People Look Around-Catie Curtiss
Mary Leach, 7th Period

New Orleans is the largest city in all of Louisiana.

The average elevation of the city is currently between one and two feet below sea level, with some portions of the city as high as 16 feet and others as low as 10 feet below sea level.

New Orleans has many major attractions, from the world-renowned Bourbon Street and the French Quarter's notorious nightlife to St. Charles Avenue the historic Pontchartrain Hotel, and many stately 19th century mansions.

New Orleans' most popular celebration is Carnival, or Mardi Gras.

Hurricane Katrina formed in the Bahamas on August 23, 2005.

The storm rapidly intensified after entering the Gulf, growing from a Category 3 hurricane to a Category 5 hurricane in just nine hours.

The United States Coast Guard was sent in on the 28th to aid in evacuating the city of New Orleans. However, very few people left the city.

Those who had nowhere else to go had the option of staying in "refuges of last resort" for citizens who could not leave the city, including the massive Louisiana Superdome, which sheltered approximately 26,000 people and provided them with food and water for several days as the storm came ashore

Katrina made it's second landfall on August 29, 2005 in Louisiana.

Katrina's storm surge led to 53 levee breaches in the federally built levee system protecting metro New Orleans.

The only routes out of the city were the westbound Crescent City Connection and the Huey P. Long Bridge, and they both collapsed in the storm.

The Superdome, which was sheltering many people who had not evacuated, sustained significant damage.

Hundreds of other places all along the Gulf Coast suffered severely, especially the state of Mississippi.

Thousands of people were either trapped, displaced, or in the midst of utter chaos.

It is estimated that the total economic impact in Louisiana and Mississippi may exceed $150 billion.

The storm surge caused substantial beach erosion, in some cases completely devastating coastal areas.

Shortly after the hurricane moved away on August 30, 2005, some residents of New Orleans who remained in the city began looting stores. Many were in search of food and water that were not available to them through any other means, as well as non-essential items

Thousands of National Guard and federal troops were mobilized and sent to Louisiana along with numbers of local law enforcement agents from across the country who were temporarily deputized by the state.

The criticisms of the government's response to Hurricane Katrina primarily consisted of condemnations of mismanagement and lack of leadership in the relief efforts in response to the storm and its aftermath, especially in New Orleans.

Mayor Ray Nagin and Governor Kathleen Blanco were criticized for failing to implement New Orleans' evacuation plan and for ordering residents to a shelter of last resort without any provisions for food, water, security, or sanitary conditions.

Since then, government organizations have done little to help get families back into their homes and out of the specialized FEMA trailers. Thousands of people are still displaced, even three years after the storm.

Lyrics

Mississippi River divides this land in two,
Like the way we tend to think of things;
Black and white, red and blue.
If they can keep us fighting about marriage and God,
Therell be no one left to notice if the leaders do their jobs.
And the truth is bigger than these drops of rain, falling.
The truth is bigger than these drops of rain,
Falling in the ocean, falling
When the water is rising and there is no higher ground,
You can wave your hands up on the roof,
But you might be left to drown.
In the streets of New Orleans; a makeshift funeral pall,
Here lies Vera, God help us all.
And the truth is bigger than these drops of rain, falling.
The truth is bigger than these drops of rain,
Falling in the ocean, falling
Jesus said, Feed the hungry, Jesus said Help the poor,
Take care of each other love one another,
People look around.
We let them down.
Mississippi River flooded New Orleans,
And we stared in disbelief at our TV screens,
If they can keep us fighting another endless war,
How many tears before the truth cannot be ignored?
And the truth is bigger than these drops of rain, falling.
The truth is bigger than these drops of rain,
Falling in Lake Pontchartrain.
Falling in the ocean, falling

Mississippi River divides this land in two, Like the way we tend to think of things; Black and white, red and blue. If they can keep us fighting about marriage and God, Therell be no one left to notice if the leaders do their jobs.

When the water is rising and there is no higher ground,You can wave your hands up on the roof, but you might be left to drown.

In the streets of New Orleans; a makeshift funeral pall, Here lies Vera, God help us all.

Mississippi River flooded New Orleans, And we stared in disbelief at our TV screens, If they can keep us fighting another endless war, How many tears before the truth cannot be ignored?