10th Anniversary Of Hurricane Katrina

When Hurricane Katrina made landfall on August 29, 2005, it wreaked havoc on the Gulf Coast from Florida Panhandle to Louisiana; most of the damage was concentrated from the MS Gulf Coast to Greater New Orleans. Damage was $108 billion, roughly 4x the damage wrought by Hurricane Andrew. Government officials were pointing fingers at each other, blaming each other for not being prepared for Katrina, residents ignored warnings from city, state & county officials to evacuate, etc. Nobody will forget about Katrina, even those who aren't from New Orleans or the Gulf Coast. New Orleans has come a long way, but there are houses still standing from flood damage; water covered to the roof. Uptown, Central Business District and French Quarter avoided the worst of Katrina because they were built on higher ground, it was the inner-city of New Orleans that was hit hard. The housing projects were flood-damaged beyond repair, so they were torn down (not only because of flood damage, but age and being notoriously violent) and rebuilt.

New Orleans' violent crime issue has made national headlines as the city retains its title as Murder Capital of America, with a murder rate 10 times the national average. Reasons for this are poverty & drugs, and a terrible public school system. Before Katrina, New Orleans murder rate escalated to 10x the national average. New Orleans was on pace to record 300+ murders if Katrina wouldn't have hit. Post-Katrina, New Orleans' murder rate declined by 80% while the crime rate escalated in Houston, Dallas, Atlanta and Baton Rouge. Houston suffered the worst of New Orleans' criminal element as the city recorded 375 murders in the year following Katrina. New Orleans & Houston goons clashed for street supremacy. Houston ghetto criminals fought to protect their drug turf, and New Orleans criminals tried to take over new territory. It's interesting that while New Orleans' crime rate dropped, it increased in other cities that took in evacuees.

In my view, most of the blame goes on residents for ignoring warnings from government officials to evacuate. A lot of residents assumed that because they survived Betsy and previous storms for years, they could handle Katrina. Katrina showed them what time it was when she ravaged New Orleans. 80% of Greater New Orleans was flooded. People who could afford to leave, did. Those who couldn't afford, had to do the best they could to survive Katrina. Regardless, even the most destitute of citizens had plenty opportunities to leave New Orleans, but because of their disobedience, they paid the price.

My heart goes out to New Orleans because it will never be the same. When I visited New Orleans a couple weeks ago, I thought to myself "Katrina ravaged this city 10 years ago." Many of them relocated to Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, etc. because they didn't want to run the risk of another storm. I don't blame them. Many times, having a way out involves relocating elsewhere for a better life. Many New Orleans natives still have love for their hometown (as they should), but a lot of them won't go back because in their eyes, there's nothing to go back to.