Katrina Update #87

August 29, 2008; 2:00 PM

Three Years Later — Gustav?

I was planning on writing about all the progress New Orleans has made: how there are now over 300,000 residents back in the city of New Orleans and over 1.1 million people in the entire metro area, which means it is down only about 200,000 to 300,000 from its pre-Katrina population. I had planned on writing about how there are now 955 resstaurants open in New Orleans compared to only 809 before Katrina. (Source: Tom Fitzmorris' The New Orleans Menu website.) I had planned on talking about how despite some problems that still persist, New Orleans seems well on the road to recovery. But then there's Gustav:

Gustav

So Janis and I have spent the last couple of days preparing for the storm. We are getting prescriptions together, making sure we have enough batteries, cleaning out the fridge, and eating perishable food. We have purchased plenty of water and canned goods and things that can be cooked in pots over propane. We have made room in the garage for things like the BBQ grill and lawn chairs, and we have explored our options for leaving the city, should that become necessary. We have heard from several people who have asked whether or not we are leaving. The short answer is, we don't know. Gustav is too far away to make a decision right now. Based on the condition of our home after Katrina, however, we are inclined to stay put if it looks like anything less than a direct hit from a category 3 storm.

As I write this, the models all seem to be tracking Gustav to the west of New Orleans. Where it is when it actually makes that turn to the west, and how big it gets from exposure to the loop current in the Gulf of Mexico will ultimately decide its course. Right now it looks like we will make a final decision as to whether to leave or not sometime on Sunday.

Back to New Orelans

I am sure you are all familiar with those commercials where they say "you can turn this into this," and show you some kitchen cabinets in poor shape followed by what they look like after being remodeled. If you have then I am sure you will appreciate the ironic humor in this commercial that is shown here in New Orleans:

Yes, you to could turn what looks like a fine house (on the outside at least) to a pile of rubble — for FREE! To be fair, this is a great service to those whose homes are not liveable. Your tax dollars at work, folks. Blight is turning into New Orleans biggest problem now, and people locally are getting sick enough to do something about it. Within the past few weeks, the New Orleans city council has taken to task NOAH (New Orleans Affordable Homeownership) for paying out hundreds of thousands of dollars to contractors for home remdiation — but many of the homes billed for were not remediated.

For more about New Orleans progress, just turn on your TV — everything from CNN to the History Channel seems to be showing stories about New Orleans this weekend (and, many networks are broadcasting from here, covering both the anniversary and the impending storm).

Sorry for the quick update, but we are still watching to see what Gustav is going to do — and making preparations so we are ready for the worst. Please check out my blog to get more frequent updates about what is going on.

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