Katrina

One year ago today, Hurricane Katrina rolled through the Gulf Coast, devastating it. Over 1800 people were killed and hundreds of thousands of people lost their homes. It had lost some of its strength by the time it hit New Orleans and was only a high category 3 storm, but it was a direct hit and the levees were devastated. 80% of New Orleans was under water. Today, New Orleans has a population half of what it was. While the downtown area and the French Quarter have mostly recovered, many of the neighborhoods are still waiting. There is no electricity, running water, or garbage collection and many of these people are still waiting for insurance claims or government recovery grants. While some recovery is occuring, it will be a long, slow, and painful process.