Hurricane Ida Update

It’s been 2 weeks since Hurricane Ida struck the Louisiana shoreline. The Category 4 storm left chunks of Louisiana, including New Orleans, without power before climbing the country spewing tornadoes and mass flooding. Some continue to wait for power but most of the state has been restored. The French Quarter and some other neighborhoods have internet, cable and landline access. The city is slowly coming back but problems persist.

Trash collection has resumed but is spotty at best. Same with the mail.

Hurricane Ida – Wed. the 1st

We’ve been without power since Sunday. As I said yesterday, life is very simple now. Breakfast today was cereal with juice. We charged our mobile devices at the neighbor’s porch/local-hangout and swapped rumors about where there might be power, gas or ice. A couple more neighborhoods had power and that kept us all optimistic for a reasonable recovery time.

Today’s hunt was for ice.

Hurricane Ida – Tues. the 31st

Life is very simple now. We wake when it’s light out and sleep when it gets dark. I’m a night owl who works until very late most nights so it’s quite an adjustment to get so little regular work accomplished and go to bed when early risers do. 

We eat. Breakfast today was scrambled eggs with softening cheese and defrosting shrimp. We tested the eggs in a cup of water but neither of us could remember if it was a bad thing that they were sinking and there was no internet to consult. We chanced it.

Hurricane Ida – Monday the 30th

The power went out Sunday afternoon as the Cat 4 winds of Hurricane Ida bashed the Louisiana coastline. I’ll admit the storm had been scary at times as we waited in candlelight, gusts ripping at rooftops and bending trees to breaking. It was very noisy until late into the night. 

Monday morning we looked around, checking out damage in the French Quarter and later on Magazine Street uptown and through Central City (PHOTOS BELOW). There were broken windows, tumbled bricks, and scattered roof tiles but the historic district had withstood the storm well, just as it had in Katrina. Our 300-year-old city was built to withstand a lot of abuse. And the levees held. 

Saints, Katrina and Rebirth!

It’s been 9 years today since Katrina made landfall on the Gulf’s coast. By the time it reached New Orleans, winds were estimated to have been Category 1 or 2 but then the levees failed and all hell broke loose. And then the world watched on TV as Americans stood on rooftops for days begging for water and worse and worse and worse. The Superdome became a symbol for loss, despair and failures at every level. It only took 4 1/2 years to change the Superdome into a house of triumph and a symbol of rebirth, renewal and rebuilding. The Dome, and all it represents, have become part of this city’s story and what better way to celebrate how far we’ve come than to go to a Saints game with the Rebirth Brass Band kicking things off in Champions Square.

Southern Decadence

The people of Plaquemines Parish and several other surrounding areas continue to suffer the effects of Isaac. In New Orleans, there are still many without power, phone, wifi or cable TV. That said, Isaac was not Katrina and last weekend, the French Quarter was filled with revelers attending Southern Decadence. For them and the many people who found themselves on an unscheduled week off from work, this week could be called a “Hurrication” (got the term from a local). There were repairs to be made and debris to pick up, but the French Quarter, with it’s allure of electricity and satellite TV, beckoned.

Isaac Passes

Hurricane Isaac has come and gone. To our north, south, east and west, there is devastation. The good news is that, for the most part, New Orleans has been spared. Hundreds of thousands have been without power since Monday and it will take weeks to get everyone back on the grid. Ditto for wifi, cable and landlines. But, if you want to know more about devastation, watch the news, because I’d rather talk about my beloved city.

Waiting on Isaac

I’ve lived through a few hurricanes. Agnes took out our outdoor deck in 1972. But if Isaac becomes a hurricane, it will be the first to hit NOLA  since my move here in 2009. I’ve decided to stay. Despite the anniversary with Katrina, this storm will be much weaker and NEVER FORGET – Katrina was really about the levee failures.

Katrina and Irene, Apples and Oranges

As Irene was ramping up in the Atlantic last week, the media seemed not to be able to resist comparing the coming storm to Katrina. There are moments in time that are singular, incomparable. Nothing else is “like the Holocaust.” Let’s face it, even when the Saints win the Superbowl again, it won’t be like when the Saints won the Superbowl. Some moments stand alone.