I love biking on

Dauphin Island
Pictures from the little piece of paradise we experience once a year

Go back to the main page

A Woman's Retreat
A place I've set up to celebrate women

A tribute to children
They grow so fast!! I've created this page to remember how sweet and pure children really are.

Need some inspiration? Go here
Writings that have inspired me and help me when I'm feeling blue

My Quit Smoking Links
Links to places I've found that have helped me "keep the quit" for over 8 years now.....

Herb/vitamin page
Information on the nutritional and medicinal uses for a variety of herbs. Links, too

My page dedicated to pets
Readings to help you deal with the grief of losing a pet and other thought provoking pet stuff

Patriotic thoughts
Something I started right after 9-11-01 and want to continue to add to...

Bayou Liberty
Pictures from the scenic Bayou Liberty, near Slidell

My favorite quotes
Quotes from all over about all aspects of life

email me

Thanks for stopping by.