Rebuilding the 9th Ward in New Orleans

2008-11-30T20:11:06-08:00

I’ve spent Thanksgiving in the Deep South this year at my girlfriend’s grandparent’s house. It’s been a great trip, but one thing about it keeps plaguing me.

We spent a couple of days in New Orleans, and one of the places I insisted upon seeing was the 9th Ward, where Katrina dealt some of the worst damage. I wanted to see if people were recovering, and how much the place had been fixed up since 2005 when the storm blew through.

What surprised me (aside from the markings) is that people are moving back into this area, rebuilding their houses, and generally, pouring money into the location. On the one hand, it makes sense since it’s their home, but on the other, I can’t help but think that somebody should stop this from happening. From what I’ve learned while here, the 9th Ward is an area of New Orleans that is going to flood if there is another hurricane Katrina…which there will be sooner or later. Considering that Katrina killed almost 2,000 people this seems rather unwise.

So, rather than moving back in, shouldn’t we be cutting our losses right about now, finding somewhere for these people to live, and preventing another disaster? Or is my logic flawed?

Michael Jay Lissner

Rebuilding the 9th Ward in New Orleans