It was supposed to be a day of kayaking and bird-watching in New Orleans, but Mother Nature had another idea. Rains started at dusk the night before, and I woke early to learn that our tour, launching from the lip of the Bayou in the Lower 9th Ward, was cancelled for safety reasons. (This post has been updated from 2015, 20 years after Katrina.)

My sister and I were disappointed at first, but a more profound adventure of a completely different kind unfolded. Our tour driver suggested she drive us around the landfall epicenter of Hurricane Katrina. It sounded like an amazing opportunity, and we quickly agreed. Soon, we discovered that our driver, Leann, was one of the lucky ones to have escaped the storm in New Orleans.  Nevertheless, Hurricane Katrina changed her life.

Before Hurricane Katrina hit

“We rode out storms all the time and assumed on Friday that we’d see each other on Monday.”

Leann worked at a radio station when the storm warnings came in. She packed up a few things and fled New Orleans at the last minute, finding refuge in a Texas hotel until she was allowed to return. When she got back, she discovered that her station was closed due to water damage. With severance pay, she moved onto to work at a TV station in Baton Rouge until the glass ceiling had her looking for another job. Eventually, moving back to New Orleans and closer to family made sense.

As I looked out over the bridge into the Lower 9th Ward, my heart sank. Leann paused the car in the middle of the deserted bridge for me to see the levee walls. It was clear that the 9th Ward was built well below the water line.

Bridge view - Lower 9th Ward on the right

Bridge view – Lower 9th Ward on the right

Weedy green overflowed vacant lots where homes full of families once lived. Celebrities and government agencies had rebuilt some streets. President Obama visited when the new Andrew P. Sanchez & Copelin-Byrd Multi-Service Center opened. Actor Brad Pitt founded the Make It Right Foundation to create 150, flood-proof, environmentally sound homes (eventually, far fewer were built and poorly constructed.) Other homeowners returned with insurance money to rebuild, but many did so in the same style as before. I imagine they’ll be vulnerable to devastation the next time the flood waters breech. The contrast startled me.

Fixer upper post Hurricane Katrina

Help welcome.

A chance encounter

Leann showed us the last packet of rations passed out by FEMA after Hurricane Katrina. She carries it as a reminder in her cab. On one street, she pulled the taxi over. “Hey, baby,” she softly spoke to a man walking the sidewalk. I thought they were friends, but it’s a familiar NOLA greeting. Her easy call brought Wendall over, and the questions began.

Here’s the video of the encounter:

As Wendell finished recounting his rescue and rebuilding traumas, Leann asked if he’d accept a donation, and he nodded yes, with a slight smile. She passed him the packet of rations and some cash we offered. Blessings were exchanged, and we drove on to see the Musicians Village across the bridge.

New home, post Hurricane Katrina, living space still built below the flood line.

New home, post Hurricane Katrina, living space still built below the flood line.

One of the raised houses that Brad Pitt's organization has helped construct post Hurricane Katrina

One of the raised houses that Brad Pitt’s organization helped construct

I’ve waited a year to tell this story. There have been scores of reporters and gawkers wandering through the 9th Ward. The ten-year anniversary passed in 2015 with reviews and photo journalists’ galleries full of what’s left of the neighborhood. I didn’t plan to join them, (or recap in 2025!), but it’s important to remember, especially as new life-changing floods have returned to Louisiana and now that FEMA, so instrumental in national disasters is being gutted by the current administration in 2025.) The time I spent with Leann continues to impact how I travel. From that day forward I reach out to locals whenever I can. It could be a taxi or Uber ride, an Airbnb landlord, market cashier anytime it feels like there’s an opening for engagement (and we share the same language!)

“Nothing else we could ever describe would allow us to meet any other way.” ~ Leann

Just Getting Through

A pair of girls in jeans and t-shirts pulled their hoodies close as we drove past. I imagine them growing up after the storm tore through. They have to walk out of their house every day, past empty lots and houses still waiting for demolition. Whether they stay in the ward or join the diaspora, the daily routine amidst the scars of Hurricane Katrina remains. As Leann knows well, it takes energy to keep on, “Just getting through.”

Hope house in the Lower 9th Ward

Hope house in the Lower 9th Ward, 2015

I offer this as a remembrance and a request for those of us more fortunate to take action, to help when we can.

Boxing club in the Lower 9th Ward

Boxing club in the Lower 9th Ward

How to make a difference in the Lower 9th Ward

Five years ago David Young came to the Lower 9th Ward to volunteer. He felt a calling to stay and founded Capstone Gardens (no longer in business) on more than 25 vacant and blighted lots. The fruits and vegetables he grew were given to organizations serving the hungry.

As the area is considered a ‘food desert,’ where locals need to take several buses to buy fresh produce, David began selling his harvests at a local convenience store, Galvez Goodies. These are the kinds of ‘after the disaster’ efforts that travelers can discover and support wherever we may go. It just takes time and a few well-intentioned inquiries.

 

Tales from Hurricane Katrina