Every year we remember when Hurricane Katrina “hit” New Orleans – August 29, 2005. Make no mistake, hurricane damage is devastating. However the real nightmare began in the days that followed, when 50 levees and floodwalls failed. Suddenly, water covered 80 percent of New Orleans. Some people wondered whether the City could ever recover, and many asked whether it should even attempt to rebuild in the flood-prone region.
What has happened since Katrina, and how is New Orleans doing now?
Public Works
The pump stations in New Orleans weren't designed to function during
major storms. Katrina damaged 34
of 71 pumping stations and compromised 169 of 350 miles of protective
structures. Working without adequate equipment, the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers
took 53 days to remove 250 billion gallons of water. New
Orleans could not be rebuilt without first addressing the underlying
problems with the City's systems for flood control.
- Federal dollars poured into a Hurricane & Storm Damage Risk Reduction System (HSDRR), which enabled the Army Corps of Engineers to rebuild the levee system and contract new projects for flood control.
- Federal law required the Army Corps of Engineers to redesign old and damaged pump stations to assure that they would remain operable during a storm event. The Corps installed generators to provide backup power. Critical electronic equipment was placed at a higher elevation to prevent submersion during a flood. Nearby saferooms were constructed to withstand hurricane-force winds up to 250 mph.
- Grass roots organizers used the Internet for education and lobbying. Citizens created websites such as Levees.org to help give the people a voice in the public works projects that affect their lives.
Green Design
Many residents displaced by the post-Katrina floods were forced to live in FEMA trailers. The trailers weren't designed for long-term living and, worse yet, were found to have high concentrations of formaldehyde. This unhealthy emergency housing gave rise to new approaches to prefab construction.
- Movie star Brad Pitt capitalized on his celebrity status to help rebuild the Lower 9th Ward. His brainchild, Make It Right, became a laboratory for testing and implementing new techniques and materials for building green, storm-resistant, economical homes. The book Architecture in Times of Need (compare prices) chronicles the movement.
- More than twenty architects gave their time and skills to design model houses built upon principles of affordability and sustainability.
- Small, economical Katrina Cottages became so popular that Lowes Home Improvement stores began selling kits for marketing across the USA.
- America's largest professional organization for architects, the AIA, convened their 2011 National Convention in New Orleans where they focused on themes of ecology in design. Thomas Friedman, author of Hot, Flat and Crowded, told the convention that the markets and Mother Nature have sent us a message, a type of “warning” heart attack: You are growing in an unsustainable way.
When flooding damaged older homes, it also impacted the rich cultural history of New Orleans. During the years after Katrina, preservation experts worked to shore up and restore endangered historic properties.
- The National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans, the French Ministry of Culture, the French Consulate in New Orleans, and the French Heritage Society joined forces to raise funds and provide expertise for restoration projects.
- The Preservation Resource Center and other organizations launched initiatives to rebuild older houses using principles of sustainable, green design.
- The Old U.S. Mint, a National Historic Landmark, has reopened with a new roof and interior renovations from the resultant water damage.
The progress in New Orleans is nothing short of miraculous, but the City still suffers. By April 2010, the population was still only 71% of what it was in 2000, according to the Greater New Orleans Community Data Center. For those who stayed, life has changed and the psychological scars are slow to heal.
On a spring 2011 trip to New Orleans, we came across a man in the French Quarter who wanted to show us the architecture of his inner courtyard. We learned that he was renting the place because he had lost everything in the flooding – his residence, his business, and years from his life. He was, he said, one of the lucky ones. Insurance helped cover some of his losses. Still, he was still trying to adjust to his new life. Once an orthodontist, he now worked as a volunteer tour guide.
Later we asked our hotel staff how they were doing. Our housekeeper said she is still haunted by sorrow for her family. Her brother had spent more than a week on his roof. Her mother refuses to return to New Orleans from her evacuation site.
When you visit New Orleans – and you should because it is an amazing city – you may notice that the streets are cleaner and the buildings more beautiful than ever. But as you marvel at the architecture, also talk with the people. They have so much to tell.
Learn More About New Orleans After Katrina
- The horrific weeks that followed Hurricane Katrina are chronicled in the museum exhibit Living with Hurricanes: Katrina and Beyond at Presbytere in the French Quarter.
- The
About Guide to New Orleans gives post-Katrina updates in her article The
Truth About New Orleans After Katrina
- From Atlantic Magazine, the article Sustainable New Orleans describes earth-friendly reconstruction projects
- For current statistics on the impact of Katrina on the City, see the Greater New Orleans Community Data Center
