5 Thing the Media Didn't Tell You About Hurricane Katrina

1. More Than Just New Orleans Flooded.

I continue to have people who act like because I live in one of New Orleans’ suburbs that there was no flooding, massive power outages, looting, etc. The Media chose to focus on the Central Business District/French Quarter, that doesn’t mean nothing happened elsewhere. Some of the most heavily flooded areas were Lakeview and Chalmette. The French Quarter and most of the CBD and Warehouse District failed to receive any water, but suffered substantial looting.

According to "The Times Picayune", approximately 800+ square miles of the New Orleans *Metropolitan area* flooded due to either storm surge, levee failure, or rainfall. This doesn’t include cities along Louisiana’s and Mississippi’s coastline that were wiped out due to 25 ft high storm surge, or storm damage that stretched all the way to Florida’s panhandle.

2. The Levees Aren’t Done Yet.

It’s been almost two years since Katrina and they’re still working on all the levees that failed. Not to improve them, but to properly repair the breaks. This project was originally scheduled to be finished before the start of the hurricane season last year, and this year, they’re still no where near completion.

3. This Was the "Storm of the Century".

Every time I turn on the News now someone is talking about how bad the hurricane season is going to be for the coming year.

It’s hype.

Hurricanes, much like tornadoes, are creatures of the right conditions. If the conditions are right, then it can breed really bad hurricanes. Or if the conditions are wrong, you can have a season like 2006 where there were no major storms period.

I’ve lived in the New Orleans area for the majority of my life. The last major hurricanes we had that were along the lines of Katrina were like Betsy and Camille, and they were in 1956 and 1969 and didn’t strike the exact same place.

4. Crime Hasn’t Gone Up; The Population Has Gone Down

The crime level of the city has returned to normal. The only problem is that the population hasn’t, so instead of our city being ranked as it was previously pre-Katrina, it’s now rated as being more dangerous than Compton, Cali.

The massive amounts of looting that was shown on TV hasn’t helped the city’s image either despite the fact that looting is a common part of many hurricanes. People with the intention to steal realize that people are evacuating in large numbers and leaving valuables behind and virtually unguarded. That’s often the reason why areas are sanctioned under "martial law" after a natural disaster to keep lawlessness to an absolute minimum.

5. We Are Still Rebuilding.

I have a friend that’s still living in FEMA trailer because she just got her Louisiana Road Home money this past week and it’ll still be another month before her house is finished. And when I say "she", I mean her, her sister, her niece, and her mother...in one tiny trailer since Hurricane Katrina, almost two years ago.

My friend is one of many people who are still waiting to return to "a normal life". And one of the fortunate few, who will be able to return in a short period of time. For of the $110 million dollars that’s been a lotted by Congress, only 17,000+ families have actually been awarded their Road Home money.

If you want to see how far we’ve come along in two years, go beyond Bourbon, St. Charles, and Canal St. Venture to the end of Elysian Fields or down Tulane Ave and watch the line of FEMA trailers and boarded up business that still bear the flood line. Or go further, to New Orleans East where budding film makers shoot stock footage of desolate neighborhoods for post-apocalyptic flicks. Keep going until you hit Bay St. Louis, where all that’s left are concrete slabs where gorgeous mansions once stood.

We are far from finished yet, but we will get there because this is home.