Day 2 - 240 -- Ten Years On

Today marks 10 years since Katrina hit New Orleans. This created major devastation and changed the city forever. I first visited 2 years after the forces of Katrina and Rita attending a conference on re-establishing foodways after disasters -- what better place to see what was occurring and to present research on similar situations. Then 5 years after the storm events I travelled to the city again to present a paper at a conference on economic resilience after disasters. The first trip involved a tour of the city to understand better what we'd all seen on flickering screens and to see where cleanup was underway. Yes -- two years later cleanup still had a long way to go. The second trip showed a marked improvement in some areas and much rebuilding either planned or underway. The city seemed ready to accept that many people would not return after being relocated and that the east side of the city would be less populated. Services still hadn't returned to that area so there were no grocery stores, gas stations, schools or hospitals that would attract people to rebuild there. It seemed to be the classic chicken and egg situation.

Besides the cosmetic aspects of the aftermath of the storms, I noticed a distinct difference in the way locals spoke about their city and the rebuilding process. It was termed 'rebirth' by the state government and that seemed to reflect the more positive outlook that was present in 2010. Now, don't get me wrong, there were still undercurrents of anger, but the general feeling was that the people of the city would rise again, in spite of the various levels of help that they had or had not received.

So -- it seems much of the world may have learned something from this disaster -- how better to prepare and intervene -- but there is so much more to do on that front. The events of those many days in 2005 showed us that more developed areas are not immune to devastation on a grand scale nor could they react at the level that many expected would be possible. The anger felt is justified, but the rebuilding is amazing.

There are two songs shared today The first deals with flooding disasters from almost a century earlier. The singer, born in New Orleans, has a voice ideal for this song. The video with the best audio is prefaced with part of his family history. The second is an instrumental that reminds me of the dirge followed by the upbeat second line at traditional funerals of the area -- not unlike the rebirth process of the past 10 years. It features an amazing musician also from New Orleans. Enjoy!

Louisiana 1927 -- Aaron Neville & India Arie

Battle Hymn of the Republic -- Danny Kaye and Louis Armstrong (from movie Five Pennies)