New Orleans

At least we have the resources to work on our house, not like some of the unfortunate residents of the poor neighborhoods of New Orleans. As part of the conference I was on last week, we went on a "disaster tour" (as the locals call it) into four neighborhoods that had been particularly hard hit by the post-Katrina flooding in 2005. The Lower 9th Ward was still in a particularly poor way, though it was obvious that there was a strong community spirit trying to bring the place back to life. Here are some photos (taken through the bus window, sometimes while moving, so excuse the blur etc).

This first picture is an empty lot where the destroyed house has been cleared away but the owners have not yet started to rebuild. In the meantime they will still be paying their mortgage and property taxes for this house.




This last picture is how much of local business stands today, four years after the Katrina disaster.