Katrina tour of New Orleans

The French Quarter covers about 13 blocks and was on some of the higher ground, therefore, it was not flooded like the lower areas of the city. Canal Street divides the city into two sections, the American side, or uptown, and the Creole side, downtown. The streets of the French Quarter are from 1719 and very narrow.

During Katrina, the police took over Harrah’s Casino as an emergency headquarters as it was well-built. Nearly every building in New Orleans sustained damage from the storm. At Jackson Square, Bush promised that New Orleans will never be forgotten. The people of the city say he must have a short memory.

The French Market is the oldest open air market in America. Restaurants in the Quarter serve jazz and traditional foods of New Orleans, such as, Po’ Boy sandwiches, muffelettas (round sandwich), beignets (donuts) and Café Latté.

The architecture is French and Spanish; window shutters are French and wrought iron balconies are Spanish influence. The area was occupied by the Creoles, which are a blended people of many nationalities.

Flood walls protect the city, which is actually below sea level, but during Katrina there was a catastrophic failure of the flood protection system.

The Ninth Ward was one of the most devastated areas of the city and still remains mostly unrepaired and unoccupied. It is a working class community on the other side of the canal. The water came in from the lake, not from the river. Many houses stand empty, still bearing the marks of searches by the National Guard units. Some are marked for demolition by red X’s, others have been demolished and only a concrete pad remains to show that a house was there.

St. Bernard parish is a middle-class community of fishermen where many work in the fishing industry. The water filled up the area in a matter of 20 minutes, leaving people trapped and unable to escape. One high school served as a shelter to the sick and those who could not leave the city. The water flooded the first story and 1700 people survived in 8 feet of water for almost a week with little food and water.

The hurricane happened on August 29th and it was September 11th before help arrived. Over 2000 lives were lost in the New Orleans area.