Los Altos Town Crier » Katrina, one year later: Gulf relief efforts bring progress, but still a long way to go

By Stuart Armstrong

Image from article Katrina, one year later: Gulf relief efforts bring progress, but still a long way to go

COURTESY OF STUART ARMSTRONG
A year later, clear signs of Hurricane Katrina’s devastation remain, especially in the city of New Orleans.

Editor’s note: Stuart Armstrong of Los Altos volunteered in the Hurricane Katrina relief effort with City Team Ministries last year. After three trips to the hurricane-ravaged areas, experiencing the devastation and providing his assistance, Armstrong remains committed to the continuing relief efforts and offers his evaluation of the situation one year after the hurricane.

On Aug. 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina walloped the Gulf Coast from west of New Orleans to east of Biloxi, Miss., a distance of more than 100 miles. It packed 150 mph winds accompanied by a 30-foot storm surge.

The eye took direct aim at the Mississippi communities of Waveland and Bay St. Louis. Bay St. Louis, because it is on a peninsula that juts into St. Louis Bay, was inundated on three sides, south, east and west. Any structure within 2 miles of the gulf and 1 mile from the Bay was either destroyed or just gone. Waveland (population 8,000) had 33 habitable homes left and more than half were gone or destroyed.

Unlike New Orleans, the recovery effort was ready in Mississippi. Volunteer organizations were already on-site ready to open shelters and distribution centers. One center was in a Winn-Dixie parking lot. By the end of September, shelters began closing and some FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) trailers had arrived as utilities were being restored.

By November all utilities were restored. In April, the cleanup was about finished, rebuilding had begun, FEMA trailers were abundant and more and more retail stores reopened. Now, more people have returned to their damaged homes, Field Kitchens are closed and distribution centers are almost gone.

All levels of government have toughened their building codes and expedited building permits to make it easier for people to live in their homes until the sites are cleared for permanent residences. For example, homes on or near the beaches have to be built on pilings.

Trades and contractors are abundant. They stay in large tent cities of up to 2,000, or fill up the motels within a 60-mile radius. Because most local labor is working on reconstruction, almost all the local merchants have hiring signs in their windows. The irony of this is that one can now receive a $3,000 bonus to sign on to flip hamburgers.

The plan seems to be to repair the houses with the least damage first, then the more damaged and finally to address those that could not be repaired or were gone. There are still bridges out and road closures and many damaged commercial buildings.

The estimate is that it will take another four years to fully eradicate the ravages of Katrina. In the meantime, we are in the middle of another hurricane season.

Since many have lost everything, their needs are things required to live in a home.

If you can help or wish to donate items, contact the following: Bay Area Coalition for Katrina, Robert Stinson, (408) 323-1569; City Team Ministries, (888) 248-9832 or www.cityteam.org; or Habitat for Humanity, www.habitat.org.