A huge tropical cyclone like 2005's hurricane Katrina can cause wide scale damage and loss of life with it's winds and rain alone. New Orleans contains lots of areas reclaimed from the sea, much of it is below sea level. This is the case in many coastal cities of the world. Hurricanes create a storm surge where the sea level is temporarily sucked up by the storm itself sending a huge wall of water to wash over the land, taking structures and people with it. Then whereas a city higher than sea level might more rapidly have the water naturally drain back out to the ocean, New Orleans found itself in the middle of a new inland sea that would need to be mechanically pumped out over a long and expensive process.
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I recently visited New Orleans to see how the clean-up is going. There is still lots of damage with people still busily cleaning up the city and rebuilding when possible. Below you can see an example of local and classic African American "Shotgun" House. It is a simple and common structure here that's built in a way that you could technically shoot a bullet through the open front door and it could go all the way through and out the backdoor as you can clearly see on the left side of the home. These were one of the most common forms of architecture for African Americans from about 1860 to the 1920's due to their inexpensive yet efficient design. As you can imagine, many similar historical structures were not made with modern building codes or materials and thus were destroyed by the storm surge. I was told that some of these kinds of homes were able to be saved because although the home was thrown off of it's foundations the structure itself might be relatively intact and could be moved back to it's original location
Another common form of folk architecture indigenous to this area is the vernacular Acadian "Creole" cottage which had it's peak from about 1790 to 1840. Creole is a regional language that started as a simple pidgin composite language using French, Spanish, and English but grew in complexity as it became the standard local language. You might at first think that the people in a structure that held to it's foundations may be safer, but many people drowned to death when the storms flood waters came crashing in. Rescue workers would mark the home if they found bodies in it and many of these homes became something of a memorial to the deceased and missing. Without the body of a loved one to bury, the homes became the last resting place in locals minds.
Many homes were simply destroyed and all that is left might be the concrete foundations seen in the below photo, or often there wasn't even that. You see empty lots like this allover with just a little concrete as an indication that there was ever anything there. These can sometimes be the foundations of a new home but the majority of the population who survived lost their life savings and have already migrated and made a new home elsewhere. The movement of people is not unlike the Dust Bowl of the 1930's when that decades climate refugees were forced to move to avoid starvation from failed crops.
Although most of the population has yet to return, there is great hope in those who have been able to rebuild their homes and lives back in the place they love and call home. In fact, there is new construction going on all over the city.
Locals say that although they still love their home town, New Orleans has a very different feel today because it's primarily low income populations displaced by the disaster still can't afford to construct a new home or buy property. Many who left suffered so much trauma, they simply don't want to move back because now the environmental perception of New Orleans is of an endless chaotic natural hazard rather than a stable and safe home. Some have horrific memories of the flood and they may wish to avoid anything that might remind them of it.
There have been some efforts to reshape the real and symbolic landscapes of New Orleans. One of which is the "Make it Right" foundation founded by famous actor Brad Pitt. Their mission includes creating new green buildings available to some of those displaced who wished to return but could not afford it on their own. You can see in the image below another empty lot with nothing but the concrete foundations left, but next to it you can see a reconstructed home with solar panels.
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Notice how some buildings have prioritized having a mostly empty ground floor to lessen damage from future possible flooding. The foundation not only builds these new "green" homes, but has very specific rules about only selling the properties to those who were originally displaced and at a subsidized price.
The angle of the roofs are a mixture of maximizing the solar power potential as well as allowing for more environmentally friendly and less expensive seasonal heating and cooling. This entire project very much as the future in mind.
As inspiring as this new construction may be, I do have to wonder if many people wont move back simply because their new environmental perception of this area as a natural hazard may be more accurate than inaccurate if there continues to be sea level rise and stronger tropical storms in a warming world. As much as people have attempted to reinforce the levees or otherwise alleviate the local populations fears of the same thing happening again, many of these homes are still below sea level. Look at the below image and you can get a picture of what it is like to have a massive body of water not only right next to you, but also very clearly at a higher elevation than your home.
Right next to this home was a group of volunteers still cleaning up debris from the flood all of these years later. They often would all wear these red shirts to identify themselves. Many of these volunteers come from across the country.
Many areas have nothing but this concrete wall between them and the water.
You could be forgiven for thinking the below image is simply more storm damage, but it's actually an artists tribute to the strength and resilience of those who survived Katrina and it is artists who have in many ways breathed life back into this wonderful city.
This is another memorial to those who survived the storm. The blue boards are to show how high the flood waters were at different parts of the storm. Picture the water at the highest blue board and you can get an idea of what this entire neighborhood was like.
Slowly as the tourists and visitors come back, the economy will continue to improve and be able to support yet more local residents such as these musicians and artists. This is the real life blood of this town, and to see so many return and reinvigorate their local community is truly inspiring. Although it has a long way to go, I do think they are gonna make a huge comeback and possibly a regional Renaissance.
I do hope you have all enjoyed my little story about the changes and challenges to the people of New Orleans. I have a second essay I am writing looking for thoroughly at how the people of New Orleans express themselves through specific regional religious practices such as Voo Doo, memorials, and cemeteries.
For part 2 on Voodoo, Nick Cage, and new and old memorials of New Orleans go here:
