What Happened to the Hurricane Rita Thread?

[Am_I_There_Yet]

Homes in the 9th ward, St Bernard, and in Lakeview, where the levees breeched and flooding was 8-12 feet, mold just took over. I doubt if more than 5-10 % can be salvaged at all. I have pictures of my grandparent's home in Lakeview(1 block from the levee breech). Mold is on everything. Not to mention the damage the surge had on the structure itself. They lost everything but their home still stands. It will have to be bulldozed.

Oh and BTW their home was not considered to be in a flood zone. No one thought the levees whould have been under so much pressure.

It's all so sad. My father is from Biloxi and I still have a relatives that live there. From what my father has been told, they all lost their homes, down to the foundations, during Katrina.

I don't know what would be worse - seeing your home so damaged that you know you're going to lose it and its contents anyway, or just having it totally wiped off of the face of the Earth? The only analogy I can think of, is taking a band-aid off slowly, or ripping it off in one single, quick motion.

My relative in Nederland has major mold too, but she hopes to be able to salvage her house, even though she's been told it's hopeless.

 

[MrsKreamer]

It's all so sad. My father is from Biloxi and I still have a relatives that live there. From what my father has been told, they all lost their homes, down to the foundations, during Katrina.

I don't know what would be worse - seeing your home so damaged that you know you're going to lose it and its contents anyway, or just having it totally wiped off of the face of the Earth? The only analogy I can think of, is taking a band-aid off slowly, or ripping it off in one single, quick motion.

My relative in Nederland has major mold too, but she hopes to be able to salvage her house, even though she's been told it's hopeless.

We have had both in my family....my mom's house gone down to foundation and then my grandparent's home. I almost feel like at least if your home was completely destroyed on the outside then people KNOW you lost everything. But for those whose homes are still standing it gives a false sense of hope to the owners, and people on the outside think it wasn't all that bad....

 

[drakethib]

And this is your most ludicrous statement yet! Do you know where Houston is? FYI: We aren't on the coast.

You don't know me; you don't know the type of properties I sell, or where I direct my marketing efforts. Don't patronize me.

You want to act like an adult and carry on an adult conversation, continue, but if these are the kind of statements that you're going to spew out, you won't get any more responses from me.

As a matter of fact, I'm smelling a troll. See ya.

Hey Am I.

Can you sell me some of that beachfront property in Houston?

I sure would like some may right next to the galleria or maybe even by Minute Maid stadium. Perhaps even near Sugarland.

The water sure is a pretty blue right there.


A think the troll statement is right. I don't think anyone can be that goofy.

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

Hey Am I.

Can you sell me some of that beachfront property in Houston?

I sure would like some may right next to the galleria or maybe even by Minute Maid stadium. Perhaps even near Sugarland.

Try Spring! That's where I am!

 

[Zmsksirt]

You know, you sure sound like an expert on the topic.

I am just wondering with all of your knowledge why you aren't guiding an organization such as FEMA.

In the late 1970's, I lived in Key Largo, Florida. I liked the area but I knew that if a big hurricane struck, my house would be demolished. I moved away from that area in 1983. I returned to that area in 1990 and I purchased a house in Homestead, FL.

Based upon my previous experience in that area, I was very selective when I purchased a house. I made sure the house was not within a flood zone nor within any tidal surge area. I made sure that the house was of CBS construction with reinforced concrete walls and roof. All the doors and windows were protected with hurricane shutters. My oven was powered from a large propane tank. My water heater held 80 gallons and was heated by solar panels.

When Andrew hit in 1992, we closed all the shutters and sheltered in place. When we emerged from the house after the storm, we had no significant damage (the carport roof was bent). Most other houses in my neighborhood were destroyed. However, we just sat tight. We had plenty of nonperishable food stored up. We also had a portable generator to run our refrigerator and two small window A/C units and our water pump.

We had our own private drinking water well and septic system. Therefore, as long as we had the generator, we had water. The generator was only 5,000 watts, but I had it set up for tri-fuel use. I could use gasoline, propane or natural gas. So, during this time, I disconnected the oven from the propane tank and hooked it up to the generator. If we needed to cook something we barbequed on the grill. We had plenty of power during the aftermath of the storm.

We had battery operated radios and a small battery operated TV. Cable TV was out. I had an outdoor TV antenna in a box in the garage. After the storm, I mounted the antenna on the roof and ran the cable into the house and we were able to watch all the news coverage of the storm.

All in all, we were very comfortable. We had to keep a close watch on looters in the area but I had ample firearms and ammunition to solve that problem.

We moved out of Homestead in 1994 and sold our house to some friends. So, I have a little experience.

And this is your most ludicrous statement yet! Do you know where Houston is? FYI: We aren't on the coast.

Houston, TX has a long history of flooding. The town is located at the confluence of two major bayous. TS Allison was just one of many floods Houston has suffered in its history.

 

[VirtuallyMe]

I am also from the area hit directly by Hurricane Rita... my immediate family was lucky all our downed trees fell away from our home. My parent's home took 3 trees but luckily as well those fell with the pitch of the roof and did not completely destroy the home- however her neighborhood was one of the hardest hit in our town- with homes literally bisected by trees. We had minimal flooding in Lake Charles proper- my home sits on a ridge between two flood planes (that my neighbors are in) and we have a bayou behind our home- the only area that flooded was the lake front- and all those residents expected it to be totally honest- we told to prepare for 3 feet of water throughout the entire city when we evacuated.

The people of Cameron Parish are not ignorant of storms, they do know the risks and most have built homes elevated and reinforced for eventual storms- these people are also used to evacuating- mandatory evacuation is not looked at lightly in that area- when they know a storm is coming they leave- the problem with Rita- was many were evacuating thinking that the storm would hit Texas far south west of our area- so they didn't do a full evacuation when they should have and by the time the storm turned and we were all evacuating- they were not permitted to return to their homes.

I have gone through very many hurricanes in my lifetime- including riding out Hurricane Andrew when it hit East of Lafayette, LA- that was the scariest time of my life- and my husband and I swore we would never do that again- jobs be d**ned we would not stay for another storm.

My husband is from the New Orleans area- and his parents had been evacuating for storm after storm that didn't hit- when Katrina was threatening there was some quibbling over whether or not to leave and we explained that they had no choice pack up- and go or they needed to explain to their grandkids why they didn't love them. My husband's parents and brothers are all in Kenner- they lucked out and had no damage save some minor wind damage and loss of refridgerators - and funny thing- my brother in laws home sits on the levee- you open his back door and the levee is about 20 feet away from his back door- others in their neighborhood flooded- he didn't and yes water did come over the levee because there were traps in his yard. My husband's grandmother lives in New Orleans near Bayou St John- or should I say lived- her 80 year old neighbor rode out the storm and called her the morning after to report all was fine with her home- no damage- then called to report that water was rising- then we didn't hear from him for a week and feared the worse- until he called from safety and reported leaving in a kyack and rowing some 8 hours to find safety. Her home was destroyed- took in less water than most as she is on high ground near the cemetary. New Orleans was built long long ago in the location it was built because of the river access- long long ago- when the land was higher- New Orleans has been sinking for years since the first levee was built many years before the population was what it is today... sure lots of things in hindsight could have been done differently in that area to improve the outcome but that is all hindsight- time to pick up and move on- and saying no one should live in that area is insane- like everyone on a fault line should move, anyone subject to landslides should move, anyone who has forest fires hit their area should move or maybe just clear cut all the forests?

When Rita first threatened the Gulf Coast- it wasn't a major threat for Louisiana at all- but because our area did have an excellent disaster plan- they did have a partial evacuation of lower Cameron Parish in acted a few days before the storm. Our local schools closed so that the 10,000 hurricane Katrina evacuees being sheltered in our area could be driven out of town to shelters to the north in our local school buses- that was the Wednesday before the storm 9/21. Then as we are watching the storm we are all seeing that in all likelihood it will hit closer and more evacuations are called- our hospitals went into emergency mode and patients were evacuated, nursing homes and elder care centers were evacuated, and people were told to leave or to get out a sharpie marker and clearly write their social security numbers on their forearms-

My family of 6 (along with our two dogs) packed up and drove to my sisters home along with my parents and grandmother- my other sister took her family to DisneyWorld and Animal Kingdom lodge lol- My sister lives South West of New Orleans area- in an area so close to the Katrina affected area that you can almost spit on it- however, at the time other than shortages in the supermarkets her area suffered little or no damage- and then we all settled in and watched the news... and watched Rita turn to hit our area... this was a very slow process and it was a slap in the face when Fox News announced how great it was that Rita was hitting where it was since "there is no significant population between New Orleans and Houston" (yes I know they meant significant in terms of numbers- but in my eyes one person makes a population significant) All news coverage was coming from the basically un-storm affected Houston- (those poor reporters missed out)- news from our area was short coming

At my sisters home about 150-200 miles from home and the eye of the storm- we were experiencing a Tropical storm force winds and rain- and it kept coming- as I mentioned before Rita wasn't the first storm to affect me and won't be the last- but what was odd about Katrina is that it didn't go away- the storm's eye hit land some time around 3am or so- and was still essentially right there the next day- the enormous storm hit the Lake Charles area with more than 12 hours of sustained hurricane strength winds- of about 100 miles an hour- for 12 hours- there is little that can withstand that force- and that is what made Rita so damaging- Katrina was as big and they were both about the same strength- but Katrina moved on through after causing her damage and really it was after she was gone that New Orleans took its worse hit with the levee breaking.

In Cameron Parish- as has been mentioned by other posters- there was nothing left undamaged- some communities could only be identified by a single standing water tower- slabs and all debris completely washed away- but probably most damage was done before the storm surge even hit that area. The destruction there is very similar to the destruction in Southern Mississippi. In Calcasieu Parish which is immediately north of Cameron Parish here are the damage facts:
19,338 homes were destroyed (that is 24%) a total of 61.1% were damaged enough to be uninhabitable and over 17,000 blue roofs were attached to homes suffering damage by Army Corp of Engineers (so numbers go up for those who did their own or hired outside contracters)
Power was out in most of the parish for 3 weeks
5.73 million cubic yards of storm debris was collected (that is enough to fill a football field with a pile more than half a mile high)
In the year 2000 Calcasieu Parish population was 183,577 after Katrina hit we were at 195,000 people, current estimates have 50,000 residents of the parish living elsewhere and 10,000 residents from Cameron Parish are living here now- this is population decrease of 23%
Employment: unemployment has tripled in our area from 5.3% yo 16.2% with mostly only temporary and minimum wage jobs available
Public Buildings- estimate that 8% of these were destroyed or significantly damaged (things like civic center which had served as a shelter for Katrina victims)
Local Airports had extensive damage- with our passenger airport terminal being completely destroyed
Petrochemical planst were out of service for 3 weeks
Calcasieu Parish lost half of its trees in the storm- with estimates of 626 million board feet of lumber being lost
One local casino responsible for about 2000 jobs was destroyed
Local Colleges (2) suffered extensive damages with students today using temporary buildings and just the great outdoors to attend class in.

That is just an outline of some of the stated damages- sort of bland to read- the human face of it is harder still- there are so many families that lost everything (as they did in Katrina as well- no one is belittling the other storm just trying to make people aware that there is more to it than one specific area) One friend of mine is currently living in a 3 bedroom home with 29 other people. She and her 3 children and husband had been apartment residents- their apartment (along with several thousand other apartments in the area) was destroyed and they do NOT qualify for a FEMA trailor because they were not home owners- her 10yo daughter called me in tears the other day- saying that she is so tired of having to draw numbers to be able to take a shower, of having zero privacy, and nothing of her own. She also reports that she is very thankful that her family was all safe- but it is a tense situation. This same family with 29 people have mostly family members from Cameron Parish- who lost everything left in their homes- and for some lost family who has been deceased for years as the graveyards in Cameron Parish also were destroyed with the bodies floating away and no way to identify remains - The Grandmother in this family had lost her home in Hurricane Audrey it is a storm that hit in the same area in 1957 but due to lack of early warning many many lost their lives- she did rebuild and she did pay for flood insurance- shame though- is they aren't paying on any of those Federal policies- and these same people would attempt to rebuild in their areas if they weren't still blocked from anything other than daytime visits to their homes-

Louisiana is not a place that is ignorant of storms- lots of things were done wrong in the Katrina disaster- from the people at the top of federal government, to our state government to local officials to the people who could have left but refused (not commenting on those who had no way to leave- that should have been in a plan long ago). Our area had a plan- people were evacuated and there were no human casualties, looting did occur- but it was minimal and penalties were strict (immediately after the storm any looters were picked up and brought to the empty city jail, locked in a cell given some bread and a few bottles of water- and left until later when they could be dealt with). Parish, city, town, officials worked together- not against each other- and when people came in to assist things were well coordinated- and the area was kept safe and sound.

Our kids were not encouraged to start schools outside of our area and missed 6 weeks as damages were repaired (some schools had more damage than others- some just had mold incurrsion in the humidity following the storm) The students of Cameron Parish had a few weeks longer to wait while repairs to the only two schools that could be repaired in the parish were made and then all the students were to attend one or the other- school on an odd 2 1/2 day schedule until a local petrochemical company donated the buildings to allow the students a more normal scheduled day.

Businesses - slowly came back to life- stores were a bit different shopping at them and only now about 5 months after is it really hard to notice the shortages of things like food, toiletries etc... (yes I know the New Orleans area still suffers with shortages and difficult situations- my mother in law jumps at the chance to come to our area to shop), debris is still being picked up- soon approaching our deadline for corp of engineer help, some buildings still lay in rubble from the storm's wind damage, roofs will be blue for a long time I'm sure, but the people are getting on with life.

People of Cameron Parish- will not all move and leave their hometowns- those people are a different breed- they are hardy and resiliant and really they are not the ones demanding hand outs or that the government bail them out. If they owned their property they had flood insurance- it has been required for most of that area since Hurricane Audrey sent a storm surge 30 miles inland. Rita went 20 miles inland btw. They are asking that they get things like their insurance payments that so many have paid so much for, that the government return things that were scavenged from their property, and that they be allowed to start rebuilding- and yes they will build to the newer codes too- These people have been hardworking and self supporting for a long time- and they will continue to be so for a long time to come.

People in my area are thankful for what they have- that family is all safe- yes they are upset at losses to property- but most will minimalize what damages they had- I work with many elderly- and when I ask how the storm treated them- I usually have to pull it out of them- that "not too bad" may mean they are now living in their garage or in a tent on their property. That they are functioning in one room of their home with the rest of their home boarded up in hopes to get some insurance money to afford the repairs.

Another friend had a back injury and is wheel chair bound- by the time her husband was released from work to evacuate- the trafic was too bad- she can not remain in a car for too long- she she and her husband remained at home- a tornado hit their house with them in it- picking it up and dropping it three times- 3 weeks after the storm many had returned back to the city- and we went to see if we could help her- drove up to her property to find the neatest pile of debris- you see she was removing the carpeting from her home one 2 foot square pile at at time- she put her self on the floor would cut squares she could reach and stack them up and then put herself back in her wheel chair and wheel herself and the debris to the curb... About a month later her son returned home from Iraq in a wheel chair himself after being the vehicle he was in drove over a landmine- (he neglected to tell her he was coming home because he was now disabled) - this same woman- still volunteers at local churches to help other people who she says, "are suffering more than me"... That is the spirit and attitude of most in Southwest Lousiana- and would even go as far to say all of Louisiana.

So yes- please remember those who suffered from hurricane Katrina in New Orleans (I know first hand that it is rough there) but also remember those all along the coast of Lousiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Texas- those two storms did one heck of a number on the Gulf coast- and the fact that there is a need there- doesn't mean that any other area has suffered any less at any time- natural disasters happen all the time, happen everywhere, and no one is immune- we can all be prepared- and I encourage all to makesure that their communities have plans for all sorts of disasters that could occur.

And to the person who thinks nothing should be rebuilt in these areas most affected- you may get your wish for some of the areas affected by the storms- some communities will not return- but I also challenge you to please in your infinite wisdom- tell me where in the USA I can live with my family- that has no natural disasters- I've looked and can't seem to find one between earthquakes, forest fires, landslides, tornadoes, ice storms, blizzards, etc- seems everywhere is affected by something- or could be at all times. And as I've said before you do need to be prepared, structures should be rebuilt with stricter codes to withstand more damage prevelant to the areas- but unless you are willing to have all these people in your own community speak a little less harshly-

And I will end by saying thank you for all the well wishes for all of the Affected Gulf Coast- the positive notes, words of kindness and prayers do help!

 

[doglvr31]

I was in it. I was in the Hurricane. I was so sad when i found out that my home was gone! i started crying all that night, nothing could get me asleep i was so ad taht i couldnt go home. fortuanutly none of my animals were gone.

 

[Zmsksirt]

The problem in New Orleans (and other areas) is that much of the area is at or below sea level. Living at such a low elevation when you are so close to the Gulf of Mexico is irrational. Common sense dictates that higher elevations are safer. If you live along the coast and the elevation of your residence (land) is less than 20 feet, then your property is an accident waiting to happen. Water seeks its own level. Nothing will stop it.

Insurance should not be made available to owners that build in high risk areas. The absurd logic (i.e. name me a place where natural disasters do not happen..) used by some people in order to justify living in a flood plain or tidal surge area goes way beyond common sense.

The solution is simple. Move to higher ground.

 

[drakethib]

The problem in New Orleans (and other areas) is that much of the area is at or below sea level. Living at such a low elevation when you are so close to the Gulf of Mexico is irrational. Common sense dictates that higher elevations are safer. If you live along the coast and the elevation of your residence (land) is less than 20 feet, then your property is an accident waiting to happen. Water seeks its own level. Nothing will stop it.

Insurance should not be made available to owners that build in high risk areas. The absurd logic (i.e. name me a place where natural disasters do not happen..) used by some people in order to justify living in a flood plain or tidal surge area goes way beyond common sense.

The solution is simple. Move to higher ground.

Again, I revert to my saying that you should boycott all products including food and clothing that come through the Port of New Orleans (or any other port in the nation) to show you support on this "absurd logic". Any location near water has a possiblity of flooding.

Please tell me of the safest place to live and I can tell you what coudl possibly happen to the area.

 

[Zmsksirt]

Again, I revert to my saying that you should boycott all products including food and clothing that come through the Port of New Orleans (or any other port in the nation) to show you support on this "absurd logic". Any location near water has a possiblity of flooding.

Please tell me of the safest place to live and I can tell you what coudl possibly happen to the area.

Actually, you are very wrong. I have lived in Florida for over 30 years. My current residence is very close to the Gulf of Mexico. However, my house is built on property that is 43 feet above sea level. It's easy to find property along the coast that is not in a flood plane or tidal surge area. You just have to plan in advance. Water damage can always be avoided with proper planning.

Unfortunately, many developers build housing tracts in unsafe areas and consumers often fail to check the land topographics to properly safeguard their interests. Some owners are even foolish enough to rebuild in known flood plane and tidal surge areas.

It seems rather strange to me that some people have a "doomsday" attitude concerning natural disasters. They seem to honestly believe that few if any precautions can be taken to preclude such events. I suppose such thinking is based upon inexperience, lack of knowledge or perhaps religious dogma.