Katrina's Long Shadow
Two years later, there’s still so much to be rebuilt in New Orleans.By Jim Downie, Columbia University
August 29, 2007
Hurricane Katrina remains one of the great natural disasters in American history, and the government’s inadequate response was a national disgrace. Unfortunately, the government’s rebuilding efforts in New Orleans and along the Gulf Coast have continued to be ineffective and disappointing. New Orleans in particular is beset by so many problems that a full recovery is unlikely anytime soon.
Is the population returning?
Not everyone, but signs are more encouraging here than elsewhere. During and immediately after the storm, almost the entire population was evacuated (fewer than 50,000 were left in the city on Aug. 29, 2005). These evacuation measures resulted in massive displacement, and many residents lost many of their belongings and income. The well-known “FEMA trailers” have housed many refugees from New Orleans, and the entire Gulf Coast, with much corruption and bureaucracy hampering the process.
Since then, New Orleans has reached a population of almost 274,000 as of July 2007, according to the New Orleans Times-Picayune. That number is just 60 percent of the city’s pre-Katrina population, but it is a 22 percent increase since June 2006. Including the surrounding suburbs, 1.2 million of the 1.4 million pre-storm residents have returned, according to the Census Bureau. Generally speaking, population recovery has begun in the least-damaged areas and spread from there. Areas that received little flooding have recovered much of their pre-storm population. The areas with the most severe damage have recovered relatively little of their pre-storm population, but their numbers have jumped significantly in the past year, suggesting that those areas are finally starting to be repopulated.
However, rebuilding the actual houses has been somewhat more difficult. As The Economist points out, it took a whole year for Congress to pass a $10 billion aid package intended to cover every claim for flooded-out homeowners. Not only will that money soon run out with more people still waiting, but the state has taken forever to actually hand out the money—less than a quarter of the 180,000 applicants in Louisiana have been paid.
What is the health care situation in the area?
The health care situation in the region is dire. Before the storm, New Orleans had an uninsured rate of over 20 percent. The uninsured were served almost entirely by the Medical Center of Louisiana at New Orleans, which included University Hospital and Charity Hospital (known as “Big Charity,” the latter was also the only Level One trauma center in that area of the state). These hospitals served more than 80 percent of New Orleans’ uninsured.
Now, two years after the storm, the picture is bleak. According to the Brookings Institution’s Katrina Report, just 26 of the 39 state-licensed hospitals in the five-parish area are open, with several operating at reduced capacity. St. Bernard Parish has no open hospitals. The House Committee on Energy and Commerce has held hearings that highlight the failures beyond that. Insured patients have to wait months for some appointments, while care for the uninsured is almost entirely absent. Big Charity remains closed while University Hospital, the only public hospital operating in the New Orleans area, operates at far-reduced capacity, primarily in temporary facilities. Doctors at other hospitals cannot receive compensation for treating the uninsured, as Louisiana’s laws prevent funds for the uninsured from going to normally private hospitals. As a result, the uninsured (whose numbers have been swelled by those who can no longer afford insurance, and also by workers who have come to assist with clean-up) seek treatment only as a last resort.
And times are just as tough for area doctors: More than 6,000 physicians were displaced by Katrina and, while many of them have returned, almost half of those returnees are associated with hospitals that remain closed. Hospitals are overwhelmed with patients, particularly psychiatric ones, who take up many of the available beds on a permanent basis. And few new young doctors are showing up: Two in-state medical schools (Louisiana State University and Tulane) used University and Big Charity as teaching hospitals. Now, without teaching hospitals, these two schools are in danger of losing their accreditation.
What are elected officials doing to help those affected by Katrina?
This would seem like the worst possible time for the city to have its congressman indicted on corruption charges and the state to have a senator caught using an escort service. Yet that is exactly what happened. Republican senator David Vitter, whose priorities apparently meant spending a whole year sponsoring a bill that prevented federal funds from being used to seize firearms in disaster zones, has been a little tied up explaining how his number was on the list of the “D.C. Madam.”
Meanwhile the Democratic congressman for New Orleans, William Jefferson, has been indicted on 16 counts relating to corruption. Instead of stepping aside, though, he has decided to retain his seat while fighting the charges. So he is embroiled in controversy at at a time when the city needs an effective advocate in Washington more than ever.
At the state level, the legislature continues its fine tradition of hostility to New Orleans, especially its poor. After Katrina the state cut spending by $1 billion, expecting a collapse of revenue. The state, however, has had an unexpectedly large surplus from federal relief money. Instead of focusing the money on hurricane relief, the legislature spread the money around and spent much of its windfall in a single year on projects that had nothing to do with reconstruction. Furthermore, as The Economist notes, of the $4.5 billion in projects that the state has approved only 0.1 percent are in New Orleans. Now the state has a $500 million surplus, but many people predict that the cost of all the new projects will hamstring Louisiana from assisting in the reconstruction for the next several years.
The Bush Administration has continued its shameful mistreatment of New Orleans. The Department of Labor has failed to safeguard workers’ rights on reconstruction projects and FEMA officials working in New Orleans have been charged with soliciting bribes. Many New Orleans residents conclude that the administration has simply failed to commit the resources or attention to New Orleans that it needs.
What about the levees?
The reconstruction of the levees is the most important part of the rebuilding effort. A failure to build strong fortifications against future hurricanes could render useless all other rebuilding projects. Unfortunately, it appears that this disturbing scenario may be coming true. The Army Corps of Engineers has received unprecedented money and control to rebuild the levees, yet many engineering experts are critical of their efforts, declaring that the Corps is simply repeating many of the same mistakes that plagued earlier levees. Furthermore, the Corps has made little effort to deal with the environmental problems in the area. A century’s worth of flood prevention measures built along the Mississippi have meant that less sediment has made its way to New Orleans; as a result, erosion has sunk much of the city. In addition, new plans for levees and other types of hurricane protection along the Gulf Coast could adversely impact the area’s wetlands, which serve as natural means of sapping the strength of incoming hurricanes. As a result, when a truly disastrous Category 4 or 5 storm comes (according to the National Hurricane Center’s report, Katrina was a Category 3 hurricane by the time it made landfall), New Orleans may be as vulnerable as it was prior to Katrina.
In short, people are returning to New Orleans, but they are returning to a still-struggling city with deep-rooted problems. To fix these problems anytime soon will require a commitment from the state, local, and federal governments that simply has not yet materialized. It is time for the government to finally make good on its obligations to the people of New Orleans.
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Comments
New Orleans has long been a voodoo cesspool. Environmentalists put an end to levee improvement work decades ago, allegedly to save animal species. Liberalism is an obvious and dangerous mental disorder.
— Simon - Sep 3, 06:29 AM - #Dear Simon,
Eat a dick. We love our voodoo cesspool.
Love,
— Michael - Sep 6, 02:44 PM - #New Orleans