SIX MONTHS LATER...
THE AFTERMATH OF HURRICANE KATRINA
REFLECTIONS AND THOUGHTS OF A VOLUNTEER
ST. BERNARD’S PARISH, LA
Imagine the annoyance of a temporary loss of electricity when the furnace thermostat will not work or the cable television is out of service. Imagine no water to make our morning coffee or have the hot refreshing shower after a hard day shoveling snow out of the driveway. Imagine the septic system has backed up and you cannot flush the toilet. Imagine no mail delivery or trash pick-up. Imagine only one limited grocery store, and two gas stations open. Imagine no schools are open. Imagine no phone service because the cell towers no longer exist.
Just imagine the entire Grand Traverse County, Michigan, experiencing these problems with no homes habitable because of hurricanes and flood damage. St. Bernard Parish has the same population as Grand Traverse County as does Kalamazoo, Saginaw, and St. Clair Shores, Michigan; Yuma, Arizona and Ogden, Utah.
St. Bernard’s Parish is east of the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans and five miles from downtown New Orleans. The huge barge that broke the Industrial Canal levee rests on dry land with a portion of a yellow school bus trapped under it. I refer to the Ninth Ward as “ground zero.” The winds and water surge completely destroyed the homes and autos in the area and the water continued east through St. Bernard’s parish. The overflow of water from the Mississippi Gulf Outlet (MSGO) brought more water from another direction.
St. Bernard’s Parish is home to oil and natural gas refineries (supplies 20 percent of natural gas to the states east of the Mississippi River) and the site of the Battle of New Orleans in the war of 1812. It is 2.5 miles wide and 54 miles long. Ravaged by hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the failure of the levee system and a 1,000,000 gallon oil spill, the Parish has been left with 26,000 uninhabitable homes, and 78,000 residents scattered all over the region and country. As of February 5, 2006, eleven homes have been given permits to reoccupy. The day population now is approximately 5,000 people with a nighttime population of 2,000 living on the cruise ship (scheduled to depart on Feb. 28), and some in the FEMA tent city or in the limited FEMA trailers.
It is now six months from August 29, 2005 when Hurricane Katrina struck the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. Yet the very conditions described are as true now as when the fury of the storm first struck. The level and extent of the destruction and the conditions almost six months later is appalling. No picture or news story can capture the immense despair that currently exists. With storm surge water 30 feet high and from two to 28 feet covering the Parish in less than 30 minutes for approximately 12 days, and the basic necessities of food, shelter and clothing gone, it is amazing that not more than 128 were killed. There are also 47 persons still reported missing. The best verbal description I can think of to convey the feeling and physical environment is “Mother Nature’s Landfill.”
After spending 10 days in St. Bernard’s Parish as a Habitat for Humanity volunteer for the St. Bernard’s Parish Hurricane Recovery Project, I got a new realization of what we take for granted. Gutting hurricane ravaged, water-logged homes made me appreciate the “luxury” of everyday things!
I saw things that one could only describe as the twilight zone. At night, the ravaged neighborhoods are ghostly dark with no people to be seen. I saw a brick home, still on its cement slab, moved by winds and storm surge waters moved 1000 feet off its foundation, and placed down the street, and parked creating a dead-end street. I observed a shrimp boat parked in a front yard just short of the front door after it scraped the land of four homes in its path. I was shocked when I saw the fishing village Ysclokey where the water and winds had cleared the area of all its buildings and boats, docks, packing businesses and eateries.
Even though it has been six months since Hurricane Katrina hit, the damage looks like it just happened, although the standing water for the most part is gone. No picture can adequately portray the devastation and destruction. Sodden trash and debris line the streets of block after block of vacant homes. I had no idea even though I watched the television coverage daily. Nice homes were victims as well as the more modest homes that were shown daily on TV. I do admit the stranded people at the Super Dome are memorable because of the conditions they endured. Now the people are basically gone and the damaged homes are trash, but they were the homes of thousands of families.
The FEMA tent city, Camp Premiere, is capable of housing 2,000 people. It is the home for Volunteers and displaced residents, the Army troops and the hundreds of contractors. It is simply a place to eat and sleep. With a 10 p.m. curfew, it was relatively quiet in the 14 cots per tent setup. This $20 million FEMA city is also subject to legal and fraud issues.
The purpose of the St. Bernard Recovery Project is to assist homeowners in returning to their homes. The parish homeowner can either sign up to have a home completely gutted, or have a home bulldozed, but not both. The first problem is that until one gets into the home no determination can be made if the house is structurally sound enough to fix up. And others have nothing to return to. The volunteer teams of ten would remove everything, all household furnishings and debris. The gutting process is demanding work with wet, smelly and moldy conditions. Before entering a house the volunteers put on a white tyvek full body suit, goggles, helmet, mask, and latex and leather gloves. After the furnishings are removed, then the wet and moldy drywall and all insulation are removed until only the bare studs remain. We worked in wind and water damaged homes that were still wet, mold infested and completely trashed with drywall and insulation immersed in scattered household furnishings.
Talking to the residents of the homes we gutted, my volunteer team could really feel their pain and appreciate that their lives are in limbo. One home belonged to a quadriplegic. He basically apologized for not being able to help and wanted to know what he could do. All he wanted from his home was his fishing gear. That was what one thing he enjoyed doing.
In another home the owner was over two hundred miles away and to too sick to come back for the gutting. What the team found pretty much reflected what was important in his life. We found a baseball signed by Babe Ruth, and signed movie posters signed by Sammy Davis, Jr. and Dean Martin. From his tools in the garage annex it could be seen that he was an accomplished ironworker of forged metal. But the most disturbing thing we found was his pain-killing drug for cancer. It was later confirmed the gentlemen was dying of the disease. The baseball was given to the assistant fire chief who said he informed the owner and would be sent to him.
On the street where we worked during the week a lot of activity was taking place. The 80 volunteers were busy, the EPA was inspecting the designed trash piles, FEMA contractors kept busy running around with their clip boards, trucks were passing through picking up refrigerators and window air conditioners, trash trucks picked up the accumulating trash. A fireman was standing by to assure safety precautions were enforced and there to provide emergency care as needed. A crew picked up volatile household chemicals, and former residents passed through to say thank you. It appeared a lot was going on, and there was, but it was like finding a needle in a haystack. So much more needs to be done to gut 7500 homes by June 30.
With all this as just background, at dinner and at bedtime we would discuss our feelings on how to and deal with this devastation but could not come to any conclusions. We also discussed the situation in the Parish and asked why?
Why has the disaster been turned into a political issue?
Why were FEMA trailers parked at various locations and not being put to use?
Why were big dumpster trucks parked and not being utilized?
Why, six months later, does it appear much was being done to help these people?
Why was New Orleans getting all the attention when in fact the Gulf Coast from Louisiana to Mississippi was severely damaged?
Why are there so many legal battles going on while basic human needs are not being met?
Why so much finger pointing while the real disaster still lingers?
Why so many photo opportunities exist for public officials and for what purpose?
Why the decline of national media attention, both print and visual media, while the need is as great as it was since Katrina first hit?
Why is there a lack of national leadership and coordination?
Why is there no one leader with decision making power in charge and on the scene to make things happen and get things moving?
When is the federal government going to coordinate a recovery program and demonstrate a workable plan to move forward and take care of our own citizens? The initial emergency of August 29, 2005, may be over but the disaster continues!
In other words, what is it going to take to make more progress? Everyone involved has their own opinions and story of what is going on. We concluded that the affected residents feel that no one cares, are being forgotten and left alone to fend for themselves. It is also clear that disasters bring out the best of people and the worst of people. I witnessed both first-hand in St. Bernard’s Parish. My experience of working with the best was a rewarding one. Our 10-person team would go into a house to do what was needed. It was amazing how well we worked together with no instructions, yet got the job done with enthusiasm and no disagreements. We would discuss at bedtime on how we worked and how much we enjoyed the experience of helping those in great need.
The dire situation still exists and needs continued commitment and priority. The Hurricane Katrina disaster was initiated by natural forces and continues today through a man-made disaster of negligence and neglect. The people affected by Hurricane Katrina are the victims in both instances. America and the news press have moved on but St. Bernard’s Parish cannot without an investment and commitment to its people.
-Michael T. Impellizzeri
P.O. Box 100
Cedar, MI 49621
231 256-8862
