Hurricane Katrina--Three Year Anniversary

As Hurricane Gustav threatens the Louisiana coast, New Orleans residents find themselves battling flashback to Hurricane Katrina. On this day three years ago, nearly 25,000 people found themselves trapped at the Louisiana Superdome without food, water or shelter and in squalid conditions. Another 15,000 were stranded in similar conditions several blocks away at the Convention Center (Michael Brown, acting FEMA director, would not even know about the horrific conditions there until tomorrow). Refugees, desparate for food and water, attempted to flee New Orleans by walking across the Crescent City Bridge to Gretna; one that bridge they were met by an armed police force who fired shots and forced them to turn back into the hellish conditions from which they came.

But today marks the three year anniversary. The city has attemped to move beyond the tragedy of three years ago, but results are mixed. Some neighboorhoods have rebuilt and regained their population. Others, such as the Lower 9th ward, remain vast wastelands with only a handful of brave residents.

The New York Times, in yesterday's edition documents the checkerboard-like post-Katrina recovery with an excellent interactive article.

"The Patchy Return of New Orleans: A walking tour of three neighborhoods last month offered a glimpse into the uneven nature of post-Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts throughout New Orleans. Though in some estimates the city may have recovered up to 70 percent of its population, about 65,000 residences – more than a third of the total – remain blighted."

On my recent trip (mid-June) to New Orleand, these photos were shot in the Lower 9th ward. They document the same checkerboard effect the New York Times noted in their article.

There are still miles to go before this city returns to pre-Katrina strength. As Gustav prepares to strike the northern Gulf Coast, one can only hope that New Orleans is spared the same onslaught it suffered nearly three years ago to the day.