Truthout Original

Facebook DIGG

Katrina Pain Index: New Orleans Three Years Later

by: Bill Quigley, t r u t h o u t | Perspective

photo
Trumpeter Marlin Jordan (left) leads a memorial procession up the Claiborne Bridge in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans, Louisiana in 2007. As the three-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina approaches this week, the city ranks No. 1 in the nation in percentage of housing vacant or ruined. (Photo: Reuters)

    Katrina hit New Orleans and the Gulf Coast three years ago this week. The president promised to do whatever it took to rebuild. But the nation is trying to fight wars in several countries and is dealing with economic crisis. The attention of the president wandered away. As a result, this is what New Orleans looks like today.

    0. Number of renters in Louisiana who have received financial assistance from the $10 billion federal post-Katrina rebuilding program Road Home Community Development Block Grant - compared to 116,708 homeowners.

    0. Number of apartments currently being built to replace the 963 public housing apartments formerly occupied and now demolished at the St. Bernard Housing Development.

    0. Amount of data available to evaluate performance of publicly financed, privately run charter schools in New Orleans in 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 school years.

    .008. Percentage of rental homes that were supposed to be repaired and occupied by August 2008 which were actually completed and occupied - a total of 82 finished out of 10,000 projected.

    1. Rank of New Orleans among US cities in percentage of housing vacant or ruined.

    1. Rank of New Orleans among US cities in murders per capita for 2006 and 2007.

    4. Number of the 13 City of New Orleans Planning Districts that are at the same risk of flooding as they were before Katrina.

    10. Number of apartments being rehabbed so far to replace the 896 apartments formerly occupied and now demolished at the Lafitte Housing Development.

    11. Percent of families who have returned to live in Lower Ninth Ward.

    17. Percentage increase in wages in the hotel and food industry since before Katrina.

    20-25. Years that experts estimate it will take to rebuild the City of New Orleans at current pace.

    25. Percent fewer hospitals in metro New Orleans than before Katrina.

    32. Percent of the city's neighborhoods that have less than half as many households as before Katrina.

    36. Percent fewer tons of cargo that move through Port of New Orleans since Katrina.

    38. Percent fewer hospital beds in New Orleans since Katrina.

    40. Percentage fewer special education students attending publicly funded, privately run charter schools than traditional public schools.

    41. Number of publicly funded, privately run public charter schools in New Orleans out of total of 79 public schools in the city.

    43. Percentage of child care available in New Orleans compared to before Katrina.

    46. Percentage increase in rents in New Orleans since Katrina.

    56. Percentage fewer inpatient psychiatric beds compared to before Katrina.

    80. Percentage fewer public transportation buses now than pre-Katrina.

    81. Percentage of homeowners in New Orleans who received insufficient funds to cover the complete costs to repair their homes.

    300. Number of National Guard troops still in City of New Orleans.

    1,080. Days National Guard troops have remained in City of New Orleans.

    1,250. Number of publicly financed vouchers for children to attend private schools in New Orleans in program's first year.

    6,982. Number of families still living in FEMA trailers in metro New Orleans area.

    8,000. Fewer publicly assisted rental apartments planned for New Orleans by federal government.

    10,000. Houses demolished in New Orleans since Katrina.

    12,000. Number of homeless in New Orleans even after camps of people living under the bridges have been resettled - double the pre-Katrina number.

    14,000. Number of displaced families in New Orleans area whose hurricane rental assistance expires in March 2009.

    32,000. Number of children who have not returned to public school in New Orleans, leaving the public school population less than half what it was pre-Katrina.

    39,000. Number of Louisiana homeowners who have applied for federal assistance in repair and rebuilding who still have not received any money.

    45,000. Fewer children enrolled in Medicaid public healthcare in New Orleans than pre-Katrina.

    46,000. Fewer African-American voters in New Orleans in 2007 gubernatorial election than in 2003 gubernatorial election.

    55,000. Fewer houses receiving mail than before Katrina.

    62,000. Fewer people in New Orleans enrolled in Medicaid public healthcare than pre-Katrina.

    71,657. Vacant, ruined, unoccupied houses in New Orleans today.

    124,000. Fewer people working in metropolitan New Orleans than pre-Katrina.

    132,000. Fewer people in New Orleans than before Katrina, according to the City of New Orleans current population estimate of 321,000 in New Orleans.

    214,000. Fewer people in New Orleans than before Katrina, according to the US Census Bureau current population estimate of 239,000 in New Orleans.

    453,726. Population of New Orleans before Katrina.

    320 million. Number of trees destroyed in Louisiana and Mississippi by Katrina.

    368 million. Dollar losses of five major metro New Orleans hospitals from Katrina through 2007. In 2008, these hospitals expect another $103 million in losses.

    1.9 billion. FEMA dollars scheduled to be available to metro New Orleans for Katrina damages that have not yet been delivered.

    2.6 billion. FEMA dollars scheduled to be available to State of Louisiana for Katrina damages that have not yet been delivered.

    Bill is a human rights lawyer, a law professor at Loyola University New Orleans and author of the forthcoming book, "STORMS STILL RAGING: Katrina, New Orleans and Social Justice." A version with all sources included is available. Bill's email is quigley77@gmail.com. For more information see the Greater New Orleans Community Data Center and Policy Link.

»


Comments

This is a moderated forum.  It may take a little while for comments to go live. Be civil and on-topic, don't threaten or advocate violence, please keep it under 300 words. Thanks for participating.

Thanks, BIll for this

Thanks, BIll for this painful read. Thanks because I know I can trust you to speak the unvarnished truth. This is very sad, although I am not surprised at any of it. Keep in touch with us, with information on what we can do together to make a difference. My resources are limited. As I think Newman said, "I cannot do everything (or even much, as I would like) but I can do something." I have to believe with Julian of Norwich in the 14th century, "All manner of things will be well." I reckon this is conditional, depending on God and us.

And the question is, why

And the question is, why does Obama refuse to debate in (and about) New Orleans at the Google Debates in September? McCain wasn't afraid. Is it because Obama's afraid Nader might get into that debate?

These are truly embarrassing

These are truly embarrassing numbers. The Federal Government should be ridiculed for their non-behavior. Despicable!

What is the current

What is the current population of New Orleans? How many dollars have been spent? Wasn't New Orleans near the top in murder rate before Katrina? Why does the Mississippi coast area look way ahead of Louisiana in repairs to infrastructure? Could Louisiana politicians and their friends be getting rich? Maybe the Federal Government is tired of all of the corruption in New Orleans, and they are actually saving the rest of us money.

Dumb statistics... city

Dumb statistics... city government biggest obstacle in the re-construction .... controlled by democrats ... situation normal

New Orleans has been a

New Orleans has been a National Treasure--one of our most interesting cities. The callousness of the Bush Administration when Katrina happened and the ensuing non delivery of restorative resources-- trailers standing idle or diverted, other trailers reeking formaldehyde, levies not re-built properly......This precious city has simply been (not accidentally) abandoned by the Republican Adminstration and its agencies. Why? Americans were horrified to see so graphically the shocking images of NOLA residents begging to be rescused from their rooftops or from waters, Remember the forlorn pets, dazed and frequently sacrificed. And, where DID all that money go? Usually intentions can be interpreted by results. Most of the victims were poor people, without resources. These are precisely the people this administration couldn't care less about. They should have bootstrapped it to safety, right? Every American citizen has an inherent right to "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness." If this natural disaster had happened in Scardale, NY or Bethesda MD--would the response have been the same? Yes, there was always a high crime rate in New Orleans, and this kind of catastrophe exacerbated it. What would one expect? I have no idea what John McSame has said about NOLA; I simply know that he doesn't want a "government for or by the people." Each human life is precious, and this administration should hang it's head in shame about the travesty of how we treated this fascinating city in it's most perilous hours. The worst part of the Bush and McSame folk is their total lack of empathy. John McCain remembers his own time of suffering (which he never fails to put shamelessly to political use), but he seems to have no empathy for the suffering of others.

Devastating statistics, of

Devastating statistics, of course. Clearly, their common denominator is DYSFUNCTION. This goes far beyond partisan/administrative irresponsibility to the core of the United States as a politically and socially responsible and responsive entity. Both - individual states and the union of American states - have suffered and are suffering from this dysfunction, and it is the people, especially the poor people, who are doing the suffering. As president, Bush is no more than a symbol of this situation, as will be McCain or Obama. The US Congress must be held responsible - something only the American people can do. The question is how? With Congress no longer responsive to the needs of the American people there is a disconnect. In other words the American people are on their own. Once they realize this, or rather if they realize it, revolution is possible. Isn't that how the United States started? Peter Edler, Stockholm, Sweden

There is an large amount of

There is an large amount of blame to go around here, from the corrupt local political machine to the incompetent Feds. And there is also the reality that New Orleans is a city that economically had to be built but geographically was always a disaster waiting to happen. The decision to drain the wetlands was a perfect example of the 19th century idea of man dominating nature, however, in such a contest Mother Nature will always come out on top. Don't think for a moment I have no sympathy for those poor people who lost everything, because that is not the case. What I don't have is patience for the simplistic blame game that is inevitably provoked by such happenings. The democrats-please-what about the party in power in Washington?

Disaster Capitalism. Shifts

Disaster Capitalism. Shifts blame away from the holy Free Market and the scourge of Monopoly Capitalism, turn it instead on, not just this Fascist government, dressed up as it is in false colors. but on the very notion of government. Animal Farm-like Government Bad, Business Good mantra is a game plan, The Capitalist always anxious to drown the paltry 'rights' workers (the majority) have fought and have been killed for by the rich man's hired goons and armies going on centuries. They always try to scare us and steal from us. Look, they've already made wage-slaves of us! They try scaring us too, because a scared people run and hide, and panic. Do you notice how all they produce tells you how scary and dangerous a place the world is? Day in, day out. No wonder this country is so Christian. Can't depend on anything positive in this life is the message, might as well hope for a better one in mythical heaven (Even their god is scary). The Fear-mongers, the scared little group of men behind the walls of power, the money changers. In every country, of any party, these are our TRUE enemies. And they print the "news". Have you seen the bigger piggies in their starched white shirts?

To the person blaming

To the person blaming Democrats: how typical of you, obviously a Repugnantcan! When another damaging hurrican hit Florida a year earlier, an election year, Bush made sure that his brother's state got all the Federal assistance they needed. He wouldn't screw with the Repugnantcan upper-middle class and wealthy Spanish-descended (white) Cuban exile vote. New Orleans wasn't in Karl Rove's territory of potential voters, so they got nothing regarding Federal help, just empty promises. Then people who hate government say:"see, government doesn't work!" Yeah, well what do you think will happen when people who want to shrink government down to the size where it can be drowned in a bathtub are in charge! I pay taxes so that the government can perform its function of doing things for the common good of all Americans, not just for some who happen to live in red states, and not so that Amerika can act like an empire waging wars overseas for natural resources and seting up colonies like in Iraq (and now possibly Georgia).

Democrat or Republican,

Democrat or Republican, makes no difference. Big business rules the roost of both parties.

Someone posted a comment

Someone posted a comment here regarding the dismal statistics that it had to do with the Democrats in charge there. SO TYPICAL of Repugnants blaming everybody else but their despicable leadership by their personal TERRIBLE DECIDER Bush. It wasn't a Democratic president who went to give McCain a birthday cake and then went to pretend to play guitar in San Diego while dead people were floating in putrid water and writing messages on top of their roof begging for help. This situation is the perfect proof of malfeasance by the most corrupt bunch of crooks who should be in jail and not running the country and affecting the rest of the world. McCAIN = McBUSH, McSAME, McSHAME. OBAMA/BIDEN CAN HELP!

When Americans go out to

When Americans go out to vote, the battle cry should be, "Remember New Orleans!" Remember how the dispossessed were removed and scattered across the country. Remember how America forgot it's promise. Remember who was in charge of the country.

Comment viewing options

Select your preferred way to display the comments and click "Save settings" to activate your changes.