#67 - Can technology help? Part I

I just returned from a conference in New Orleans. It was a meeting of the church mission group I represent in SW Virginia. The purpose of the meeting was to update us on how the money people gave has been spent and how things are going in the Big Easy and Gulf Coast 1.75 years post Katrina/Rita.

Well if you haven't heard, they aren't going very well. Billions have been spent in both areas, but they aren't anywhere near normal. The word we received from both locations was 10 more years. Yes, they predicted 10 more years of huge effort to bring them back to 2005 levels. I heard this when we first arrived and thought, "No way it will take that long". After visiting both areas and talking to multiple people on the ground, I now think things may never get back to the way they were. I'm not sure the US has the commitment to bring these areas back. The federal and state governments have made poor decision after poor decision in "helping" out. Today, I think, I'll let you hear what I heard and tomorrow, talk about what can be.

Lets define what happened. We all know Katrina hit the Gulf Coast in August 2005. So much rain hit the Louisiana coast that the canal system in New Orleans failed in many locations flooding 80% of the city. The water remained in some locations for 3 weeks. Many homes and businesses had over 6 feet of water to leave them rotten hulks.

The eye of the storm hit the Gulf coast at the Louisiana/Mississippi boarder complete destroying over 70 miles on the shore and an equal amount into the land. Homes, businesses and government buildings just are no longer there. Nothing but splinters left.

So we have two very different disasters caused by the same storm. We all saw the scenes of New Orleans and the devastation on the Gulf Coast. Twenty One months later the devastation has moved from a physical one to an emotional one. Less then 1/2 of the inhabitants of New Orleans have returned. Even less have come back to the Gulf Coast. In New Orleans you can't turn around without seeing damage. Even in the so called safe sliver by the River (French Quarter and much of the Garden District) business after business is closed and boarded up. Yes the Hotels, Bars and Restaurants are open, but not much else is there. Infrastructure is so poor that water pressure and electricity is still not universal and not reliable in many areas. Only 3 out of 10 former hospitals are open. Many homes have been gutted out, some are starting to be rehabed, but over 30,000 homes are still in the same state as right after the flooding occurred. Scary numbers no?

There is almost nothing permanent on the Gulf Coast. City Halls, Churches, Schools, Post Offices are being run from tents or Quonset huts. Roads are opening up, but most living on the coast are in FEMA Trailers or RVs. But hey, I saw 2 casinos open so run down and do some gambling. Mississippi was nice enough to change the law so the casinos could now be built on land instead of over the water.

So my church group and several others are doing our best to rehab homes, build homes, council those with issues, provide some medical, food and shelter assistance. It isn't nearly enough. We deal in the hundreds and the needs are in the multi thousands. Some Louisiana parishes (counties) are starting to throw people out of the FEMA trailers (and those aren't any luxury homes!). People can't come back to the area since there still aren't many homes or jobs. In New Orleans the schools aren't even at 25% open. The parish fired 7,000 teachers last year when it became obvious they wouldn't be reopening soon. One school opened in August 2006 without a single text book or library book in the school. What were the administrators thinking? I saw entire neighborhoods eerily empty with just a few trailers about. The homes were gutted but nothing was happening. The Coast has become the kingdom of contractor scam artists. People are afraid to just about do anything. Insurance has been woefully inadequate in New Orleans and slow to arrive on the Gulf Coast.

The words all the natives say "Take our story back home and tell our fellow Americans what it is really like here". So that is what I'm doing. More tomorrow.