Introduction: I have had the chance to work with many gifted journalists through some of the toughest times and events that have touched the lives and concerns of the people in New Orleans, Louisiana, the country, and around the world. Historians see history from a distance, where we in our profession witness and record events unfolding in the present. So, when a colleague of mine asked if I would write my experience through Hurricane Katrina for the 10th anniversary of the storm, I hesitated. Many of my colleagues suffered along with the people of the region. We documented horrible images of personal destruction and witnessed one of America’s greatest city’s languish in despair. It would be too easy to try to forget that

terrible experience — to move on – but to do so would erase

Brian Lukas: Hurricane Katrina

Brian Lukas, WWL-TV

from memory the 1,800 souls who perished, the thousands whose lives were uprooted, the many who lost everything, and, sadly, the few who look their lives after the storm because they could not cope with the mental stress. Many still suffer the continued mental torment and nightmares from that time. Hurricane Katrina was one of the most horrible events in American history, and not a day goes by when the word Katrina is not mentioned within a body of conservation. I have become witness to the events that shaped our region through the viewfinder of a television camera. There were many tears shed in the story of Hurricane Katrina. There are many tears left to be shed. Those that lived through the horrible events in 2005 will carry a mental scar the rest of their lives. It was a war of survival. It was a time when a bottle of water meant surviving in the blazing summer of an August and September heat wave. The first responders who stayed and rescued those that could not leave, and some of us in the media who documented the tragedy in our region, carry a deeper image of this disaster. We witnessed the stinging pain as the rain slashed across our face while covering the hurricane. We heard the cries from those who were trapped in the houses from flooding surge, and we walked in the toxic waters. We felt helplessness when those who could not evacuate tried to, and we wondered, how could the most powerful country in the world leave its citizens in utter despair for five days?

Long after the telling sentence or the cleverly constructed paragraph has been consigned to memory’s trash heap, the images are what we remember about an event. Pictures trigger emotions quickly and directly and leave behind an image poignant and powerful. They are pictures worth a thousand words, images that telescope down to a crystal clear and sometimes defining moment of time and history.

If there is one image that I will always remember after covering Hurricane Katrina, it will be this one. An exhausted child, dehydrated, mosquito-bitten and near death. Alongside his mother is crying out for any assistance, while hundreds of others are crying out for the same thing.

I have covered many historical events affecting our region that have shaped the thoughts and perceptions of our viewers. I have documented many important stories of

our region – the Howard Johnson sniper incident, the horrific Rault Center fire, the

Continental Grain explosion, the Lulling ferry disaster and the tragedy of Flight 759 in Kenner. I have covered international conflicts, wars and environmental issued in Beirut, Canada, Europe, El Salvador, Africa, Columbia, Brazil and in Amazon Jungle. I have been in just about every tropical storm and hurricane impacting out region since the early 1970s. When Hurricane Camille slammed into the coast of Mississippi in 1969, as an intern in a newsroom, I listened and consoled those who were frantically calling for any information on the condition and location of their relatives, as that long night of terror slowly wore on.

We thought Camille was nature’s biggest fist to strike the region. But after covering all

of these events from other countries and from within the United States, I never realized that I would cover a disaster in the city and region I grew up in. Katrina would be the disaster that would make pale shadows of those other events. By submitting this narrative of events of Hurricane Katrina, I must apologize to many historians would write about events in the third person, or to other writers who document the historical record ….this is my first person account of covering one of the

most tragic events in our nation’s history — covering Hurricane Katrina. Brian Lukas

Just a few months before he died, I had the opportunity to interview my college history professor at his home in Bay St. Louis, Miss. During the interview, Professor Stephen Ambrose remarked, “You know, you do the same thing I do, but you do it on a daily basis. That is, record history.”

And so it begins:

Sunday August 28, 2005 Hurricane Katrina in now 175mph

Those who could not leave: Images of a wheelchair, the high-water mark, the search notification sprayed on the side of the house and a tattered American flag summarizes the days of anguish during Hurricane Katrina.

I’m in the mayor’s press office, there is a serious calm in the city. A press conference is about to begin with the mayor, the governor and the city’s emergency personnel. Just the day before I had been in a small helicopter filming the contraflow route as most of civilian population of the New Orleans etro area evacuated. Now, during this press conference, the mayor issues a mandatory evacuation order for the Parish of Orleans. The order states, “every person is hereby ordered to immediately evacuate the city of New Orleans. … Essential personnel of the United States of America … and media are allowed exception.” There is finality and an uncertainty of fate in this press conference, as everyone here is thinking what’s next. The mayor ends his news conference by saying, “This is the storm we all have feared. This is a threat that we never faced before. If we galvanize and rally around each other I am sure we will get through this, God bless us.” This will be the last press conference from City Hall. A photographer from another station told me that he and his station’s personnel are evacuating to another state. Surprised, I asked him how he was going to

cover the story and get information to the public if he was away, and he said, “I’ll be back after the storm passes, if the city is still here.” Outside City Hall the streets are almost void of all traffic. Emergency personnel are preparing for the worst, gathering needed equipment and supplies. Even though there is a mandatory emergency evacuation there are people walking about in scattered areas of the city. My wife and daughter have evacuated just the day before. Unfortunately, my son went to school in the New Orleans area and I cannot get in touch with him.

Move to higher ground. The hurricane is coming our way. We all are hoping that the system will make a more northerly turn, much like Hurricane Ivan, and slip more to the east. All eyes are on the weather system. We can only hope for the best. Returning to station at WWL-TV, I bumped into New Orleans Police Sergeant Paul Accardo talking to the assignment editor. Even in these days of Internet press releases,

it is not uncommon to have the public information officer hand-deliver documents to the desk. I assumed Paul was doing just that. I shook his hand and we talked for a little while. I told him to be careful. Paul said the same to me, and then I went to check my rain gear for my camera. During the evening most of the news crews moved our news units to higher ground. However, we kept our camera gear with us. The higher ground in this case is the sixth the floor of a garage near the Hyatt Regency. Unfortunately, we all fear that the inevitable will occur later tonight. The system is heading to Louisiana and New Orleans. People left in the city seemed to be resolved. They are waiting. We all are waiting. In the newsroom the decision is made that a group of about 25 news and engineering staffers would stay behind to cover the storm. This group will be housed in a hotel, and if needed, moved to the transmitter in Gretna. Others would evacuate to a safe position in Baton Rouge. Later during the evening, the WWL-TV news corps remained in New Orleans moved to the Hyatt Regency. The hotel is generally assumed to be secure. It is a high-rise building. If the water were to rise, we would, hopefully, be safe. The mayor of New Orleans, the police chief and their command staffs have also moved to the Hyatt. There is a major concern about water rising. If the waters of the river or the lake top the levees, it could be a dangerous and disastrous situation. That night I was assigned an interview with the New Orleans director of homeland security. There was a slight mist in the city. One of the distant feeder bands from the hurricane passed through. The interview was conducted on the upper floors of City Hall just across the street from the Hyatt. During the interview the director said he was preparing for the second evacuation of New Orleans after the storm. That comment was rather foreboding, and we asked him to repeat it. He and his operational command were preparing for the second evacuation of the city of New Orleans because he knew that some people are going to stay or that some people just won’t be able to leave if the hurricane directly impacts the city. During the interview, Terry Ebbert went on to say, “The evacuation is over. We’re already talking to the Corps of Engineers on how were going to de-water the city. Our object is and always has been to save as many lives and limit the potential loss of life. We have 20-25,000 people in the Superdome, we have hundreds of disabled and sick people in there. It’s going to be a very long, miserable 36-48 hours in the ‘Dome once we lose electricity. It will be 120-130 degrees in there, raining inside. The object is to make sure that people will be alive and then we’ll deal with it. And if the storm surge does flood the city, probably sometime Tuesday, we will execute a second phase of evacuations. We’re going to be faced with some nighttime rescue operations. It will be a difficult night tomorrow night, helping people who are in harm’s way. Our first priority is saving people. If the levees are overrun with a tidal surge, it will be a long haul. We will be moving people out instead of in. We will take care of life and will deal with what they left behind later. Those who stayed behind this time will

wish they hadn’t stayed behind, because very likely they will be evacuated on Tuesday and they won’t have any choice where they are going. They’re going to be separated. Most of the people who had the means took the mayor’s advice and left the city. What we are dealing with predominately in the Superdome, with people we picked up by bus, they did not have a means to leave the city. I think the one lesson everybody will learn at the federal level is that we could use some assistance in saving our wetlands and having a refugee of last resort. The nation will realize that next week if we shut down this oil and gas industry - $3.00 a gallon for gas will be just the beginning.” After the interview, the tape was picked up by courier and aired immediately. The interview was blunt, it was direct, and it may have, at the very last moment, forced some who thought they could ride out the storm to get out. I need to get some sleep tonight knowing from experience that the next few days may be difficult. The storm is bearing down on the city. Late in the night, the hotel security moved all the guests to a more secure position in the hotel. All photographers have their camera gear with them. The storm is about to hit the New Orleans metropolitan area. In the back of my mind is the safety of my son. I still can’t get in touch with him. He is in the area. I only hope he can find a shelter.

Lukas Part 2: We thought we had dodged a bullet 8/29/05 The Hurricane hit Monday Morning @just after 6:00am We were all moved to the middle ballroom on the third floor of the Hyatt Regency. Every once in a while we hear a loud crash. The wind is whipping around the building. More

loud crashes - it is the windows being blow out of the Hyatt. Then, more loud crashes and the sound of the howling wind. There are a lot of people in the ball room. Nobody is panicking, but there is concern as we know the building is falling apart on the outside. There seems to a constant loud thud - kind of like banging on the side of the building. Something must be hitting the hotel possibly debris from other buildings. Outside the Hyatt we hear the sound of some crashing windows, we have no idea that from the outside the condition of the building looks like something I had seen in Beirut. It is torn apart.

The windows are sheered off the building.

About 7 a.m. we walked down the three floors of dark stairs of the Hyatt. Emergency power was directed only to the ballroom. We only have flashlights. Outside the hurricane is popping more windows out of the building in front of the Hyatt. A fireman puts on his helmet. He is talking to the command desk. More windows explode - glass is all over the street. A large pane of glass crashes in front of me. It is too dangerous. I am trying now to cover the storm behind the columns of the Hyatt just under the breeze-way. The columns offer some protection. The rain is whipping around the building. I can’t stand up. I asked anchor Mike Hoss to be the other set of eyes for me, watching out for deadly debris. High water hid the perils below on the street that included glass and other items that puncture our tires. Large pieces of glass from office windows kept crashing down below, making the situation very dangerous. Debris pass us in the high wind. Water is rising in the back of the Superdome. It is now up to my knees. In a distance there is a figure that appears behind a submerged vehicle. It is an elderly man walking in high water carrying a plastic bag. He is trying to walk in the high winds that are pushing him from side to side. We are still in the winds of a Category 4 Hurricane and he is walking in it, trying to get to the Superdome, to shelter. He told us he lives on Jackson Avenue and his roof blew off. Other members of his family were still there. He is trying to get help. He fell in the water and got up, and the last I saw of him, in a

struggle with the swirling winds and water, he made it to the back of the Superdome. In desperation this elderly man walked almost a mile through the high winds and heavy rains of a Category 4 hurricane. At any time he could have been killed by the shear velocity of the winds and water, not to mention all the debris crashing down from the high-rise buildings. It is the beginning of a very bad situation.

I made my way to the high-rise parking lot. It’s tough walking with camera gear in the strong winds and high water of this hurricane. The sixth floor of the parking facility is an excellent vantage point to film the storm as it continues to pummel the city. Another national crew is already here. Many cars parked here have long since had their windows shattered by the pressure. Glass is everywhere. In utter disbelief I looked at the Superdome and saw the rubberized roof ripped off the ‘Dome. It is hanging over the side of the building. Thousands of people are in the ‘Dome. They have taken refuge in the refuge of last resort. The metal roof seems to be intact, but water must be seeping in. The rain and winds are violently intense. I can hardly stand up and I am in a somewhat protected area. From my vantage point I can see that the federal building is being ripped apart by the winds. Huge panes of glass are exploding on the side of the building. Furniture is sucked out of the open offices. Anyone on the streets now is in a perilous situation. Debris is being lifted into the air by the strong winds then forced to the ground. A few minutes later we decide to get in my news unit and film on the street. We passed through the garage gate and into knee-deep water. The winds almost forced my news van on its side. Shattered glass from the high-rise buildings were all over the street. We looked up to the Hyatt and in horror saw that most of the south facing windows were blown out. There is absolutely no one else on the streets. The storm is still impacting the area.

Downtown New Orleans is in shambles. The winds are still throwing debris in random patterns. There was a loud thump on the side off my news unit. My vehicle was hit by flying debris. We had to move or we would be hit again.

On Poydras St. there is debris everywhere and sharp-edged glass on the streets. In the height of a Category 4 storm, we filmed the wind and rain. It is truly a violent and dangerous storm. Then, the unfortunate happened. I have a flat tire on my news unit. Glass was everywhere. It was imbedded in my tire. So, I had to change the tire in the strong winds

and rain and in a Category 4 Hurricane. Finally, I made it back to the Hyatt. I noticed that the water in the back of the Hyatt is still rising. The water went from knee-deep water to waist deep very quickly.

Time to regroup and some get video of the storm on the air. The images of the storm I filmed this morning were the first images seen by the world as the hurricane continued it destructive path northward. Around 10 a.m. the core staff of WWL-TV made it back to the station on North Rampart. Unfortunately, because I started to film the hurricane earlier in the morning, I left all of my clothing in the Hyatt thinking that I might return. I didn’t. I went out again, this time to film the destruction in the Mid-City area. Power lines were down, trees were down and many

houses are damaged, some totally destroyed. There was no way to travel down St. Charles Ave. It is completely blocked by the large

fallen oaks. People were coming out of their shelters, out of their homes. I was amazed at how many people stayed in the city during the hurricane. There seemed to be a relief that the city made it through the worst of the storm. Then, unfortunately, I got another flat tire. This time it was the spare. Again, nails and glass are all over the streets. My tire is slashed. We road my news unit back to the station on the flat - there was no other alternative. I had two flats and no spare tire. I moved into another vehicle. We tried to cover the impact of the storm by driving to the lakefront. Riding down Canal Street seemed to be the only way to go, but we could only get as far as Broad Street. I had never seen this much high water in the city. People walking in the high water are dazed. There are a lot of people out in the city. An elderly man who seemed to have had a stroke made it through the waters to the edge of high ground. He walked toward us. His eyes stared straight ahead, limping, holding his arm, and totally wet. He passed our position without a word, silently limping to higher ground. It is as if he is shell shocked. Another man was shimmering through his car window falling in chest-deep water, the water covering the roof of his car.

Reports coming in were scarce. All communication is down. Our radios and phones are of no use. I am soaking wet. I have been in waist-deep water for hours. We got back to the station and edited my stories. The day is going by fast. There is so much to cover. Reports from other areas, other parishes are still not coming in. I know from past experiences that when reports are not filtering in, there are severe problems in those outlying parishes. No communications means problems. Big problems. All phones and radios are down. Because my news unit had three flat tires, I decided to go to the high-rise

parking area near the Superdome to secure another news unit that was not in use. I noticed that the water went down significantly in this area. In the back of the Superdome where water in the morning was knee deep, a large number of ambulances and emergency vehicles were lined up for deployment. This area was almost dry. It has been and exhausting day. That night I attempted to sleep in my editing bay on a cement floor while soaking wet. I tried later to sleep in my car, but the generator at the station is too loud. Back to the editing room to try to get some sleep. There is a lot of water still in the city. I think the majority of us at the station assume once the pumps flushed out, the water we would be able to get back to some normalcy of schedule. Again, the uncertainty of not knowing the whereabouts of my son is weighing heavily on my mind. There is much physical devastation in the city. The storm has been very destructive. That continues to drive my concern about my son. I think I may have gotten one hour of uneasy rest. Early next morning the news director announced on the station’s intercom that everyone should wake up immediately. This situation had severely changed for the worst. A levee broke. At that time many of us thought it was the Mississippi River levee and the river was rising, breaching over the levees. There was much confusion. We all grabbed our camera gear and went to the second floor. The immediate urgency subsided in time -- there was no onslaught of water coming down North Rampart Street -- but we had to leave the station. With no drinking water and no generator power for electricity, it would be difficult to cover the storm from the French Quarter. We are moving our base of operations to the Gretna transmitter site. Those of us that stayed in the New Orleans Metro area would be forever branded as the transmitter crew. Unfortunately, the transmitter is located in a depressed area of the city. There is a chain link gate and lock leading to the transmitter. It had to be locked as the days went on. We

seemed to become a possible target for looters or possible carjacking. Civil unrest is a major concern. Events are going downhill fast. We manage to get to a retail area on Airline Highway. For now, this is a staging area for rescue operations. The sheriff of Jefferson Parish, Harry Lee, told us on camera: “State police has I-10 coming back into Jefferson Parish blocked off. We’re not letting anybody back in. It is worse now than we thought it was. The water is actually rising in East Jefferson. The water in East Jefferson is rising, and we don’t know where it is coming from. The parish president suggested that you get in your car and get out of town. If you’re able to see this, haul ass and get out of town, because this is going to get a lot worse before it gets better. I don’t believe that the levee has been breached on the Jefferson Parish side of the 17th Street Canal. That may happen. Those of you that have flat boats, come here. Those people in New Orleans that did not have the capabilities to get out of town may have lost their lives because they were not capable of getting out. The water is rising and there is nothing we can do about that. The Metairie Road underpass, the water is as high as the train trestle. We tried to come out by Airline Highway. That looked like a lake. Canal Boulevard looks like a lake. We saw people on the side. They said we were watching bodies floating in the water. Our effort right now is to get people out that we can help. The safest thing to do now, and we’ve been saying this for three days now, is just get the hell out of town.” We quickly put this on the air. Lukas Part 3: Plaquemines just about gone, New Orleans in chaos I went to Plaquemines Parish. Devastation. Just immense devastation. It seemed as if the parish had just disappeared. The Mississippi River overflowed the levees. Driftwood and large logs that are usually inside the river lay on and over the levees. Officials said the levees were scoured from underneath. All along the highway animals roamed freely. Fences were down. There is water everywhere, tremendous flooding. Parts of lower Plaquemines Parish have just disappeared. Blackhawk helicopters are landing on the football field of Belle Chasse High School, bringing in survivors to a make-shift shelter. It is a human tragedy, people are displaced, hot, wet, confused and tired. More helicopter are arriving, bringing more survivors. Many seem to be in shock. Many are crying. The scope of the storm’s impact on the region is still

uncertain. Communication is by word of mouth only. Civil unrest came swiftly and harshly. It was only hours after the storm and looters were already on the move, taking even a barber chair from an Algiers business. Going back to the transmitter, we noticed several police cars near a gas station in Algiers. We learned that a police officer was shot in the back of the head. This was to be the first instance I noticed of civil unrest during the hurricane. We could not believe that a police officer had been shot. Incredible… The insanity begins. The police officer was trying to prevent looting. There are groups of people looting a small strip-mall on General de Gaulle. They are carrying shoes and clothing. A group of young men were throwing rocks at the window of a frame shop trying to break the glass. They did, and ran into the shop carrying the contents onto the street. They were even carrying a barber chair. What looted items they dropped in their haste others are picking up. This is insane. On Canal Street people are breaking into clothing stores - what they can’t carry they are dropping into the water. It is complete civil unrest. Police seemed to be trying to control the situation, but the looting is too widespread. A police officer told me they are trying to get the names of the looters and will issue warrants later. They can’t bring them to Central Lockup. Central Lockup is underwater. It didn't take long for people to seek refuge across the bridge in areas that were not as hard hit. Later in the evening I was assigned an interview with Mayor Ray Nagin at the Hyatt Hotel. Over the Crescent City Connection, people were walking up the entrance ramps. Then more people and more. Water is rising in the city. There are whole families on the expressway carrying plastic bags filled with personal items. We needed to get the interview with the mayor to let the citizens of New Orleans know the current situation. On Loyola Avenue the water is high and getting deep. I can now see the reflection of the Plaza Towers in the waters that cover the street. In waist deep water we move to the Hyatt from Poydras Street. It is in the back of our minds that any manhole cover might be open, and as such, we would be sucked into the drainage system. In the distance a woman and her husband are evacuating the storm in the high water. The husband died of a heart attack in the evacuation. The lady was trying to push his body to Charity Hospital. Charity Hospital is surrounded by water.

Finally, at the Hyatt, we walked up the four flights of stairs in darkness. All of the electricity is off in the hotel. The fourth floor is illuminated only by the diminishing daylight shining through the atrium windows. Here we conducted the interview that sent chills up my spine. The mayor told us that the 17th Street Canal had been breached: “We have a breach in the 17th Street Canal,” he said. “It’s about two blocks long and we’re hoping to get blackhawk helicopters or whatever to take 3,000 pound sandbags and put them in the breach and stop the water from rising. By doing that, the water would stop rising in the city, but more importantly it will stop the water from rising in the pumping station – pumping station 6. That did not happen

Tuesday, and the water continued to rise and it has now risen to the level, about a half hour ago, where the pump at pumping station 6 has stopped pumping. There could be 9 feet of water on St. Charles Street. The sandbags never got to 17th Street Canal, which is very unfortunate and very frustrating for me. The Sewage and Water Board called me in an absolute panic and told me about the scenario. I made some calls to the governor and others. One of the struggles we are having right now is that

we are not implementing quickly and it really frustrates me. The next highest priory should have been putting sandbags in the 17th Street Canal and it just didn’t get done. There is nothing to basically slow down the pace of the water. I don’t know if people should go to the Superdome – we’re talking about 10-12 feet of water. If you have access to a second floor or higher ground, that is a better option. The Superdome is not a very pleasant place right now. It’s wet, there are holes in the roof, there are a lot of people in there. The sanitary conditions are not the best. So, if you have another option, I would take that. If they can drive out, take the Crescent City Connection and just get out.” The water is getting higher. Outside the Hyatt, in chest-high water, a man is walking around in circles. He is delirious, confused and struggling. We are almost a half a block away from him in the same high water. Then he disappeared under the water. What seemed like minutes later he later resurfaced, gasping. Other people are walking around in chest-deep water. Going back to the transmitter site was rather dangerous. The convenience store in front of the transmitter was broken into

earlier. The coke machine was not only looted of beverages, but the change apparatus was ripped apart and all of the money was gone. Inside the store the ATM machine was broken into. Police are walking off their jobs. A Jefferson Parish deputy told me he had had enough. There was no communication with command and civil unrest was increasing. The deputy said he is very tired. Everyone is very tired. He took off his police shirt and put on a civilian shirt, but he kept his bulletproof vest on. Lukas Part 4: Rescues, looting and bodies 9/2/05 In the Mid-City area we came across a body of a man. His body was wrapped in a white sheet. The high waters were lapping at the sheet as the body lay on porch. One man came up to us screaming that he was forced out of his car by a group of young men. He was in disbelief. He was carjacked and he saw looters going into the Mid-City homes. Just off Carrollton Avenue area the water is almost 5-feet high. The looters are taking jewelry, alcohol and guns. The Mid-City Walmart has been looted. All of the guns have been stolen. More guns are now on the street. The situation is really deteriorating. On I-10 a telephone truck is loaded with people traveling fast down the expressway. The back door is open and a woman is clutching her child. It is a desperate situation. There a thousands of people on the I-10 just carrying plastic bags. It is hot and water is needed. Children are having a very tough time. It is tough just witnessing this. I can’t believe this is happening in this country, in this city. My city. There was a mass rescue effort including boats going home-to-home in many of the hardest hit areas of the city. Despite all of this craziness and insanity, there are rescues going on. In the Gentilly area a family is dropped off by boat on the Elysian Fields overpass. There are many other families here. All seemed dazed and confused. Children are crying. All are wet. Many of the kids are wrapped only in plastic bags. It is amazing how many people stayed in their homed despite the call for mandatory evacuations. Just in the distance a Coast Guard helicopter is hovering over the flooded homes. It is hot. Someone wrote on the edge of the overpass in big broad letters, “Send Water.” Water is the commodity most needed. In this heat everyone is sweating profusely. A flatboat comes into the overpass. Two policemen have rescued an elderly woman. They opened her wheel chair, lifted her out of the small boat and set her in the chair. Alone she sat, wet and confused.

There are other boats coming in and dropping off people. It is a tragedy. A fireman asked me if I needed transport to film the flooded areas. I told him I was OK here. More boats are coming in. I just couldn’t take up the space for anyone who might be rescued. Some people in the Ninth Ward didn't want to leave, but instead wanted to stay and keep their homes safe from looters. In the 1800 block of Desire Street, the water has reached the top of the porches, just about 4 feet or so. People are asking what happened to the pumps. These people stayed during the storm and told us that they were not going anywhere. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries officers are pleading for them to get out. One officer told them “the area underwater is so vast…if you had an opportunity to see the aerial photos, the flooding reaches almost 900 miles. They’re not going to get rid of the water any time soon.” He again pleaded with them to leave, but the woman on the porch and her family steadfastly refused. They said they are afraid of the looters. The officers told them that some of the looters had guns. One person on the porch replied, “I’m not going to lie to you, I have a gun too. They are not going to loot me if they see me.” This house, and the number of people refusing to leave, were noted by the officers in case they had to return for their bodies. As we traveled further on, a body of a man was discovered floating face down. He seemed to be anchored by a fence. The officer I traveled with told me that the people he was trying to rescue are just too weak to come to the door - mostly it is the elderly who did not leave or could not be evacuated. The next day…….. Entire histories of families were wiped out in Gulfport as some who had lived through Camille had thought they would never see this again. Went to Gulfport, Miss. The scope of destruction of this storm is immense. In Gulfport huge shipboard container were hurled into buildings by the hurricane. The downtown area is destroyed. One lady told us she thought this would never happen again. She went through Camille in ‘69. She is in tears. Her husband was trying to comfort her. It is catastrophic. The sea aquarium is destroyed. There is a National Guard presence everywhere. There is another resident holding her hand over her mouth. She is in tears. We tried to interview her, but she could not talk, she just slowly walked away in tears. A phone company is offering free calls for the residents. Inside an elderly woman is hugging her husband, crying. The tears are streaming off her face. After several days

she has just made contact with her son. He was rescued off the top of his roof in New Orleans and is in a hospital in Houston. Covering this storm is emotional. I have to take a deep breath after documenting this human tragedy. The devastation was too much for many people to handle. It takes a toll on everyone. It has been several days and I still have not heard from my son and I cannot get in touch with my family. Communications are still down. After seeing all of this destruction, the impact it is having on everyone. I can only hope for the best, that my son is OK. It is tearing me up that I cannot reach him.

I got back to the apartment tired and wet. It is exhausting covering the storm. I returned late from my assignment and I didn’t talk to anyone at our communication facility. So, I asked the photographers that I shared the apartment with how it went that day. That’s when I was hit with a bombshell: Police Sergeant Paul Accardo took his life. He committed suicide. Then I was told that there was also another police officer who took his life. Two New Orleans police officers! I could not say anything. The hurricane

is still taking its victims. That night I could not sleep. Paul was a nice guy. I knew him for years, he was always a pleasant and professional person. I cannot imagine the horrors he must have seen. But it’s tough for anyone to understand the vastness of the devastation and destruction this Hurricane has had on the Gulf Coast and the people. Seeing it day in and day out is tough for anyone. The conditions at the "rescue" area of I-10 and Causeway were miserable, as the heat approached 100 degrees and there was little shade and water. Causeway and I-10 had become a massive staging area for the evacuees form New Orleans. There are thousands of people here - some are dying. A state trooper told me that two people died that day. It is the heat. It is 2 p.m. in the afternoon and the sun is blazing. The evacuees went from a disaster in the city to a catastrophe here at I-10.

Here, in this heat, they are just trying to survive. Many are looking for displaced family members. All are suffering terribly. They seek the camera out crying for help. Many are old. Many of the evacuees are sick. This is a makeshift refugee camp. The sanitary conditions are deplorable. I cannot believe that I am in the United States of America, the richest and most powerful nation in the world. Government - local, state and federal – have failed these people. Cardboard boxes are being

used as shelter from the intense sun. It is very hot. Those who are lucky lay on a filthy cot. A lady is crying. She stayed by her mother during the evacuation but was displaced from her so her mother would receive care by helicopter evacuation. Helicopters are landing and scatter the debris. Except for the debris, the helicopter wash provides a momentary relief from the heat. A lady is crying to me, telling me that they are not being treated as human beings and asking why no one is helping them. Many evacuees try to huddle under the I-10 Bridge seeking shelter. They have been here for almost 48 hours. Children, infants, the elderly and the able-bodied are exhausted here. This was supposed to be an area of rescue. They were going to be bused out of the area, but there are too few buses. Instead of the hundreds of buses promised, they came in groups of five or six. There are just too many people, so they have to wait in the hot sun. It makes you want to cry, seeing all this suffering. Helicopters shuttle some of the sick out, many of the elderly are rolled from their wheelchairs into the transport door of troop-carrying helicopters. However, other helicopters are bringing additional evacuees into the area. This is tough - tough to witness. Lukas Part 5: The President visits and incredible suffering continues Friday: President Bush is set to arrive to tour the devastation along the Gulf Coast with a stop in New Orleans. I have been assigned local pool coverage. I left early for the assignment, but was declined access to the airport by Louisiana state troopers. I stayed near the checkpoint hoping the White House would eventually send a representative to clear my way to the president. It never happened.

Instead I witness a human wave of people coming over the Airline overpass. An elderly lady is slowly pushing her aged husband in a wheelchair. His feet are swollen and bloodied. His bare feet had been scrapping on the hot pavement. On the side of the road there are rocks and broken glass. His feet had glass imbedded in them. I took one of my shirts and wrapped his feet then lifted his feet above the pavement with a board. Looking lifeless, this child was one of many dehydrated evacuees walking along highways in Metairie, seeking refuge and help. A passerby would vault out of his car with some cool water that helped revive him I had only a few bottles of water and I gave it to them. They needed something to eat. This aged couple only had each other. It seems that the world has abandoned them. They were in a desperate situation. Finally aid came from a passing state trooper. Another group of people came over the overpass pushing grocery carts. They were in desperate shape. In the cart they had what appeared to be two lifeless babies in plastic wrapping, another cart

had a small child covered with welts from mosquito bites. Other children were huddled in the carts and look exhausted. Here, I noticed people stopped at the police checkpoint. The president was arriving soon. All traffic was stopped. People stopped at the checkpoint started giving these evacuees water from the back of their vans and cars. It was hot. The heat was boiling up from the pavement and any water given to these exhausted people is a welcome relief. This is tough to witness. Immediately after this I was assigned a story on the

evacuees being flown in to the airport. Here helicopters are landing in operational lines.

There must be at least 20 helicopters on the west side of the airport. As soon as one takes off, another one take its place. All are filled with evacuees from the flooded areas. Grocery carts were used as makeshift strollers as everyone sought any refuge from the searing heat. Water and air-conditioning were in short supply. One person told me it looked like the fall of Saigon. These people just wanted out of the city. At the airport, there is line after line of people, there must be thousands. Baggage carts carry the evacuees as they walk off, and in many cases, carried off the helicopters. IV’s are given on site. It is very hot and the tarmac is steaming. The emergency personnel try their best to shade the people from the sun with their hands. Most of the evacuees seem to be elderly. They all look exhausted and scared. Litters are place on the baggage carts to assist the victims. It is a horrible and sad scene. The elderly hold tightly to the medical staff. They are confused.

Katrina was especially hard on the elderly who had a hard time weathering the heat and physical demands. This is an unimaginable scene. Inside the airport thousands of people are being attended to. Some have died, some are dying. There is an airline gate sectioned off by a white sheet where the dead and the near dead lay. The emergency personnel are frantically trying to save the evacuees. Here inside the airport it is cool. There is air-conditioning that many of these people have been without for days. They have spent many hot days in the sun. They are grateful to be out of the elements, to be dry, to be clean. It is overwhelming to witness this tragedy. The medical staff is frantically working.

There have been up to 60 ambulances bringing in survivors. Doctors, nurses, soldiers, firefighters and police are attending the victims of the storm. There is a lot of crying. People are in pain. An elderly woman has just been brought into the morgue. There are so many elderly people. I cannot help but notice the swollen feet of many of the elderly. Many cannot walk and have to be carried. It tough to witness all of this pain. More victims keep coming in by helicopters and by ambulance. It is a constant stream. They line up all over the floor of the airport. It is a very sad sight.

Saturday 9/3/05 It has been just a horrible experience covering this hurricane. I have been working almost 16-18 hours a day – sleep is not peace at night. The images haunt me. Because of the complete destruction of the communications infrastructure, it has been a difficult task to cover the aftermath of the hurricane. One of the questions one must ask after this is why did all, and I mean all, of the communications fail, and fail so massively.

In the evening I had a chance to see if my house was still standing. On the Northshore trees are down everywhere. Massive pine trees have sliced through the houses. After maneuvering through the trees and debris, I finally made it home. I have roof damage but it was slight in comparison to the destruction I witnessed. All electricity was off. I went inside. There on the kitchen table I noticed a handwritten note. It was from my son. He was safe. His note told me he weathered the storm at school and went on to say that, “I love you all. I hope everyone is OK. Tell them am thinking of them. We have never been in a situation like this. I hope you are OK. I am safe. I will call as soon as I can get to a phone. Cell phones and phone lines are down. I love you, Jeff.” After reading that letter, a huge worry had been lifted. Lukas Part 6: Bush, Compass, Blanco and a new way of doing business Sunday 9/4/05

We are given a day off. Today is my wife Mary’s birthday. We have been separated for a week. They have been moving from small town to small town. We are celebrating it in the small Louisiana Acadian Village of Abbeville. Later Mary, Jessica and I went to the mall in Lafayette so Jessica can buy clothes. It has been a long evacuation. It was nice to finally sit down and have a meal, but by doing so one cannot escape a sense of remorse in knowing the conditions of the others in New Orleans. Monday 9/5/05 President Bush is coming to town again. This time he is making an appearance at the Louisiana State Police Emergency Center. This hurricane is now determined to be the largest “natural disaster” in the history of the United States. It is just a terrible situation. It was a nice respite to just be the camera for the news conferences. At the podium there is a lot of forceful talk from NOPD Superintendent Eddie Compass. He denied that he left New Orleans during the height of the storm. He went on to say that it was his vehicle that left with his wife, who was eight months pregnant. He said he stayed and the more than 200 police officers that abandoned their post were cowards. The police officers who stayed, he called heroes. The governor of Louisiana and FEMA director addressed the press later. Ironically, I thought to myself that the only person whose eyes were red from lack of sleep, or maybe from crying, was the police superintendent’s. The governor and the FEMA director were all huddled around the microphones for the national press. They were neatly dressed and hair well combed. Compass looked like he had come in from a war. Covering the storm has been quite difficult for a lot of the staff. They have to put their effort into their job, but for many, their homes have been flooded, roofs have been torn off and families are dispersed. There is internal anxiety and stress for many. One of the technicians I share an apartment with lost his house, and then later found out that his brother died in the storm. He would have to wait a few weeks to have a memorial service in Texas for him. He cannot be buried in Louisiana. Tuesday 9/6/05 At the Louisiana Public Broadcasting facility, where we are broadcasting from, a simple note is place on the door leading into the operations center. It is the funeral arraignments of New Orleans Police Sergeant Paul Accardo. The memorial services and burial arraignments are being made in Baton Rouge. A further announcement will provide details. The morning news conference held by the Assistant New Orleans Police Chief called in New Orleans called New Orleans a destroyed city. I went back into the city of New Orleans. We formed a convoy from Baton Rouge. I needed to get my own news unit out of the station. There are two flat tires on my news

vehicle. Both tires have nails and glass imbedded into the rubber – debris left over from the covering the storm the initial day of impact. Entering the road blocks leading up to the city is surreal. There are long lines of vehicles waiting to get in. The hope of many of the evacuees is that somehow their possessions made it through the storm. For many it did not. Military convoys are everywhere. There now seems to be a mass of aid flowing into the city. It has been more than a week since the storm hit and finally large amounts of aid seem to be arriving. It is days too late. We had to enter the city in a roundabout fashion - exiting at Causeway to River Road onto Magazine Street through the Central Business District, and then into the French Quarter. Everywhere one looks you can see the powerful impact of the storm. I-beams holding highway signs were twisted like pretzels. Houses were damaged and tree debris lined the streets. Police and military presence were everywhere. A base of operations for the police is the Walmart in the Lower Garden District. It is the same Walmart that had been looted of guns and ammunition immediately after the storm. Canal Street is lined with satellite trucks from around the world. Near Rampart Street I can still see the water in the streets. The French Quarter is dry but empty of people. It reminds me of the days after 9-11. All of the familiar landmarks have survived the storm. In the French Quarter the 82nd Airborne has taken up positions in and around the old buildings. Our station was locked up tight. There are officers on security detail. There is no water in the television station, and surprisingly it is in very good shape after the storm. I changed the tire on my unit, but unfortunately realized that I had other nails and glass imbedded in my front tire. I made the decision to ride it out of New Orleans. I inserted a can of Fix-A-Flat in the tire and hoped that it would take care of it. It did.

9/7/05 Wednesday Today’s story was on the evacuees searching for their loved ones on the Internet. Here at the Baton Rouge Public Library, we thought there would be only a few people searching the Internet. But when we arrived all the computer stations are filled. People are separated, families are separated, thousands are missing. They search the missing persons database. I can see in their faces the anxiety of searching

for their father, mother, sons, daughters or friends. Before we arrived at the library, we stopped at various places trying to find the library’s location in Baton Rouge. There are so many people from the New Orleans area up here. It has become very difficult to move around town. At every stop people came up to me and asked about the situation in New Orleans. I could only tell them what I learned in the newsroom before I left. One lady openly cried, “I am a retired school teacher.” She had no place to go, nobody to turn to. Her world had been changed upside down. After editing the report for the nightly news, a call came into the newsroom. Two contracted FEMA employees were arrested for looting. They were caught stealing the material and supplies the desperate citizens of the storm needed to survive. In a very bad situation - the situation is only getting worse. There is a lot of money coming into New Orleans for the rebuilding process. Given Louisiana’s history of political corruption, one can only hope all of the funds are directed into the rebuilding of the city and to the aid of its citizens. Sergeant Paul Accardo’s Memorial was held in Baton Rouge that day. Many of us couldn’t go. We are all too consumed with the storm’s coverage. I found out that more than 30 elderly people died in a nursing home, killed by the rising waters after they were abandoned by the nursing home staff. Lukas Part 7: Metairie flooding, St. Charles Parish schools open, FEMA director resigns 9/8/05 Went into Metairie today most of the homes have a lot of water damage. Mold is growing everywhere. One of our first interviews is with a lady throwing out her belongings onto to a street. She broke down and cried. Her home was destroyed, she said, and her husband’s business was lost. They worked all of their lives and now had nothing. A little further down the street on Kawanee Avenue, a man thanked us for

coming by to talk to him. His house had a lot of water damage. “I want to thank you for coming by,” he said, and then he offered us a bottle of water. I declined the water. They needed it much more than we did. From the East Bank we went to the Jefferson Parish Office of Emergency Preparedness. Armed guards with M-16’s were on station. They were tired. I could see it in their eyes. The Westbank Highway has sand bag bunkers stationed near the corner. There are still gunshots heard at

night. A sign on a business said that they kill looters. Found out later that the people who left their cars on the first five floors of a downtown high-rise building all had them broken into. These were not looters looking for food. These were criminals looking for an opportunity to steal. Police are still being fired upon. My hands are cramping up. I lost a lot of water through perspiration covering the storm. Carrying the camera all the time is forming large calluses on my hand. At night cramps are taking a toll in the muscle of my legs, sometimes in my feet. It is very painful. 9/12/05 Reports are that water in the city is going down a foot a day. Other reports indicate a hospital Uptown was surrounded by water. Authorities found nearly 40 bodies inside. There was a sense of normalcy coming over the area. I covered a story of children going back to school in St. Charles Parish. Archdiocese School Superintendent Father William Maestri said the opening of the school was a ray of hope to the kids that have been displaced in the storm. Other kids from different parishes are going to school here in St. Charles Parish. I observed that the economy seems to be slowly recovering. People are out and about and spending money. Reports from the state capitol today indicated that the people of St. Bernard may not be able to go back to their homes for up to four months. Initial reports are that the water and the oil spill from the refinery may have contaminated many homes and roadways. Again, there is desperation and anxiety to the many who are displaced.

The head of FEMA has resigned. 9/13/05 Plaquemines Parish If there was ever an apocalyptic event from this hurricane it is in here in Plaquemines Parish. Every house is damaged or destroyed. The winds came out of the east pushing the river over the levees and into the homes. Many homes are pushed off their pilings - many were just splinters. Some of the water has receded. But there is 27 miles of water still covering the parish. If any resident of this parish stayed in their homes during this storm, they are dead. There is a large oil spill covering the road. Some people were allowed in

to look at their property to find shattered, destroyed homes pushed off their foundation, wedged between trees or slammed into other houses. There is nothing, nothing left untouched. One lady found what she thought was her pictures in a sealed plastic box. She opened it and water seeped out, destroying the images of her life. So much destruction. Another lady’s house that was built in 1934 and withstood hurricanes Betsy and Camille was shoved almost 500 feet from the foundation. It stood almost on its side in chest high water. Again people thanked us for coming out and telling their

story. They wanted to let the world know how hard the hurricane hit them, and then they cried. I had my still camera with me, to document the devastation, but after seeing so much through the lens of my television camera, I just couldn’t take any more pictures. Sometimes, you just see enough - maybe too much. My hands are tired from filming the destruction. It is so immense, so widespread, so tragic. We did a satellite shot for a 1 p.m. report and then stories for 5, 6, and 8. It was getting dark and we had to leave. On the road out, cattle crossed the highway. There are still many fences down. Farmers had not yet come in to survey their property. On the way out of Plaquemines, passing through the town of Gretna, we were stopped at a curfew checkpoint. There seemed to be a little confusion on the times for the curfew. It was 8 p.m. in Plaquemines, but 7 p.m. in Gretna. We had to pass through Gretna to get back to the station in Baton Rouge. Finally made it to I-10 and realized that a lot of lights were on in the city - again a sense of normalcy. Nagin is calling for some sections of the city to be reopened by next Monday, most noticeably the French Quarter. 9/14/05

There was a shock today, but then every day seems to be a day of shocking experiences. Lakeview is still flooded. A large, beautiful neighborhood is under water. There is still looting in the area. The military is clamping down with additional roadblocks. Even through my car is marked as a news car, a military checkpoint directed us to a vehicle registration area. Exhausted dogs are roaming the streets. These poor animals were not immune to the suffering. At the Metairie Road overpass, the water is down enough to let high-wheel vehicles pass through. Near the University of New Orleans, a small dog is eating out of a garbage bag. His ribs are showing. He was definitely sick and very tired looking. His head was hanging near the ground. The storm is taking a toll on all of us and our pets. The top façade of the UNO Arena was ripped apart. Here the military set up a cleansing facility. Several people walking in the polluted water have sores and blisters. Earlier today the city appearance was strikingly different. Although the Lakeview area is still underwater, the St. Charles area, South Claiborne and Mid-City area was in a transformation. The large oak trees were cut and huge trucks are picking up debris everywhere. Even the French Quarter is clean. The Central Business District looks like a work in progress. Water is being pumped out of the lower floors and basement of the buildings. Firemen are washing the sidewalks down with large hoses. Canal Street still

has several satellite trucks stationed in the median and the military is everywhere. Near Franklin Avenue we met a woman who is trying to get into her house. In the back of her house is a rental property. All were still underwater. She has nothing, but is trying to get her children’s pictures. Her children are now 33 and 24. She stood alone and cried. Her tone was weak and she said she was finally defeated for the moment. She is now waiting for a policeman to come back with a boat to take her to get her first look inside.

As we crossed the 17th Street Canal, the breach is sealed with temporary sandbags and large sheet piles driven in. The large sheet piles are driven down deep, and they seem almost invisible. Lukas Part 8: Gentilly, crime and WWL's scrambles 9/15/05 It has been 17 days since this horror began. My assignment today is the status of Gentilly area. A police officer drove up to water line. This is the first time she has seen her house in 17 days. She could only look at the water wrapped around her house. It was almost five feet high in places. Her stare showed no emotion. She commented that it was a nightmare, something one would see in a movie. There were no tears though, she had shed them earlier on. She turned and drove away. The water was still too high for her to walk to her house.

The water was polluted with sewage. Some areas of Gentilly have been cleared and the streets are passable. In a distance a truck comes through the high water. It appears to be a rescue vehicle, but as it comes closer it is two women coming from their flooded home. They found their cat - he was on the roof for almost 17 days. How he survived was a mystery. They were glad he was alive and said they would rebuild when the water recedes. One of the women had to wade in waist-deep water to get the cat. She is now concerned about the

contaminated water. Disease is of major concern. I directed her to the UNO area for assistance. Another woman, just off of Gentilly Boulevard, road out the storm and survived the high waters. She found a diploma from Brother Martin High School floating by her house in the storm. She will somehow return it. It was so sad to see the boats left in the streets from the rescues. There must be 50 or so of them abandoned. Near one boat is a life preserver laying in the wet mud. All of the houses in the Gentilly area have the markings of the Urban Rescuers looking for survivors or bodies. The Coast Guard is still launching rescue missions. Again I had my still camera with me, but I did not take any pictures. The images I have taken for television reports are enough. I almost do not want to remember the images I have seen. Like the illness that almost killed me a year ago, I just want to forget about the destruction of property and the toll the storm has taken on the lives of the people.

Reports from the Ninth Ward indicate that National Guard is still locating bodies. They are not necessarily victims of the storm. They may have been murdered. Authorities found the bodies with gunshot wounds. There have been many wild rumors spreading with the aftermath of the hurricane. Some are just flat out false, this one, however, was confirmed to me by a Wild Life and Fisheries Agent. Nagin states that he does not want the criminals to return to New Orleans. He has declared New Orleans to be drug and crime free. That is a bold statement given the fact that almost the entire population has evacuated. Residents are allowed to return to the Central Business District. The French Quarter had a greater federal and military presence that night. The president is returning, again, to New Orleans. The city is severely wounded. The president has promised massive aid for the daunting rebuilding project. In the president’s speech I did not notice a reference to any projects regarding the building of the wetlands. If the wetlands are not addressed, this entire disaster could be repeated. The week is going by fast. Tomorrow is already Friday. The days blur together. There is a massive undertaking at WWL. A huge generator was brought in to run the entire station. It is an effort to get us to be fully functional at our studios in the French Quarter. 9/16/05: My assignment today took me to a charitable organization. It is very hot. There is a long line. Inside a lady pulled us aside and said she wanted to talk. She said she always watched us and that it was good to see us. She said we were a part of her home in some small way. I flipped on the camera light and she broke down in tears. She is lost in all of the red tape filling out countless forms. She had been evacuated from St. Bernard and was looking for her son. She lost her house and now she believes she lost her son. There are a lot of evacuees in this center. The tension and frustration rises as more people seek assistance. For many this is the first time in their lives that there have had to ask for some type of help. After going through all that they been through, they are almost embarrassed to seek help from the government or other charities. 9/19/05: Went to New Orleans today and people were supposed to coming in to the city to restart their business. Many people are just cleaning up their houses. A lady off of St. Charles Avenue called the National Guard over and hugged one of them. She gave them some cold drinks. It is still very hot. New Orleans is a ghost town. It tears me apart to see the city I grew up in this condition.

But, as we drive around the Uptown area, we still see some people who never left. They said they are hiding from the National Guard. One person seemed to be delirious. We offered him food and water - he took the water. He said he had enough of the MREs. His family from Dallas will come in, and, he hopes, finally pick him up. He has been waiting for two weeks. What was to be a day of new hope for the city turned almost 180 degrees. There is a new hurricane that is forecasted to enter the Gulf of Mexico. Mayor Nagin has called for another evacuation of the city. The levees are not secure and if this hurricane merely skirts the city, flooding will reoccur. No screenwriter could have made this script - it is too horrible. 9/20/ 05 Today is my son’s birthday. Happy birthday, Jeff. The president is coming back to New Orleans again, to make another speech. On door of a flooded house there is a sign that reads “Screw Blanco, Screw FEMA, Screw the

Federal Government. I’m going to Texas, I don’t need your help.” Unfortunately, that is the frustration of a lot of residents here. It seems that long lines only lead to other long lines. Help, if any, is slow. In Lakeview I met a family that lost three houses, a business in New Orleans and another business on the Gulf Coast. She came back today to get her grandmother’s rosary she had in the bottom of her chest-of–draws. The door to her house had to be broken into with an ax. In the mud and sewage she walked to her

back bedroom. Among all of the other personal items she pulled out, she finally found the rosary. She cried and said that before the storm she had it all. Her life had followed her plan perfectly - marriage, family, business and now, in one day, it was all gone. Then she told us that her house was slated to be bulldozed. At 59, she and her family, like so many families, lost it all. It is very tough to constantly document the crying I witness as I cover this storm. People are just devastated. The National Guard is doing their best to clear the streets along Lakeview. The water seems to be completely out of the area. All that is left is a gooey sludge of mud and sewage. There are open manhole covers everywhere. Where once beautiful homes stood now stands nothing but a monochrome mess of gray sludge.

In a press conference today, Nagin said he is his closing the city. The uncertainty of what is now Hurricane Rita is forcing the closure. On a personal note, my arms are very tired and sore. Holding the camera and filming the various events is very exhausting. The little sleep I try to get at night is from fatigue. Lukas Part 9: The threat of Rita 9/21/05: The assignment today took us to the recovery phase of the hurricane. Near Robert E. Lee Boulevard, a group of Urban Rescuers from Oregon relieved a similar group from California. This is one of the last areas of the city to be drained. After three weeks with no rain, the ground is still thick with sludge. Walking is an effort. One could easily slip and fall into this mess. Who knows what is in it. It is like walking on wax paper covered in Vaseline. The group is going house to house in a methodical preplanned fashion hoping to still find anyone alive. Unfortunately, just as they started the search, in one of the first houses they find a body. They did not refer to it as a body, but only as remains. Three weeks in the high water and intense heat had destroyed the body. A forensic crew followed the searchers trying to identify the person. It is hot and the stench of death lingers in the air. The searchers realize more remains will be discovered. The water line in this neighborhood reaches the tops of the roofs. Roofs have holes cut out of them where people tried to flee the rising waters by cutting through the attic. The rescue teams are in awe of the massive destruction of the city. I could not help but notice that each search and rescue team had a security group leading them, with fully automatic weapons and fingers on the trigger. They were concerned about looters and criminals taking advantage of a desperate situation. Every time I go out into various parts of the city, day after day, I still am shocked at the destruction caused by the hurricane and levee break. You never get used to it. There are open manhole covers everywhere. It is like walking in a mine field. Hurricane Rita is now a Category 5 and all eyes are directed to the Gulf of Mexico. The Houston-based Satellite crew helping us out with our transmission signal is called back to their station in Texas. It appears the Hurricane Rita is moving west to the Galveston area. The days are long - 12 to 14 hours. I am getting tired. Calluses are forming on my hand from holding the camera.

In St. Bernard Parish there is complete and almost total devastation. Again boats are everywhere. They were used to rescue as many people as possible. A larger oil tank has shifted from a refinery, spilling oil everywhere. There is a toxic sludge resulting from the oil mixed in with the high water filtering into the homes and businesses. It also covers most of the roadways. In the 300 block of Rowley Boulevard, three people were killed in the storm. One elderly person suffocated as the waters rose while she was on a mattress rising in the flood water. The

mattress pushed up against the ceiling. Two other residents in the house drifted away in the water. None of the bodies have been located. There was a fourth person in the house that heard all of them screaming for help. He could do nothing but try to survive. The lone survivor heard them all die. They all held their hands and said prayers before the water started rising. Inside the house the mattress is now covered in mold. As I walked through the shambled building, I noticed a wheelchair. It stood out because of the shining metal wheels. Everything else in the house is covered in a wet, gray mold. This is sad. At night their experience must have been terrifying. Outside, the Urban Rescuers spray painted the marking on the home. It had been checked and notified to others that three people were killed here. Hurricane Rita and its impact on the New Orleans area is of major concern today. At the 17th Street Canal the Corps of Engineers are in a standby position. I walked on the 500-ft. levee breach the corps stated as sealed. The lakeside of the canal has sheet pilings in place to prevent storm surge from getting into the canal and overtopping the levees. The destruction to the homes near the breach is unbelievable. The 20-foot wall of water pushed homes off their foundation. It’s been a little over three weeks and today is the first day search and rescue teams have been able to get into this area looking for victims. During our later reports on the conditions of the levees, we find out that the Industrial Canal levee is leaking and water is seeping back into the lower Ninth Ward neighborhood.

Lukas Part 10: Rita ends a month of non-stop anxiety 9/23/05: Hurricane Rita is now a Category-5 hurricane churning in the Gulf of Mexico. Imagine the feeling of seeing your city destroyed by a Hurricane, witnessing the destruction, the flooding, the despair,the tears, the death and then being told that you’re going directly into another monster storm. As the assignments were revealed this morning to cover the effects of Katrina, I was assigned to cover Hurricane Rita in Lake Charles. The storm is presently projected to go to Galveston or the Houston area – affecting, but sparing Louisiana from the strong winds and water surge. It is almost a three-hour trip to Lake Charles from Baton Rouge. All along the way I stopped at gas stations to top off my tank. Without fuel we cannot cover the assignment. There is very little traffic going to Lake Charles, and none, except police and emergency vehicles, in the city of Lake Charles. All of the police are hunkered down in the correctional facilities of the jail. Even the prisoners have been evacuated. However, there are two looters there now. “They will be at the mercy of the storm,” the sheriff said. The sheriff told us to be careful. He said that Lake Charles is going to be hammered. The hurricane is now a Category 4. Around 5 p.m. the winds really started picking up. The rains are stinging my face. It is difficult to film. Between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. we feed some video from Lake Charles. It is very difficult to use the small edit pack with rain hammering us. I had to string power, video and audio lines from my van to the satellite truck. It’s tough now and these are only tropical storm winds. After the 6 p.m. live shot, the satellite truck had to shut down. The winds are now pushing the truck all over the place. An overturned newspaper stands revels the headline from the wet newspapers. It is a monster storm.

9/23/05 Absolutely no sleep tonight. We are staying at a casino on the lake. It was built to withstand 180-mile an hour winds. The decision to remain south of I-10 is made. This appears to be a strong structure. The storm is projected to hit around 3 a.m. I started filming from the garage of the casino, but inside the casino I noticed the winds howling and pulsating through the hallway. There are frightened employees and water is now dripping through the roof of the building. But there are no windows imploding.

Outside there is a major concern - a large container barge has broken loose. With the high water and tidal surge, the fear is that it could hit the casino. The winds were pushing it closer to us, but then they shifted.

A large barge is now heading to the main bridge in Lake Charles. One police officer told us this could be devastating. He said if the barge takes out the bridge, then the winds pushed it north. For now the barge seems to be beached on some shallow land. The rain and winds don’t stop. There is no let up. I am soaking wet. Just near us a large piece of sheet metal flies off the large air-conditioning units of the casino. Debris is flying everywhere. The eye wall

of the storm hit with a vengeance. It is now 3 a.m. and dark. The electricity has long

since been out. Water is rising. Around 7 a.m. we got out to film scenes around town. It is fatiguing trying always to fight the strong winds and heavy rains. Now that the water is rising, the main drive is underwater. Going against traffic is the only way out. Not a problem since there is no one on the street. There is now flooding in the city. Trees are down, some slicing through houses. At the airport small planes are overturned and hangers have collapsed. The terminal is in shambles. Unfortunately, we are near a crop duster facility and the pesticide tank has ruptured. This is extremely toxic. The winds are blowing this stuff everywhere. We did a quick live shot to let the viewers know the condition after the storm hit. Some networks crews have left to higher ground. The wind and rains are still coming down hard. It is a massive storm. Water is rising faster now. The winds are strong and coming out of the south. The roads and streets we traveled earlier are now underwater. Just like in Katrina, reports are filtering out about trapped people who did not evacuate and are having to be rescued from the rooftops. This is going to get worse. Again, I know from experience that these reports will grow and there will be further devastation. We are now trying to get to Cameron Parish, but then we hit the high water and need to turn around. There is no way of getting there without a boat or helicopter. The heavy rains won’t let up. More water is coming in. Thank goodness the general population heeded the evacuation notice - if not, bodies would be floating by us. After staying up for almost 48 hours and transmitting our reports from Lake Charles, we are being relieved. Other crews are coming in. The monster storm hitting this area, and its winds, rains and extensive flooding, is now the attention of the national media. On the way back to New Orleans, between Lake Charles and Lafayette, I ran right into a trailing feeder band from the hurricane. The winds are pushing my news vehicle all over the road. The rains are so heavy it is difficult to see just in front of me. Again it is a dangerous situation, but after 10 minutes of intense driving, I pass through it, and in the distance I see a caravan of flashing lights. It is the electricity crews, tree cutting crews, a long string of ambulances and medical personnel, the National Guard and FEMA. Just hours after Hurricane Rita they are streaming in, massive amounts of aid and personnel. I thought out loud to myself, where were they when we needed them in the hours after Hurricane Katrina? Where were they? December 20, 2005: It has been almost four months after Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast and destroyed the lives and lively hood of its citizens. Those that can are tying to celebrate Christmas, trying to get back to some type of normalcy.

It is about 10 a.m. and from the newsroom I have been assigned a call in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans. When I arrive at Tupelo, just three blocks off St. Claude Avenue, I noticed a lot of police activity. The house is currently being gutted by workers. Shortly after the hurricane it had been check twice by Urban Rescuers looking for victims or residents unable to evacuate. Here, in this modest house, months after the hurricane, a worker found the remains of an elderly woman under piles of debris in the corner of her mold-infested kitchen. I am going to end this phase of my journal. My daughter, Jessica, wrote me a note after reading some of the first paragraphs. She wrote, “Hey Dad! I’ve been thinking about you through this time and I hope you stay safe. Talk to me about this when it’s over. I’m glad you’re home for the weekend. Mom had the best birthday this year, because she said the best gift was seeing you and talking to Jeff, and thank you for being so strong for us. I love you very much. All my love, Jessica”. One day I will talk to her about this and the other events I covered during Hurricane’s Katrina and Rita. It will be later. A year and a half before Hurricane Katrina, I covered Hurricane Ivan from the newsroom of WWL-TV. I was on crutches then, and unable to walk. I had just recovered from a blood clot that resulted in a double pulmonary embolism. I was dying. Months later I had a staph infection in my spine and an infection in my leg. The doctors again told me that I might not live, and unfortunately, with this illness I was also paralyzed. I took some time, and through hard work and extensive rehabilitation, not only can I only walk again, but I have documented, for history, the most destructive natural disaster that ever hit coast of the United States. I must only hope that if I can overcome my personal tragedies. The metropolitan area of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast region will overcome this horrific tragedy. But, it will take time. Time to heal, and time to understand what occurred during and after this disaster. It is said that history does not linger long. The state, the nation, the world should never forget what happened to the citizens of the Gulf Coast.

I could never forget the images of the children and of elderly impacted by Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita.

Brian Lukas