The Gates of Dixie

New Orleans in Pictures
The Gate     New Orleans     Vieux Carre     Faubourg Marigny     Churches     Cemeteries     Let's Eat!     Defunct NOLA     Lingo     Contact Us     Links      
Hurricane Katrina - The Flood of 2005
 
Let’s call it simply, “A disaster of Biblical Proportion” and leave it at that.  Most of it was from flooding from two huge breaks in the levee on Lake Pontchartrain caused by Hurricane Katrina, which struck New Orleans on the morning of August 29, 2005.  A city of about half a million people was cast in ruin.  This was a disaster, indeed, equivalent to over 150 Twin Towers disasters and truly one that won’t be forgotten in many of our lifetimes.
 
These three photos below (left, center, and right) are taken from an article written on 9-5-2005.  Left: Sheriff’s deputies are looking through the ruins in the French Quarter. Center: A navy pilot surveys the flood near downtown New Orleans. Right: Bob Rue leaves a promising note to potential looters.

 

 

 

Hurricane Katrina was the largest disaster in the USA in 2005, though it may just be a memory, it did affect all of us in the United States, whether in the form of higher gas prices (though we don’t know what the excuse is these days) or you might have known people directly affected by the disaster.  The good news was that the body count from the disaster was much lower than had originally been expected.  The total confirmed death count in Louisiana due to Hurricane Katrina was 972, and 221 in Mississippi.  This stastic was taken from an article published in the Pahrump [NV] Valley Times on October 22, 2005.

 

Below, Canal Street is really looking more like a canal on October 30, 2005

 

Many Gates of Dixie visitors found the website due to the mention of the “Twin Spans Bridge” along Interstate 10 and were looking to see a picture as it was after the hurricane.  As you can see from this photo taken on August 30, 2005, the bridge connecting New Orleans to Slidell, Louisiana on I-10 was totally washed out.  The Pontchartrain Causeway survived with little damage, however.  Of course, I-10 was rebuilt very quickly after it was damaged.  Gil had the opportunity to drive on it since then and the last time was in late 2007; there were some highway construction signs, but traffic was flowing normally.  But just west of the bridge were LOTS of signs of the aftermath. If you'd like to submit photos and descriptions, just click on the "Contact Webmaster" link at the bottom of any page.