August 28 through August 31, 2005...
Three days that will be argued about, deliberated over, talked about and cried over for years to come. Few events in our lives, no matter where we live in the world, have shaped the mental, emotional, financial, political, moral, physical and maybe even supernatural costs an entire city and possibly an entire country, have experienced as a result of this single catastrophic event: a hurricane named:
"Katrina"
As some of you may know, I founded my career within State Farm Insurance and evolved to specialize the handling of catastrophe claims. Together with Gerson and his extensive construction background, we have become a formidable team as "Independent Adjusters".
As Independent Adjusters, we offer our services (through an outside company) to work for State Farm Insurance during catastrophic events. Hurricane Katrina not only met that definition of a catastrophic event, "she" will surely define the word "catastrophe" for years to come.
Before Katrina hit, we edged our way across country and found ourselves scrambling to find a temporary bed just outside of Katrina's wrath. As a result of a few well-placed connections, we were able to slip into immediately-before vacated rooms and wait for the go ahead to enter the damaged areas. Within days of Katrina's wake, we found ourselves driving miles upon endless miles through total devastation and destruction.
I will not bore you with the details because much you have already seen
portrayed (rather annoyingly one-sided) on the news; however, I have collected a
substantial number of photos for your perusal. What you will see is what
we saw intimately, every day for 90 days. And, to keep this tragedy in
perspective, a great majority of these photos were taken within the last two
weeks of November, 2005. A full three months after Hurricane Katrina
became a celebrity, the city of New Orleans and its neighboring communities
remained deeply scarred and tremendously depressed by her momentary tour of the
once glorious Gulf Coast.
First, came the wind...
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Gerson surveying what is left of the roof and wall Air conditioning and skylight all in one Compliments of Katrina-the-can-opener Another skylight |
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As though one tree was not enough An entirely different meaning to "finding shade under a tree" With difficult divorces,
couples find Gerson was actually talking to his sister |
Then, some more wind...
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Let me see, which way did the wind
blow A new marketing approach - billboards |
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When good roofs go bad (or south in these cases) So much for privacy Our method of transport between |
Now, let us see what happens when the roofs take the first flight out during a hurricane...
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Mold, mold and more mold Rain water 1, ceilings 0 What a lot of water can do to |
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Katrina's signature wallpaper and for the record, neither of us ever got sick from the mold - now, the smell of the rotting food is another story! |
Next, came the 20' - 30' ocean surge along the Gulf Coast...
We start with Biloxi, Mississippi. A well-known and well-enjoyed gambling playground on the Gulf Coast, Biloxi is known for its casinos that float just offshore and are accessible by elaborate ramps, piers, walkways, etc. Unfortunately, the casinos took their architectural status as "floating" buildings a little too seriously and subsequently, floated onto the shore. Ironically, one of the only casinos to stay near its original mooring was a casino designed as a replica of a large sailing galley.
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Look closely at the first two
pictures: What appears to be one building are actually a hotel and a floating, yes, floating casino that moved from the white-pillar in the far-right distance, to where it nestled in with the hotel. You will gamble losing a lot more than money on this casino ship Katrina did not discriminate or play favorites |
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Katrina, like the typical tourist, visited the souvenir shop and a popular hangout Not too bad, they only |
And, continuing west on Mississippi's Gulf Coast...
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Hey, this building is only a "Dollar" That is one way to get an unobstructed view Safest room in the bank...the vault |
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Before you ask "Why would anyone live here?"...this was their view and their landscape Wait! Does anyone
live here? |
The ocean surge pursued old and new alike...
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How many wonderful years were spent in these homes...
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Homes, apartments, it made no difference
One family still retained their |
And destroyed anything and everything that dared to bar its path...
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I wonder how Consumer's Union will rate these vehicles for Hurricane safety? |
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But then, where would you drive to anyway? That is, if you had a road... |
Seeing as Katrina's surge offspring was not satisfied with only a portion of Mississippi's coast, it demanded nothing but total submission. To quote a favored line from Star Trek: "Resistance is futile, you will be assimilated."
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What were the architects smoking?
Katrina has a sick sense |
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At least there is some house left
because as you can see, many |
In another sick and ironic twist, Katrina decided to taunt one town about its name: Waveland...
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A massive pier structure is no more
Stairways to nowhere |
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Let's see, the surge was about 20'
high and about 20' of building was ripped away...
Sometimes, in the midst of deeply depressing |
With the surge came the ultimate blow...
Empire, Louisiana and its neighboring communities peacefully existed on an extension of land that was embraced by the Gulf of Mexico. If one ever wanted to walk from the towns that dotted this peninsula to the gulf, one would simply walk uphill a few hundred feet, east or west, and one would have the ocean at their feet. Now, the operable word here is "uphill" as the below sea-level peninsula is nature's way of pointing out that we humans build our communities in the daftest places.
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When water races through with no regard of anything that is along the way |
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Houses or vehicles, it made no difference. The residents were close, but not The infamous truck-eating tree |
Mile after mile, acre after acre, home after home...it was the same thing. From the northernmost point of the peninsula to the southernmost point the road would allow our truck, the scene did not change. Not a creature was stirring, not even a house...
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Look closely, and you can see the sign: "Caution: House Crossing ahead" |
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And, not to be outdone, the wind left its mark Being a State Farm insured means |
And oftentimes, we had to stop, back up and shake our heads of what we are sure we saw; however, our rational minds cannot fathom its truth.
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An alternate way of building a two-story home
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Gerson looking for his beer Seriously, you figure out how the refrigerator got into that tree. The water was not that high... And, no, we did not take this picture, but I received this from a friend with the caption: "When the cows come home" |
Just when you thought Katrina had left the stage, the floodwaters debuted and shockingly awed an international audience.
It was just outside of New Orleans wherein we worked the most. Entire buildings were marked with Katrina graffiti. From wind damage to the roofs and to the exteriors of the buildings, to rain inundating the interiors, flowing down to mingle with the several feet of flood water rising to greet its kin.
Contents within the buildings were rearranged into a jumble of rubble that looked little different from the mounds of debris piled along the streets. The assaulting odors from meat-and-fish-filled refrigerators (that had been without electricity for weeks) would overwhelm your senses and physically throw you out the door in hopes of finding a massive breath of fresh air. Unfortunately, that sought after air was sodden with the rotting debris and the remnants of flood muck that covered virtually every horizontal surface.
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The infamous water lines Flood engulfed car and the typical |
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Cars became boats and boats wanted to become cars The green truck was
parked down |
Flood water leaves a distinctive footprint when it visits a home. From the highest point the water reached and at its lengthy pauses as the water slowly exits the building, there will be a visible line where the water trod.
 
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Where did all the water come from? Look closely at the first picture - We are on the dry side of the 17th St. levee that broke and bored through the houses. The London St. levee break and a
house that And the small bayous/canals that overflowed |
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Houses on raised foundations were especially vulnerable to being lifted and moved right off their piers. A typical sight - a house
with a |
So much of what we saw cannot be appreciated by a mere photograph; however, viewing these photos can give you an idea of the sensory overload we experienced on a daily basis.
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Again, Katrina-the-can-opener
The power of the flood water I guess this is one way to clean |
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Things that float... Boats in the darnedest places A fuel tank floated from across a major |
Working Hurricane Katrina was an experience in extremes. From buildings left virtually untouched to complete obliteration of once happy, loving homes. It also gave us insight to the extremes of the human condition. From the looters that sought to destroy the evidence of their horrid crimes to the heroes who worked tirelessly to start the healing of the injured communities.
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Looters conveniently cleaned out this convenience store and then added salt to the wound by lighting it on fire to hide their tracks - or perhaps, just for the "fun" of it. |
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Which came first? The looters or the flood or the rain through the roof or...? Here to save the day and to
seal |
And then you start realizing the cold reality: Where do the people go? There is no home to come home to...Now what?
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The stark and dark reality of flood water that remains in the buildings for weeks. |
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Where do you start? How do you go on? Why in the heck did I |
What is left to do is to get out, anyway you can...and to clean out, anyway you can. Unfortunately, many beings never had a chance...while others, flourish in Katrina's aftermath.
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One of several roof openings cut out
by desperate people in order to escape water that was rising a foot every 10 minutes Debris-lined streets clearly marked The air conditioner graveyard from a |
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NOT FOR THE SQUEAMISH: A rat thought it found a safe place to escape from the storm A dog's life cut cruelly short and those critters that flourish in the |
The most startling experience for us came at the most unlikely and unexpected time. On a beautiful, warm, sunny mid-morning Saturday, we pulled into a neighborhood and found ourselves in awe of the sight we beheld. The streets were devoid of life, any life, and completely lost of any sound. It was the stillness, a total lack of any sensory stimulation beyond the drab flood colors that gave you a sense of what solitary confinement would feel like. There was not a person, not a dog, not a bird and not even an insect - just long, tree-lined streets left as they were, as though frozen in time.
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A whole lot of nothing
Cars parked at odd angles |
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Even Fort Jackson got bombed in the
storm And you wonder why New Orleans has a
problem |
Yet, amidst all of the devastation, we found brief bursts of bright spots in our otherwise dismal days. We were fortunate to work with an outstanding group of people and always knew we had an empathetic ear when needed. We also were able to snatch an hour here and there to enjoy a portion of New Orleans that was not destroyed by Hurricane Katrina and rather, only bruised. The French Quarter quickly rebounded and was serving its famous beignets and playing is treasured jazz in no time.
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Gerson enjoying a delicious beignet
Just buildings that show what New The oldest U.S. Mint has |
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The Plaza de Armas was still picture perfect after the hurricane Celebrity
watch: Lenny Kravitz's home |
Needless to say, we are very appreciative of what we have and we are happy to be home. Oh, and we will take California and earthquakes over Louisiana and hurricanes anytime...