Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005. The devastation in many places is still evident. The site of our campground was covered by 12 feet of water. While parts of the city are recovering quite well, others are not. The mayor recently observed that there are 61,000 properties within the city that need to be demolished. His view is that current budget limitations, the city could manage 10,000 demolitions a year. Do the math, it will require another six years just to remove the rubble. Given the usual complica- tions to these kinds of efforts, six years seems optimistic.
The first picture is of the home and recording studio of Fats Domino in the lower ninth ward. He was rescued from the roof of this house. He has moved to another home in NO. The next house is one of many new homes being funded by Brad Pitt. These homes are "green." Most are said to be net energy producers. Brad Pitt has spent millions of his own money on this project. The homes are sold at little or no interest expense to residents.
Most of New Orleans is below sea level. The city is surrounded by a levee. Water is pumped more or less continuously into drainage canals and drained into Lake Pontchartrain. The levee breeches, which lead to the flooding have been repaired. The pumping stations are awesome. One gets a feeling for the volume of water management just driving by one the stations.
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Even given the floods and wet summer heat, Jim and I both adore New Orleans. We were there at the end of June once and I STILL loved it, even though I always looked as if I'd just climbed out of the river.
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