haunting New Orleans pic :(

[thresher]

My dad took this with his generic instamatic so sorry the quality isn't of ZJ's. He shot this among the blocks and blocks of destroyed houses. The symbols spray painted on the house are haunting.

[oblongmelon]

what do all the symbols mean?

[thresher]

They are rescuers' symbols, insurers' symbols and secondary rescuers' (body collectors ) symbols. And the note to the spca is so sad.

rescuers' symbols on left -date - no immediate rescue needed - zone location on grid
secondary rescuers' symbols on right- no bodies found - all clear
insurers - no flood insurance (backwards dollar sign) and value of property - 10k
note to spca - 4 dogs went under house
f/w/left was written by owner, not known at this time

[riskykougra]

I remember watching the news and having them explain that the symbols are there from the rescuers to let other rescuers know that the house has been searched and evacuated of any people and pets that are alive and some of the symbols were to represent if there were any deceased in the house to be removed.
Nevermind he beat me to it ...

[oblongmelon]

wow..sad.

[Jenny]

Very sad.

[MikeD]

Even more sad is that this picture will likely be repeated again at some point...

[Houdini]

Yeah, there are still some houses in a few neighborhoods that look like that. People haven't returned, etc. There were many immediately after the storm in NON-AFFECTED areas that looked like that too, but have since been repainted.

NOLA is back, and has been for a long time. Anyone who visits today will find things are pretty much like they were a year ago. A lot of businesses that used to thrive in the FQ are now art galleries, etc., but the tours are still active, the FQ is still the FQ, St. Charles and Uptown look the same. The University area looks fine. The ancient plantation houses up the river are fine, etc. For your average NOLA visitor, the hurricane didn't even happen.

It's been that way for months and months, but every time NOLA is on TV, they show Nagin and a bunch of blighted homes in some neighborhoods that were off-the-beaten path blighted areas to begin with - crack houses, etc. Not ALL were crack houses, but many were.

But there are no dead babies in the streets. The museums are open. The zoo is open. Audubon park is as beautiful as ever.

So, in short, VISIT NEW ORLEANS!

[thresher]

My dad took that picture last week and did, indeed, say that the blighted areas are large but not effectively destroying the affect of the FQ. He did note that the menus are almost non-existent in the FQ with only 3-4 items in restuarants where the menus were once pages long. The owners said this, too, shall pass. To my father, the most surprising thing was the complete utter lack of labor. McDonalds is paying $14 an hour to start with a $500 bonus after one month. The blue collar labor shortage is astounding. No one can afford to live in what's left and make what they once made. He (dad) went out of retirement with Hewlett Packard to see what they could do to help with business continuity and small businesses. Pretty cool.

[nickel]

My dad took that picture last week and did, indeed, say that the blighted areas are large but not effectively destroying the affect of the FQ. He did note that the menus are almost non-existent in the FQ with only 3-4 items in restuarants where the menus were once pages long. The owners said this, too, shall pass. To my father, the most surprising thing was the complete utter lack of labor. McDonalds is paying $14 an hour to start with a $500 bonus after one month. The blue collar labor shortage is astounding. No one can afford to live in what's left and make what they once made. He (dad) went out of retirement with Hewlett Packard to see what they could do to help with business continuity and small businesses. Pretty cool.

that's great your Dad is able to do that.

i know a guy who is there volunteering his carpentry skills through his church. he and a crew are presently working for this one woman doing some sheetrocking. he said she brings them coffee/drinks every day, AND every morning when they return to the job site she has all the debris from the day before cleaned up. what a great person, and it's nice to be appreciated!

[Sirrich3]

sad...

[dougadam]

A sad pic indeed.

[WhiskeyPapa]

Another encouraging sign: A few college kids from our church wanted to spend their spring break helping clean/rebuild/whatever in LA or MS. They were told to stay home because there were SO MANY college kids flocking to the area to work during their spring breaks that relief agencies didn't have enough infrastructure to handle that many volunteers...

[BigJon]

Have they done any modifications to the levies that broke? I was just curious because with the hurricane season coming up again...I only fear for a repeat of last year.

[KIISQueen]

This is sooo sad =(

[MJordanash]

That is pretty sad.

[Markel]

A few college kids from our church wanted to spend their spring break helping clean/rebuild/whatever in LA or MS.

My daughter went down to NOLA with a group of friends over spring break to help. She was in the crowd that was behind the CNN news guy on the Thursay night that he was covering from down there (but she never got on camera). There were even some kids from Alaska that were down there helping.

[HauptmannU]

Have they done any modifications to the levies that broke? I was just curious because with the hurricane season coming up again...I only fear for a repeat of last year.

The Army Corp of Engineers are working on strenthening the levees and adding surge gates to the canal entrances. However one recent report stated that the levee system has fundamental problems, and may be compromised in areas other than those repaired if a big storm strikes again.

My daughter went down to NOLA with a group of friends over spring break to help. She was in the crowd that was behind the CNN news guy on the Thursay night that he was covering from down there (but she never got on camera). There were even some kids from Alaska that were down there helping.

If you are coming to NO to help, please have a plan and have prior arrangements to plug yourself into organizations that are established here. Many of the people I see in the ER are from out of town and got into trouble. Many came alone, got drunk, stoned, loaded (circle one or more), got robbed, now have no money, no job, and no place to stay. I'm not saying "don't come", just have a plan and some sort of social network in town. NO can be a fun place, but it can also be a pretty rough place.

[ShawnLee]

Ha, I drove through last week at 2am and went into the French Quarter. Fun stuff. I walked around for some time looking for the Cafe Du Monde, trying to get some beignets. I saw some of the houses that looked like that, but by and large, the city looked well for what it had been through. Driving through the city on the I-10 wasn't so bad, especially considering the video of all the people who were stranded there on the freeway last year.

[Markel]

If you are coming to NO to help, please have a plan and have prior arrangements to plug yourself into organizations that are established here.

My daughter's group was tied in with one of the organizations there. I have another group of friends that were down in Biloxi earlier this year (they were helping through Samaritan's Purse).

[HauptmannU]

Ha, I drove through last week at 2am and went into the French Quarter. Fun stuff.

Damn Shawn, let me know next time you're in town and we'll get dinner.

My daughter's group was tied in with one of the organizations there. I have another group of friends that were down in Biloxi earlier this year (they were helping through Samaritan's Purse).

Please thank her for her service and I hope she had a fun and rewarding experience.

[Houdini]

Ha, I drove through last week at 2am and went into the French Quarter. Fun stuff. I walked around for some time looking for the Cafe Du Monde, trying to get some beignets. I saw some of the houses that looked like that, but by and large, the city looked well for what it had been through. Driving through the city on the I-10 wasn't so bad, especially considering the video of all the people who were stranded there on the freeway last year.

And you didn't give Haup or me a heads-up? We could have shown you around, had some damn good NOLA food., seen a good show or two, etc. Talked guns, played with guns, whatever.

NEXT TIME EMAIL ME!

H

Please thank her for her service and I hope she had a fun and rewarding experience.

Biloxi was hit very, very hard. Historic houses are gone. Non-historic houses are gone. Casinos are gone. Businesses are gone. By gone, I mean standing brick 2' columns that held foundations are still there, but the rest is nowhere to be found. The main HWY 90 bridge is still out. It will take the MS GC very, very long to come back with any sense of normalcy. As Haup said, we have a dearth of people in NO from everywhere who came to NOLA to "help" and end up in ERs with "suicidal ideation" b/c they have no other place to sleep. Or they got into legal trouble and need to be medically evaluated. THey're keeping our cops and EMS busy.