Katrina Damage - December 2005

Anyone who knows New Orleans' Lakefront area will recognize the sad remains of the quaint lighthouse that stood there so long. With the exception of the last shots of boats on the road, all of the following were taken on the Lakefront or in the Lakeview neighborhood nearby. I've identified exact locations for those of you who know the area. These pictures are typical of the damage, but given the time, you could shoot hundreds of identical ones, or thousands. The damage is that widespread. Even having family in New Orleans, and having read/seen/heard so much about Katrina, I wasn't prepared for how much of the city is uninhabitable. To ride through neighborhood after neighborhood along streets that are utterly deserted - not a soul- or to see the same for mile after mile as you cruise I-10 into the city, was humbling and distressing to those of us who call New Orleans home.