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Personal Views of Katrina

Expanding on the photos and commentary in the Fall 2005 edition of the ASMP Bulletin, here are several first-person observations of the storm’s damage.

Hurricane Katrina — A South Florida Perspective

Sent from Florida-based ASMP General member Susan Pierres. She adds, “Our damage seems so minor by now. But this was the message I sent friends and family about the time Katrina was hitting Louisiana, Mississippi, etc.”

Date: Tue, 30 Aug 2005 09:18:25 -0700 (PDT)
From: Susan Pierres

Dear friends and family,

Please forgive this blanket email, but I am too exhausted to reply individually to those of you who may have inquired by phone or email (which I’ve not read the past 5 days). First, I’d like to thank you very much for your concern.

The good news is that we are not stranded on a rooftop or floating down the Mississippi. But even as a Category 1, Katrina gave Miami quite a beating Thursday. In fact, we just got our power back late Sunday night, out since 4 PM Thurs. — so I am only now plowing through the heaps of email.

Unfortunately, the south side of our building got slammed with howling wind and driving rain after Katrina made landfall at Aventura / SunnyIsles / Hallandale, just a few miles north of here. The water drove through both our condos, pouring out of the tops of windows, under and around sliding glass doors (even over the styrofoam sausages we put in all the tracks, topped with towels and plastic bags), down apparently from the roof through our closets containing the A/C and water heaters, flooding the corridors in a gush reminiscent of Niagara Falls. Water rushed past all my terrace furniture and plants in my living room across the tiled floor and under the door out to the same corridor.

The generator for the building, which allowed one elevator and minimal hall and stairwell lights, stopped working after just a few hours, so for a couple of days we were unable to get down from the 23rd & 20th floors, or see anything in the halls, as our refrigerators gradually started stinking. Finally the generator was fixed late Sat. so I headed down to go out to try to find some hot food somewhere. But the car battery had died in the meantime, and we were unable to resuscitate it on two tries. Finally yesterday afternoon I was able to get a new battery installed.

Meanwhile, the worst part of the overall problem, in addition to the stifling heat and humidity without A/C for nearly 4 days and very long dark nights, was that all our wall-to-wall white carpeting (3 rooms at my mother’s, plus my bedroom) was drenched, saturated through the padding. Servpro finally came out late Sunday afternoon and said it all needs to be ripped out and tossed, as the stench of the mildew/mold is overwhelming and extremely unhealthy.

Fran is resisting, but I plan to start the work in #2001 in a couple of days. Unfortunately, my two walls of bookshelves in the master bedroom were installed on top of the carpeting, so they need to come out, and I may need to reinstall them and the books on top of the concrete until I am able to tile the floor. Contractors are few and far between at this time, so it may be months; but we have managed to get Servpro’s emergency crew out here and they are ready to come back and dry us out. The last few days have been a nightmare, but others fared (and are faring) far worse, so we are in many ways thankful. There are still a couple of hundred thousand families in Miami-Dade and Broward without electricity, so at least we are cooled again, albeit immersed in moldy carpet which smells like old cabbage cooked in cat’s urine.

I am busy making arrangements and throwing out everything that got wet, and will not have time to answer email or even pick up the phone much for awhile. I’ve not slept here since Wednesday, and may not be able to do so yet for some days to come, so please know we have survived so far and will be dealing with the mildew and mold problem as soon as possible.

Our hearts go out to the poor souls on the Gulf in Louisiana and Mississippi. We thank our lucky stars we are not there, and we hope you are all in a dry safe place. Onward!

Susan

Susan Pierres
(ASMP General Member)
The Palm Bay Yacht Club
780 Palm Bay Lane, #2001
Miami, FL 33138
Tel. (305) 757-6840

Hurricane Katrina — One Photographer’s Story

The following notes were transcribed from a telephone interview between David Rae Morris and Bulletin editor Jill Waterman two weeks after hurricane Katrina struck on Monday August 29, 2005. Excerpts from this text and several of David’s images from the hurricane aftermath appear in the print edition of the Fall 05 Bulletin. To view more of David’s work from the hurricane aftermath, please visit his Web site.

New Orleans
At first I was reluctant to go back to New Orleans without an assignment. But, as it turned out, I’m glad I went in without an assignment, because it allowed me to get caught up in the emotions, which I needed to do. If I had been on assignment, I think I would have been too focused on trying to please somebody else, to shoot for somebody else. I’m just happy that I went with the flow of it. I felt like I was doing some really good work and, if it ends up being for no one but myself, then that’s ok.

The Neighborhood
I’ve been in to New Orleans three times last week. The first two days, I observed my house from the outside and saw that it was basically secure and intact. There’s a pretty strong National Guard presence in the neighborhood, so I felt confident that they were going to protect it. I had talked to the guard at various times about going in with me, but there wasn’t anyone within walking distance when I got there on Saturday, so I decided to brave it and go in on my own. There were some leaks in the roof and the back yard is pretty decimated, but otherwise…

The House
My house is 2½ blocks from the Mississippi River and 2 blocks from the industrial canal levee, so we’re right there at the corner of the levees. But it was on high enough ground so that it seems like no water got in at all. The plywood I put up on the front two windows was still up and there was mail in the mailbox. I mean there was still a mailbox, that was the amazing thing.

The Story
It’s sort of befuddling to me that in this great disaster, we initially thought that we might have lost everything, when in fact we might have not lost much at all. And now my heart really goes out to the people who have lost everything. In the first days after the storm I was on the Mississippi gulf coast, and I’d be talking to people in the middle of their houses that had been smashed and they’d say, “Where are you from?” and I’d say, “New Orleans,” and there was this sense of recognition that I was part of the story too.

Getting Out of Town
We got out early on Saturday; the storm landed on Monday. Jackson has always been our evacuation point, although this is the first time I’ve ever evacuated; I’ve always stayed to cover the storm. But there was just something ominous about this, and I just said, “I’m not dealing with this, I’m leaving.” We literally got out with three changes of clothes, and I ended up leaving a lot of stuff because in the back of your mind you think you’re going to be back Monday or Tuesday, because that’s the way it’s always been. So Sunday and Monday and Tuesday I went through this tremendous sense of both guilt and regret that I didn’t take an hour to collect more things. I did take all my digital disks and my laptop and my computer, but I left all my copy slides for some major projects that I’ve been working on for ten years.

Work
I went through two or three days of just this roller coaster ride that I had lost my life’s work. And the only way to really deal with that was to jump in and start covering the story. So I started slowly working with the alternative paper here, The Jackson Free Press. Then I broke down — I had held out against signing the New York Times contract, and I basically said, “This story is bigger than me, and I need to get in there and shoot it.”

Communication
The communication has been just impossible. Since I have a 504 cell phone, I’ve gotten about four incoming calls in the last two weeks. So on Tuesday I took a picture of my partner and my daughter and posted it on my web site with an update that said “Hey, we’re ok, this is where we are and this is how you can contact us, but for now just send me an e-mail.” And within a day I got 25 or 30 e-mails from friends around the world who said, “We’ve been trying to call, we’ve been thinking about you and then we thought, let’s go to your Web site … and there was the picture.”

Driving
The strangest thing in getting around is that driving rules seem to be suspended. People drive the wrong way down one-way streets, they make illegal turns, so you just have to be aware of that and be careful. You’re not going to get a speeding ticket or a moving violation, that’s one of the most surreal parts about it. And driving the wrong way on the freeway, it’s just really bizarre. And once we left town, we realized we had to obey traffic regulations again.

Holdouts
The last time I talked to people, there was a determination to stay. And these are people who are on dry land. I’m still hearing stories about people who are in flooded waters who don’t want to leave their houses. I have some sympathy for it, but the greater health issue is the one that I think people are most concerned about. I think the dry part of New Orleans, that took on the least water, could open fairly soon. And there are parts of the city that have power and running water now. Clean-up efforts are underway; they’re making piles of debris. There are a lot of downed trees, but it’s all been piling up and some of it’s being taken away.

Fires
There was a warehouse along the levee in my neighborhood that burned to the ground. And about a block and a half from my house there were three houses in a row that I’m sure were standing the first day I was in town. But by the third day, these houses had all burned to the ground. They were still smoldering. I don’t know what happened, whether there was a stray gas line, or it was arson, or, I don’t know. That was sort of troubling, but I didn’t see a whole lot of other fires.

Toxic Muck
I went down to St. Bernard Parish, where the breach of the levee and the industrial canal was. The waters had gone down, and what was left was this toxic muck. This stuff is water, its sewage, it’s petrochemicals, it’s awful. I had some steel-toed boots in the back of my truck, but some other journalists I was with just had just sneakers or sandals. Farther down the road, there was a decontamination line where they were spraying cars going in both directions and they had little troughs where we could wash our feet and a guy who sprayed decontaminant on our feet. They actually gave my friend some plastic rubber booties and gaffer tape to hold them on.

Two Stories
There are two separate stories to this — there’s the Mississippi Gulf coast, which really got hit hard, and then there’s New Orleans. And the Mississippi Gulf coast has not received as much attention as New Orleans. Partly because of the human element. It seems that the Mississippi Gulf coast will have, not an easier time, but they’re on a clear path to rebuilding. Because the water came in and the wind came in, destroyed everything and went away. In New Orleans, we’re still dealing with six to eight feet of water in parts of the city, and then the toxicity of the disease.

The Mississippi Gulf Coast
There are parts of Bay St. Louis still standing, but Waveland is gone. Going back half a mile from the beach, it’s just piles of rubble. It’s staggering. And then you get to the beach and there are actually parts of the road that are still intact. And the jogging path that I used to run on is still intact. It was under about six inches of sand, but it was still there.

What Was Left Intact
I met a guy in Biloxi who had a house on the beachfront and part of the front was taken off, but there were glasses in a buffet, in the second room, that were untouched. You could tell how high the water came up because there was water in the glasses, like on the fourth shelf.

Refugees
I did a USA Today story last Monday on a family that evacuated from New Orleans and had already bought a house, seven days after the event. When I was in Baton Rouge, one of the people I stayed with had heard that, before the storm, there were something like forty-five hundred units for sale in Baton Rouge. By Friday there were only like five hundred left and these were expected to be gone by the weekend. Apparently all the houses for sale in Baton Rouge are gone, and I wouldn’t be surprised if a good number of the ones in Jackson are gone too.

Displacement
I think the hardest part of this is that communities have been scattered. I’ve got friends who I used to see two or three times a week. I’ve accounted for them, but I don’t know when I’m going to see them again. And then you start talking about the communities that weren’t able to evacuate, that were finally shipped out to Texas or Utah. What’s going to happen to those communities? This comes back around to how does New Orleans get rebuilt? And whose New Orleans gets rebuilt?

Mardi Gras
I’ve talked to friends about Mardi Gras being when we reclaim the city. Mardi Gras next year is on February 28, so that’s six months. And I’ve been working, as every photographer in New Orleans has, on a long-term Mardi Gras project. We have the potential to reclaim the city, but there’s also the danger that everyone will want to reclaim the city on Mardi Gras. There will be this influx of people who don’t really understand New Orleans and don’t appreciate it — which you usually get at Mardi Gras anyway.

Tonight I’m posting a series of galleries on my Web site from the stuff that I shot and I’ll do another update.

Hurricane Katrina — Another Photographer’s Story

E-mails sent from ASMP General Member David Spielman, who stayed in New Orleans in the days following the hurricane.

From: DGSPIELMAN@aol.com

To All:

You wouldn’t believe the change in the city, streets are tree free, the National Guard is everywhere, lots of checkpoints, trying to keep the looters out and let the big work get done. I haven’t seen Entergy just yet, but I’m betting that once the trees are cut back, Entergy will have a clear field to run with and they will make short order of the job.

Canal Street has become media central, TV crews bumping into each other, the hotels are full steam ahead fixing windows and removing damaged goods. Military everywhere. Cops from across the country. The smell of rotting food is everywhere; I spent the morning cleaning out the freezer of decaying meat and chicken, wasn’t hungry all day. You can smell the rotting food as you move around, much like that smell of a burnt house.

The water is moving out very fast, so be patient and let the pros go for awhile longer. The real story is how fast things will return to normal. Our city is forever changed. Lots of landmarks gone, the trees, neighborhoods look like toothless kids, the park, St. Charles [is] heart breaking.

Last night I awoke, gun shots, didn’t know how many. So this morning after my run, I stop and check in with the National Guard. I asked; [it was at] Magazine and Exposition Blvd. So it isn’t safe just yet. They said NOPD responded and they weren’t called.

More later,
David

From: DGSPIELMAN@aol.com
Sent: Tue, 13 Sep 2005 12:19:08

Day 15 after the storm

My house is fine, some roof damage and one broken window, lots of loose boards but still standing and very livable. The Rink, where my gallery is, is also fine, some windblown rain got in but other than that I think fine.

Now Walker, my cat, and I are staying at the Poor Clare’s convent; the National Guard thought it a better place than my house; with a generator running and lights on in my house, I might become a victim. Agreeing with them and the Sisters offered their place to me. Walker and I are very comfortable. The Sisters are, and will be for a while, over in Texas at another Poor Clare’s convent. I talk to them most days, giving them updates and telling them that I am trying to take very good care of their home. There is something odd about me living in a convent, haven’t put my finger on it just yet.

Each morning after my run, I go into the chapel and light one candle and say a prayer for everyone here and there. Hoping all will return and we will all be back together soon. I then ring a bell here in the house to remind God that the Sisters haven’t gone, they just aren’t here right now.

Sleeping isn’t easy, lying on top of the sheets, just breathing, sweat sliding down your face. No air moving, dark, so very dark. The only noises are the military truck moving back and forth. Waiting for the morning light but then being so very tired from a sleepless night.

Better get out there and find some photos.

Thanks for all your notes and calls, hoping to see all soon!

More later,
David

From: DGSPIELMAN@aol.com
Sent: Wed, 14 Sep 2005 10:48:12

To All:

Another adventurous day in N.O. Since my life runs on gas and I’m running low, a good part of my day is trying to figure out how and where to get fuel. My car and generators use it and my world revolves around it. Nothing positive as of yet, but I’ve got some more leads to follow tomorrow. Eating mostly peanut butter sandwiches and lots of water, craving a big salad for sure.

Every corner you turn, you find something to shoot: the trees, damaged houses, mud, water, items moved like ping pong balls in a pool of water. The work continues to clean up the place. Some are getting excited that it will only be days before it is back to normal. I’m not convinced of that; remember we, uptown and French Quarter are the center of a wheel and everything around us is in worse, much worse, shape than us. So we might be on the mend, but everything that brings us our services aren’t up and running yet. Time, and more time, is what is needed.

During my morning run, there next to a military truck was a young rabbit, eating grass just as if nothing was wrong. Hundred of soldiers sleeping a few feet away. The ponds are full of birds looking for the bread they have grown used to. Strange traveling the streets, no stop lights and every mile or so a checkpoint making sure you are there on business, not monkey business.

The weather remains hot, no rain, the flies and mosquitoes are getting really bad. The piles of garbage, well, you know the smell. Enough said.

More later, the hunt for gas continues….

David

David G. SPIELMAN
Photographer
New Orleans
318.235.3696 Hurricane Katrina cell
504.899.7670

Hurricane Katrina Insights

And finally, we received this message indirectly; it’s from New Orleans photography gallery owner Joshua Mann Pailet. He stayed in New Orleans in the days following the hurricane.

Tuesday, September 6, 2005

Dear Friends

New Orleans is my home and birthplace. I remained in downtown New Orleans during the difficult first five days. In the French Quarter, downtown, and along the Mississippi River, I witnessed the SURVIVORS of this powerful storm struggle to maintain dignity and life.

Along this narrow unique corridor of the original city boundaries, there was NO FLOODING. All around us, the waters rose and the struggle roared louder than the hurricane winds of that historic storm.

During this time, communication was non-existent. Rumors ruled the street. The outlaws were bad, but a tiny percentage. The community worked together to have the stamina to remain calm and alive. NO water or food was delivered into these historic quarters until late Friday afternoon. NO evidence was seen of Authority or control.

We were not destroyed through looting or shooting. In fact, I witnessed a far more remarkable scene than TV or radio was able to report.

The other less famous, but EQUALLY IMPORTANT neighborhoods of this remarkable City, were deluged with water, fear, anger, bullies, and HEROES. Our policeman, fireman, and individual citizens used their wits and struggled to rescue many thousands of stranded friends and families while their own lives had been shattered.

The historic French Quarter and Riverfront community up St. Charles Avenue and along the Mississippi River survived intact and can be ready for your return soon after the electricity and running water is restored.

We are eager to see the misery calmed and life and vitality restored. Despite the visual images you are seeing, you will be surprised in the upcoming weeks. As we unite, together we can move forward to bring us together again.

The Daily Challenges are being addressed in a manner that requires everyone to remain flexible, cooperative, resourceful, inventive and respectful. ALL displaced CITIZENS must have the Opportunity to return to their original neighborhoods. These unique neighborhoods must be rebuilt.

The complex and multi-dimensional problems of this event are going to be solved, step-by-step, day-by-day, brick by brick. THE PEOPLE who are the heart and soul of this great city will be back. It is essential to bring ALL home to let the magic that you love about New Orleans blossom in the SPRING. The great gumbo of New Orleans requires that ALL our friends and families have a chance to return to their roots. The unique qualities that we love will shine if we continue to act with true dignity and bring back to EVERY NEIGHBORHOOD the artists, cooks, workers, musicians, professionals, carpenters, and more. This is TRUTH for NEW ORLEANS and EVERY community that surrounds it for miles and miles and miles.

Tonight, we are scattered and battered. Each day, the outpouring of concern has kept us going forward. We will clean it up and want everyone back to their neighborhoods and homes. For some of us, this will be soon. For the vast majority, it will be much longer. WE NEED YOUR HELP and the fantastic response from around the world and especially across the USA must continue. THE LOVE for New Orleans is evident. WE sincerely THANK YOU. We know the stress is spreading and touching all of you.

EVERYONE in the entire region has been affected. I am presently in Baton Rouge organizing and helping people find a place to live, work, and send their children to schools. Baton Rouge has taken in over 350,00 people and nearly doubled in size. Some of us are in hotels, friends’ homes, strangers’ homes, shelters, churches, temples, arenas, gymnasiums, vehicles, tents, and every available resource you can imagine.

The generosity and kindness of the great people of Baton Rouge, Houston, and every town and state for hundreds of miles is remarkable to witness. They are nurturing my fellow CITIZENS of New Orleans, Mississippi, and Alabama. It will continue.

Many of you have asked to HELP. We need your resources and immediate attention to a multitude of tasks.

We must continue rescuing, protecting, housing, and restoring health all at once. This test and challenge will require stamina and willpower, infrastructure, money, and planning. Timing is truly critical. Everywhere I look, the efforts and overtime are phenomenal. Imagine.

My fellow survivors continue to inspire others. No doubt major mistakes have been made. This can be debated at a later date. I ask all of you to continue focusing on NEW ORLEANS and the entire GULF COAST and pushing this effort forward. Each of you has a role to play as this situation stabilizes.

Tonight, I feel that the children need our most immediate attention. In Baton Rouge alone, there are over 35,000 new children of kindergarten to high school age who are in dire need of stability and EDUCATION. This TRUTH is repeated in numerous communities all over Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Arizona, New Mexico, and many more.

Tomorrow should be a school day for these beautiful children. We must begin to provide and prepare them for the future. NOW!

Schools, teachers, personnel, and supplies need to come together quickly. An Education Relief Task Force is organizing this effort. I strongly urge you to continue supporting ALL charitable efforts with your donations.

I believe that the Baton Rouge Area Foundation (www.braf.org) is the proper place to direct your financial contributions at this very moment. The EDUCATIONAL CRISIS is critical. The New Orleans School System is wiped out and bankrupt.

As you think about this, if we can get our children on a positive track, then parents will begin to rest easier and thus able to solve all the problems we need to address. From this will spring forth all the other great projects needed.

At times this emotional roller coaster we are all on, causes us to briefly stop. It is paramount that we work together diligently for a very long time to achieve this GOAL for our CHILDREN. It can and must be done. With this will follow the jobs and the dignity we all need to rebuild.

CHILDREN FIRST.
Send your donations to BRAC.ORG
My dear friend Marc Sternberg, a Baton Rouge native, (marc@bronxlabschool.org) is a vital part of this effort. Bring your energy, ideas, and donations NOW.

Throughout all of this, I have heard my mother’s words echo in my sky. “Pick up the pieces and get on with it.”

Thank you for your prayers, positive thoughts, and energy. You keep me and many others moving forward on this path to recovery. Every moment of everyday we encounter a changing reality.

FOCUS on the FUTURE by immediately providing the resources needed to get these NEW SCHOOLS up and running. The CHILDREN need you more than ever. It will take more than 150 million dollars for this effort in Baton Rouge alone. All the communities of the great Gulf Coast and Deep South region have the same challenge.

I will continue to be here to help.

WE ARE ONE.

CHILDREN FIRST
Immediate and very direct help, go to
www.braf.org
www.habitat.org
http://www.girlscoutsaudubon.org
http://maps.google.com

Below is my eyewitness account sent earlier to many of you.

I know it only applies to this tiny historic piece of land I was blessed to be in at the moment this storm arrived.

I am keenly aware that other neighborhoods in New Orleans and all around the GULF COAST experienced a nightmare of biblical proportions that seems to grow daily.

THANK YOU - I am the luckiest man in New Orleans and this planet.

Friday, September 2,2005

Just got out last night. I could have stayed, my supplies would have lasted for seven more days.

But, the fires have started.

The reports of looting downtown are exaggerated. Yes, they broke into the grocery stores, drugstores, gas stations, for food, water, diapers, milk etc. Of course all the rest got stolen as well. Canal Street had a few hours of thugs doing sports shops, but all other shops and the ENTIRE French Quarter is safe and untouched. The storm did glass and roof damage and trees UPTOWN> Just needs to be swept. Looks LESS dirty than a typical Mardi Gras day.

I was never threatened. 99.9% of our people are heroic, stoic, and human beings of great quality.

THE FLOOD did NOT get into the French Quarter and along the river to AUDUBON PARK

I stayed and helped and photographed and bicycled these areas every day.

NO shooters, some idiots, but everyone doing the best to get along and survive. Other flooded areas, it is very desperate and there are some battles going on, but very isolated.

From Monday to late yesterday there were NO military, red cross, FEMA, or anyone with supplies DOWNTOWN

Even the N.O. Police and Fire Dept were largely absent.

I stayed in the Qtr at A Gallery (for Fine Photography). The building and contents are presently fine. I will be going back soon to help the other people.

The Amazing people of New Orleans will survive and rebuild.

The media stayed on Canal Street and are missing the real story.

Unfortunately, the “looting” story is all they had downtown and its repetitious playing of that footage has set back recovery. IT FALSELY scared off the rescuers, I guess. Too many rumors reported without eyewitness verification.

Bad business needs to change.

Please spread the word.

Bush and his people have been bad to us. Every hour matters to the remaining people.

The surrounding region is overwhelmed with recovery. Baton Rouge has 200,000 people to help.

LSU is a triage center.

EVERYONE is pitching in.

The entire situation is complex and difficult for everyone. Many shortages, gasoline especially.

By the way, since early Tuesday, access into New Orleans via the downtown Miss. River Bridge has been clear to Baton Rouge. Everyone else got in that way, why not the military?

Four hours away by CAR is Fort Polk, one of the largest bases around.

Bring the boys home, especially the National Guard.

New Orleans needs your love and positive thoughts.

Email and spread the word. Contact your leadership in Washington and keep the pressure on.

Especially today and tomorrow.

Remember that these people are the heart and soul of the New Orleans everyone loves.

See you soon.

Joshua
Living and Learning and Listening
Plant a Tree
Remember CMP
A Gallery For Fine Photography
Fine Photos, Inc.
www.agallery.com