In August of 2005 Kat was also seventeen and probably doing many of the same things that I was doing as she and her peers were getting ready to start their senior year of high school. And then tragedy struck. In what has come to be known as the worst civil engineering failure in US history when the levees broke, and a natural disaster that is synonymous with New Orleans - Hurricane Katrina.
I sat on the L-shaped leather and off-green couch until 1:30 am on Friday night asking Kat questions about Katrina, just hours after meeting for the first time. Graciously, she let me into her world. She was like any other high school girl, she had her problems - it's hard to be a teenage girl. But when the warning came her sister, mother, and Kat packed their usual three-day bag, expecting to be back home by weeks' end in time to carry on with her senior year.
When they started making it a mandatory evacuation that's when we knew it was serious, that had never happened before. Kat recalled for me. It took some time to choke out the reality of what she and thousands just like her in New Orleans had gone through in 2005. What would normally be a one hour drive from New Orleans to Baton Rouge took over nine hours as cars full of evacuees gridlocked the interstate. I remember seeing people standing on the side of the road waving cars over for a ride because they had run out of gas. But, even at that time I still don't think it was real yet.
Kat and her family took refuge with some family in Baton Rouge and she recalls that at least five days went by before contact could be established between her and her dad. Five long days. Not knowing - that was scary. Once she finally found out that her dad had made it out of New Orleans safely she started thinking about all the others - her friends, classmates, teachers, her community. In 2005, it wasn't anywhere near how it is today. You couldn't just send out a mass text (message) to contact everyone at once. A five day communication black out left many unknowns at the other end of the line. But, I still don't think it was real yet. We still didn't really realize what was happening.
With as much fragility as the situation warranted, I asked question after question of Kat - not even with this blog in mind but solely because I wanted to understand. I wanted to try and wrap my head around what happened here: the feelings, the panic, the surreal-ness of everything going on. I am so grateful that Kat was willing to share with me what she has gone through. I remember coming down the stairs at my aunt and uncles house and everyone was sitting around watching the tv. They were showing coverage of Katrina and that was the moment that it really hit me. Like, shi!t, this is real. This is really happening. And I'll never forget that moment.
When I think of New Orleans, I think of Mardi Gras, partying, and Hurricane Katrina. Having never been here before I wanted to understand at least one, as varied as the three may be. I am so grateful to Kat for her sharing her experiences with me - the realness of it all that could never truly be conveyed in any news story or picture on google. I could tell it was hard to recall all the details and emotions and revisit all those horrible memories of Katrina. But don't call her a survivor. I wouldn't, no. I don't think I would call myself a survivor. We were just here. I don't know anyone that says that.
More than eight years later, survivors or not - I admire and respect the healing power that is prevalent here in New Orleans. And I thank you, for helping this Canadian girl try and understand what was once the unimaginable.
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| The Lower 9th Ward was one of the places in New Orleans that was hit hardest by Katrina. Each and every single house in New Orleans was checked by emergency workers once the water had receded enough. |
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| Eight years have gone by but the FEMA markings still remain on some houses (right house, left side of the door). This house was not able to be searched until September 12th - two weeks after Katrina hit. |
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| This was once a house, now over run with vegetation. |
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| The now abandoned Six Flags New Orleans |
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| What was once the entry/ticket office. |
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| A single swing remains. |
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| Nine years ago I would not have been able to take this picture because of the crowds. |
It's sad, that when things like this happen in the world only then do we realize how fortunate we are. It's definitely a shocker to see everything abandoned. Just wondering do they find it pointless to rebuild in the area that six flags is located?
ReplyDeleteAs of now I don't think there are any plans to rebuild as it would be too expensive. But I personally think even in the state it is now, it serves as a great location for potential fundraisers like zombie walks, or public concerts - even if they were just held in the parking lot. It's literally a gigantic piece of open space that could easily be used to charge like $10/person and raise re-building funds in that regard.
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