Six Months After Katrina…

1. Six Months After Katrina… …slow Recovery in New Orleans Thomas McGuire, Author, Amsco School Publications

2. New Orleans is located within the delta of the Mississippi River. 2

3. The Big Easy - pre-Katrina 3

4. New Orleans is known for all kinds of local color… 4

5. …including Mardi Gras! 5

6. New Orleans originated on the broad natural levees (the high ground) along the Mississippi River. But the city has expanded into former swamplands drained and now protected by high, man-made levees. 6

7. Then came Katrina… 7

8. …a strong category 3 hurricane when it struck New Orleans. 8

9. The break in the 17th Street CanalThe next slide shows the street on the left after the water was pumped out. 9

10. Flooding hit both poor and middle class neighborhoods, such as Lakeview, shown here. The levee is behind the homes to the right. 10

11. Satellite images before and during the flood. (Dark blue is water.) City Park City Park Astro-dome Astro-dome 11

12. Hurricane winds made for tough sailing! 12

13. Red dots show where bodies have been found. Note the highlighted areas of Lakeview and the Lower 9th Ward. 13

14. The power of the flood water was strong enough to move cars and even whole houses. This street has been partially cleared. 14

15. Rings on buildings show muddy floodwater levels. 15

16. The latest in city-wide architectural style is the pervasive FEMA blue tarp roof. 16

17. FEMA trailers are found throughout the city even as thousands of trailers remain undelivered. Water and electrical power must be available before a trailer is delivered and strapped down. 17

18. Even homes that look relatively undamaged have FEMA trailers parked outside. But the real story is inside… 18

19. …where the walls were soaked with muddy water for weeks. Once water invades the walls, mold sets in. 19

20. Doors are marked by FEMA personnel recording the date of inspection and what was found.The “O” means that no bodies were foundin this home. 20

21. Fixing the breaks in the dikes took first priority. Meanwhile officials debate costs and benefits of a better level of protection from re-engineered levees. 21

22. Katrina and the flooding unleashed it’s greatest wrath in the mostly African-American 9th Ward. (You are looking down a street.) 22

23. The force of water is evident. Note that this house shows no water level, as it was totally submerged. 23

24. Mississippi Mud settled everywhere. 24

25. Some people escaped the rising water by making holes in their roofs. 25

26. Large parts of the lower 9th still look like a war zone, even after six months. 26

27. Debris is pushed aside to allow junk cars to be hauled out. 27

28. Signs like these remind us that these are not just houses but people’s lives, waiting for the next phase of a long chain of demolition and disappointment. 28

29. When patience and hope falter, humor can help… 29

30. ..when fact imitates fiction. 30

31. But, for New Orleans, as the Terminator said,“I’ll be back!” 31

32. Credits: Thomas McGuire is the author of several of Amsco’s Earth science books including his 2005 textbook “Earth Science; The Physical Setting.” www.amscopub.com Special thanks to Dr. James H. McGuire of Tulane University and his wife. They sold the brick house, shown in slides 18-20, just two months before Katrina. They now own a townhouse well above sea level on the north shore of Lake Ponchartrain. The new owners were waiting for their insurance settlement. The aerial and satellite image, one taken during the storm as well as maps are not original. Other images are by the author. Author’s images taken at the time of Mardi Gras, Feb 2006 32

33. Thomas McGuire is a New York textbook, review book & lab book author with Amsco School Publications of New York, NY. www.amscopub.com Tom’s email: cavecreekdigital@msn.com Other PowerPoints are available from the same author: The Grand Canyon from the Bottom Up Utah Slots (Slot canyons of the Colorado Plateau) Cool Imposters (Pseudo-Glacial landforms) Glacial Legacies of New York State Transforming California (The San Andreas Fault)