Mary's World

I evacuated New Orleans ahead of Hurricane Katrina on Saturday, August 27, 2005. In the wake of the post-Katrina levee breaks, my neighborhood took on 42" of water.

Work to rebuild began in March 2006, starting with a new roof being put on (my neighbor's tree took out one of my chimneys and had been laying across my roof since the storm). I moved back on October 15, one year and 50 days to the date of my evacuation.Below is the monthly updates of the rebuilding effort. To the right , I am including pictures from the storm and recovery.

Here is a link to my thoughts on the second anniversary.

December 15, 2006

The last box has been unboxed. Just in time to welcome my first house guests to my newly renovated home. My furniture refinisher (Daniel Styron of Foley, AL) did an excellent job and I've put up some pictures of some of the pieces.

October 20, 2006

I made the move and have been busily unpacking for the past week. My house is quickly becoming a home again.

Today, I had the rest of the trees that died in the flooding taken down. A special thank you to the Golden Crown Literary Society, as it was the grant they gave me that allowed me to do this. I was also able to show off my house made new again to some out of town friends.

I'll probably post another set or two of pictures with the renovations but this will probably be the last time I update this page. I appreciate everyone who stopped by and let me know what they thought of the pictures.

October 3, 2006

Passed inspection! I've scheduled movers to take my household goods from Foley, AL to New Orleans on 10/11. Except for a few trips back and forth to get the rest of my furniture, I should be a full-time resident of the Crescent City by October 15th. Go Saints!

September 30, 2006

Tarnation! Because I didn't have smoke detectors in the bedrooms and built new steps for the side porch without a handrail (not that either of those things was there BEFORE the storm), my house failed its inspection and I didn't get an occupancy permit. My contractor is going to work this weekend and have them come back out to reinspect at the first of the week.

August 31, 2006

Happy Anniversary, Baby! I am counting down the days until I can move back into my home. The contractor is down to touch up work (and replacing my side porch that rotted from underneath--the previous owner used non-pressure treated lumber in the support stringers and a week under water took quite a toll). I now have dial tone throughout the house and toilets back in the bathrooms. Still don't have counters or a kitchen sink but I am willing to live without.

July 2006

After another two weeks in San Francisco and Oakland, I've returned to the most beautiful floors on the planet. They are stained and sealed and positively glow. Now, it is on to the small stuff (baseboards, counter-tops, etc) as well as reinstalling the fixtures and appliances. I may even be back in by the middle of August.

June 2006

The gutter folks came out for an inspection and to tell me that it will be November before they can get out to get things replaced. Seems that most of their installers have left town or have taken more lucrative work. I'm hoping that I'm back into my house by then--Gavin's guys are getting ready to stain and seal the floors. I can't wait for the counters to arrive. My parent's and I will go and purchase appliances in the next week or so. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

May 2006

I spent most of the month in the San Francisco Bay Area. Upon my return, I find that MacArthur Park (my contractor) has completed the painting, replaced the buckled sections of the floor and sanded everthing, and installed the new a/c condenser (smartly putting it on a two foot high platform). I'm still waiting on the gutter guys but the place looks like a house again.

April 2006

Work is continuing at a good pace on my house. In March, the roof was replaced, the interior gutted to 4' and the electrical replaced where the toxic water had come in contact with it. Counters and counter tops have been ordered, paint color has been selected, and I've been looking for appliances (I'll be using the washer/dryer from my paternal grandmother but I've got to replace the fridge, stove, and dishwasher).

I'm still waiting for additional monies from my insurance as the cost of labor and materials have skyrocketed all along the Gulf Coast. Drywall hangers are getting $110/hour and you shouldn't even get me started on what roofers are charging. I've got a great contractor, though, and he's definitely doing right by me.

December 2005

I've been back several times to the Crescent City and it still looks like a war zone in my neighborhood. While several homes in the area are being worked on during the day, the vast majority are empty and reeking. My area of town has few operation traffic lights and virtually no-one around after dark.

FEMA came and determined that my driveway is too short/narrow for them to place a trailer on my property. Now, I'm left to make the trek to NO from Foley a couple of times a week, since my house is not livable.

I've removed everything I could, opened up the walls and removed insulation. Running an air purifier 24/7 and the 10% bleach solution I've sprayed everywhere has slowed the mold growth down. I'm getting estimates from contractors now and am hoping that work can start in the new year.

October 2005

It's been a month since Katrina's passing, the levee's breaking, and Rita brushing past. I've made two trips to New Orleans, now, and I've taken some pictures of my house and of the surrounding neighborhood.

It is eerie in the city. Only a handful of folks are in my area. Across the street, a man was removing tree debris that the winds had knocked into his house and yard. On the corner, a woodworker was going through the remains of his workshop. I say remains because the water was about 4' on Loyola and the bottom of every house took significant damage.

There were the occasional humvees of soldiers and a Red Cross van that drove by but we were pretty much alone on our street. In the later afternoon, the utility folks and home inspectors came through, condemning some properties and allowing work to continue in others.

Electricity has returned to some areas, unfortunately it hasn't made it to my area of Uptown. All the traffic lights are out. The silence is near total. Except for a generator running a street over, there was nothing--no radios, no TV's and, that ubiquitous of all southern noises, no air conditioners. I left before curfew but I was told that the stars above the darkened city are a wonder to behold.

In some ways, it is like returning to a forgotten era. Folks greet each strangers as fellow survivors, connecting, commiserating and bonding. From neighbors I was barely on speaking terms with I received offers of extra water, food, supplies, or just a hand to help. Friends stopping by walk right into open homes to share their stories and reassure each other that we, in fact, made it.

I see the piles of people's lives on the sides of the streets and I feel the loss of memories keenly. Photo albums black with mold, furniture that just disintegrated in the water, and refrigerators stinking of rot are just shoved to the curb. I wonder how the city will come back--only one person, beside myself, on my block had flood insurance. I don't know how many can afford to return to no homes, no jobs, no schools. I hope that the donations to Katrina's victims make it to those most desperate for aid and not just to those savvy enough to work the system to their advantage.

I also wonder about the ecologic impact--besides the toxins the receding floodwaters have deposited on the ground and into the water table, where is all the garbage going? There are already mountains of wood debris and refuse from homes on the outskirts of the city and hardly anyone has returned to begin work in New Orleans. Where are all the flooded cars going to go? Will they be cleaned and find their way onto the used car market or will they clog an already full to bursting landfill?

It is my plan to speak to the insurance adjuster next week. I'll have a better idea then if I will be able to rebuild or if I should pack up my few remaining belongings and leave. I fear that warmer waters and warming air will mean worse hurricanes in the future. I don't think my heart can take another storm.