Hurricane Katrina: The Drive: New Orleans Lower 9th Ward

A painful irony of post-Katrina New Orleans is how few
people throughout the country understand the extent of
what has happened to the city. Many people do not
realize that, nearly 10 months later, things are not
back to normal in New Orleans. As America's attention
fades from Hurricane Katrina's impact, a disabled New
Orleans continues to struggle for survival.
In many respects, New Orleans is alive and kicking.
People are moving home, schools are opening, cultural
activities have returned and, in some neighborhoods,
life has a sense of near normalcy; however, all it
takes is a short drive outside of the French Quarter
or Uptown to witness extensive loss and devastation.
The magnitude of flooding was incomprehensible and New Orleans still has many challenges to overcome.
The only way to really get a sense of the magnitude of
the post-Katrina destruction is to physically walk or
drive through the affected areas. With this in mind,
NOVAC presents The Drive. The Drive provides a raw
visual and narrated tour through four of the most
devastated neighborhoods in New Orleans and is
supported with extensive footage, maps, interviews,
digital imagery, and an original musical score by Emmy
nominated composer, Gil Talmi.
Through this community-based documentary project, we
present stories from a local point-of-view. We hope
this effort will garner continued support for the
rebuilding of a great American city.

[@astranine]

This was totally avoidable and those people didn't have to die. Many stayed behind because they had nowhere to go and no way to get there. Good video.

[@StephenMarchetti555]

Great Video. The devastation is unreal. The body count in video was simply from the 9th ward. The total loss of life was MUCH higher. Realize too that New Orleans was not the only impacted city. Biloxi & Gulfport, MI and Slidell and other places are just as devastated. I've been blessed to give two vacation weeks to working on gutting homes but the work is miniscule. These folks still need help. Contact your church or other agency to see how you can volunteer. God Bless

[@tallblondie34]

I was down in New Orleans to work with a group of students over Spring Break and it was an eye opening and definately life changing experience...something I will never forget. Working down there has definately given me a different perspective on things, as the media reveals little of what is really going on. To all of you who personally experienced the hurricane, my heart goes out to you. I will absolutely return to New Orleans to help out as much as I can, as soon as I can.

[@AzucaNegra16]

Thanks for posting this piece of American history. I have driven through New Orleans, Chalmette, Metarie and Kenner. This storm affected so many people. It didn't matter what your social or economical status was. People who post negative and hateful comments need to see it first hand.

[@Bajemea]

I was in the 9th Ward last month...it's virtually leveled. It's so eerie and heart-wrenching to see driveways and front porches that lead to nowhere. We peeked into one house that was crooked on it's foundations and there were clothes hanging in the closets. Some people were living there but not many. It was devastating.

[@boopkid]

Being a resident of New Orleans for now going on 45 years, I understand and have lived through the plight; I too feel the pain of this wounded city. This is an accurate and heart wrenching account of the sights of Post Katrina New Orleans. Thank you for posting this excellently produced video so that others outside New Orleans may see and realize the extent of Katrina's devastation.

[@northstarloveme]

its one thing to see a video like this, and another to actually be there. i recently went to work with habitat for humanity, and it changed my life, seeing the damages after 18 months.

[@OCFgirl]

I've been to New Orleans recently, as part of a Dutch/American exchange program (I'm Dutch) centered around water, I have visited the Lower Ninth Ward, I've done some volunteer work and I can honestly not believe how left alone these people are. But despite that, they are hopeful, warm and incredibly kind to people like me who came to help. It just really amazed me and I hope people will realize that 3 years after the storm, there are still so many things to do...

[@JGarvey]

Absolutely Amazing.... I visited New Orleans in Spring of this year with a group of my friends to helpe clean and gut homes around New Orleans, and it is true, you can only understand the desparation when you walk the dirt roads of the lower ninth road. It makes me happy to see others who care as much about this as I do. Thanks. -Jennifer Garvey, Brooklyn

[@ilubB5]

i remember this day. i was sitting at home watching the news with my mother when i saw it. god bless everyone who had to go through it

[@indigoking]

You know what... I was shocked by reading all the comments, that I forgot to comment on the video - nice work Tim !

[@LuvDaBoom]

man i live in new orleans and still reside here. fortunately i was blessed enough to stay on the westbank but you truly have to come and see it for yourself.not just new orleans but the whole Gulf Coast. we are struggling down here and need as much help as we can get. til this very day bodies are still turning up in the 9th ward and we are all the way in mid July now. something needs to be done to help this city

[@catdancr]

This is excellent! Very well done. Thank you for reminding the rest of us what is still going on for the survivors.

[@DVincentW]

Thank you for making this. There are alot of mean spirited people that posted prior to me , they will regret their harsh hatred.

[@linds2321]

i think its great that u keep reminding ppl what had happened ..i live nowhere near there , but i donated money because thats all i could do at the time.. and its almost a yr later and almost nothing being done and its sad .. keep making these videos known people ..its no joke ... just imagine if you had lost everything you had.. and remember to be thankful for what you do have because someday you could be in these shoes

[@reyvenskyes]

A lot of you have NO idea what people in the lower 9th were up against in trying to get out. As for people living in a fish bowl, what about all the people that keep rebuilding in Tornado Alley, or the California Wildfire Zones or on the San Andreas fault... we shouldn't help them either then. If you can find an area with NO potential for devestation more power to you.

[@chaboman]

I was there last October, went half way to Biloxi from N.O. then south until the road ran out. Toured with press and went to a meeting with 5 Mayors from surrounding cities. 18 mos. after Katrina, its a horror. Federal assistance is MIA. One government worker from DC said the cost for this country to restore N.O. and the coast is an impossibility. A video can only show so much, I can't believe what I saw, the people, and destruction. We are on our own more than you know. . .

[@clasper]

I am Brazilian and I went to N.O. one month ago (one year after Katrina), and it is amazing to see that the city still in very bad shape. I am sorry for the people that is suffering. Sometimes I stop and think, you have money, you have people, you have technology... why N.O. still like that? Why there still people out of their houses?

[@scatman44]

I was down there this past summer (August 2007). I will say this....it took less than a decade to rebuild the entire city of San Francisco after the 1906 quake. Everyone was in the process, including the government. Why the government is not in the rebuilding process for the city of New Orleans is beyond me.

[@DVincentW]

Thanks so much for caring!

[@lincolnelson]

Thank you for this piece.

[@indigoking]

Do you have any idea how much it costs to evacuate? That is if you have a car, without a car forget it... what public transport is available.... We evacuated twice before this storm a family two adults three kids, I reckon all in (after paying the inflated hotel rates- price gouging is supposed to be illegal!) it cost something around $2,000.00. That hit us hard ( no tax break on this either). So how do you afford that when you are earning around minimum wage?

[@ineptsade]

just went on my first trip to new orleans, and it was just a shame that so much is not being fixed, a city with so much life and vivacity needs people to go and see it. I will definitely visit again, and hope to somehow help the true definition of what america is defined by.

[@indigoking]

Many people lost their lives here. They deserve compassion, and well wishes, can you imagine what its like to loose EVERYTHING you own, and then get to fight insurance co's etc?

[@lestyoubejudged]

Very powerful, keep up the good work!

[@blkfoxxx]

People are too poor to move. Poor not in monetary, but also in other ways. A lot of the people are undereducated and have fallen through the cracks. If they own a little piece of land, then that home and all that they have. Some people can't just up and relocate.

[@goatworthy]

This film is stupendous. I lived in Arabi, LA in St. Bernard Parish my entire life and now live in Meraux, LA, also in St. Bernard Parish. The levee was blown and/or eroded away from a weak area in the levee wall and eventually broke away forming a breach.

[@MotiveRust]

I spent 6 months out there back in '98 and made some very good friends in the St Bernard Parish. Chalmette in itself was totally covered by the water, the only thing in Chalmette that was above water was the local high school. I STILL haven't heard from a few of my friends there, and its one year on. We here in the UK feel helpless for NOLA inhabitants, and we can't help thinking where Bush's priorities lay. If i had way that i could help rebuild NO i would,

[@tswagg504]

59% OWNER OCCUPIED HOUSEHOLDS!..the 9th ward was and is still very working class.

[@indigoking]

Also I neglected to add, the VAST MAJORITY of residents of the lower ninth, were decent hardworking (lower class financially - not in heart and soul) people, most earning minimum wage THEY ARE/WERE not the drug and gun slinging thugs that you may think. Those low life thugs came from a certain few housing projects... and they are back doing their worst, hence the new crime wave, themselves being a product of earlier government (mis)administrations.

[@driftwood240]

thank you for doing this.

[@Burnsomatic]

I thought this film was excellent. I am very sensitive to the music in films of all kinds, and I especially liked the music in this one. It very well expresses the way you feel when viewing these images. I look forward to the remainder of the film.

[@jdean0413]

you have to remember that New Orleans was not the only place damaged. When I came home from deployment to gulfport in December it was just as bad if not worse than this..

[@Kaptainess]

God Bless everyone from that hell. Go back home to New Orleans and make it BETTER! I visited there twice so far and found a part of the country that can not be replaced. The people are GREAT! Nowhere in the world will you find the same. BRING IT BACK! Don't let them take away your homes. God be with all of you.

[@tubadylan]

The score really makes the film, especially the accordian. Fantastic movie music.

[@amanda63]

I went down to help rebuild last summer and its one thing to see it on a video. but its so much different when you are there with the destruction and devastation totaly surrounding you. I want to do more. I want to go back!

[@wb7ptr]

Hello Folks at Novac; We may meet soon as I've signed up for that free Grip training and I'm inquiring about film maker training as well. The man interviewed is really right. You have to SEE the neighborhood to believe it. Like a film maker's camera, our eyes do not lie ... I've been living in the Lower 9 for close t three years watching the neglect. Lynn in New Orleans Lower 9th Ward

[@jhallenworld]

There were many warnings about the levees. The breeches were not really a surprise. They were expected to hold through a level 3 storm not a level 5 storm.

[@mams14]

katrina showed the world how weak America is to face emergency situations like that. Nature force showed it´s power against what American Goverment has done to destroy the natural defense of New Orleans. Oh! so much money, technology, equipments The US have and it was useless. The whole world watched speachless the US goverment´s disorganization, disorientation, stupidity and negligence. I hope The US learn and copy something from the Netherlands (Holland, country located under the sealevel)

[@aburiff]

Good job. People need to see this.

[@JeeprzCreepers56]

Its so sad that one flood could destroy so many homes and yet the government doesn't seem to care one bit about any of these people that were caught in this enormous flood.

[@merlindezoet]

I'm currently working on a schoolproject about disastertourism and I'm trying to find information about the lack of support from the government in America. Does anybody know where I can find this sort of information or is anybody willing to tell me what happened and what went wrong?

[@Huntress77]

Do people really comprehend the enormity of the task of evacuating an *entire major city*? From that perspective, we succeeded beyond our wildest dreams.

[@iraqidolphin]

The highways in and out were all damaged except for one route. Of course it is very difficult to stage an evacuation with one road in use. Also, it is really difficult when the population is impoverished ie only $5.00 in their pockets.

[@seaniemo]

GOD bless you for such great work.

[@mtbikemikeg]

I'm from California, but have traveled New Orleans. I can only imagine the how horrible it was (and is). Every time I see a H2 Hummer with the "Support Our Troops" yellow magnet I get sick. Someone needs to make Support Our Neighbors magnets.

[@cardinalsfan]

Amazing video! I lived in NO-our house doesn't exist now. Some say the race card is why the vid says that 60 Afr. Amer. and 70 whites died-but most believe only black people were affected-Race is mentioned so people know all races, rich and poor are affected. Govt's deserted ALL of NO, not specific race or economic background--but no one seems to care. Put blame where it belongs-the gov should own up. This SHOULD be on TV. People forget. The anniversary is coming-America needs a wake-up call.

[@thecrazytracy]

Not only N.O. - but MS and Al as well

[@theblue64]

You people totally skipped the 7th ward for lakeview.. I'm looking for a video of the whole 7th ward so maybe I can see the current state of my house on N. Derbigny st..

[@Kenyahs_Mommy]

This is so sad. Watching this video brings tears to my eyes.New Orleans looks like a third world country. I wrote a poem about hurricane Katrina. These people lost their lives, homes, family, and whatever else they had. I remember when Nelly,Kanye, T.I and all those celebrities were donating mmoney to new orleans. I watched it on t.v. There is no reason for it to still look the way it does.

[@wildstringdom]

my heart cries for this area...this country

[@skylash4396]

nice work.

[@onionportage]

The Saints give us something to rally behind, and to hope for. Thats something the government has failed to do. Take away the Saints, and some people really have nothing.

[@CocoMunky]

some of the people were unable to leave, either because the cities exits were clogged with evacuees or because they were disabled or elderly. so some of the younger people who stayed were to help those disabled/elderly. the place is just now starting to come back from being a warzone. we havent helped as much as we should have.

[@DriaNJoe]

for everyone from the NO get records of ownership, lease, morgage or whatever to prove that the home or property is yours . do not let the government take your homes, they willl get insurance companies to not give you money to rebuild...it doesnt matter because who took the land has the power and dont let them take it, dont let it happen!!! even if u gotta come and live in a tent go back and rebuil b4 they take it from u and make money off ya pain

[@AirQuotes848]

are there any recent videos from this person? I would like to see todays recovery or not?

[@tankgirl9176]

I have seen it. I will living on the Gulf Coast when it happened. I was living off the beach when Katrina hit.

[@Meuk1982]

It's not about my country..but I cannot understand how we can manage to keep te sea out of half of our country and even create land...and the most powerfull and rich country in the world can NOT???? What kind of country is that. And the help after...is that the USA? I really feel for these people. This could happen to us, but it doesn't. USA should asked for my country's help decades ago

[@davetina]

As a worker who spent quite some time there, I can tell you that the Federal Govt. is doing quite a bit to try and help. It's Blanco and Nagin that have never been able to agree on priorities or who/what needs help first. In cases like this, (Tragic events) the federal government must allow the local authorities to ask/tell them where to offer assistance first. It's called "autonomy".

[@ohoyochata]

Very interesting footage but kept breaking up and that was distracting.

[@OrochiGeese7]

@azurien27 Actually, there are reports that state that the Army Corps did come down to NO three years before the hurricane hit and they came with supplies that would fortify the Levees and when the hurricane would hit, the levees would have held up long enough to control and isolated a great part of the flooding, thus making medical aid and damage control easier to manage. The state gov't denied them for the sake of keeping them from "interfering" with state legislature. Incompetence FTW.

[@Speakeasy1920]

New Orleans knew a large flood could happen as an abstract notion, but people have also known that there could be disasters by nuclear power plants, that terrorists had tried to blow up the World Trade Center, and California's waiting for the 'big one'. Having talked to hundreds of residents who've toured the damage, I have uniformly heard humbled astonishment. The damage and what has taken place since the storm is so far 'beyond the imagination' that it seems truly impossible.

[@airborne893]

i live in gulfport, mississippi 60 miles from new orleans. my home was destroyed too. i've been to new orleans several times since the hurricane. people are forgetting about us and going on with their lives but we still need help. help americans first. please help your neighbors. not the foreigners.

[@indigoking]

As a long term New Orleans resident, now living a long way away.... I find it very sad that there are so many racist comments being left on this "space". Before the storm, New Orleanians just "got along". Blacks, Whites, Creoles and just about as many "races" as Heinz has varieties!

[@OrignalLignator]

So what are American values? Take a little country like the Netherlands; Most of Holland is below sea level and the delta of the Rhine River; Yet Holland has in place some of the best flood prevention infrastructure in the world. This little country accomplished this without a large national debt, while still maintaining a high standard of living and social programs.

[@davetina]

The government needs to step up? how about looking at the local government and asking why they didn't reinforce the levees when they had the money 20 years ago, OR MORE! As a worker in relief efforts who spent 6 months there, I can tell you that there are MANY good people wearing a government badge, some say FEMA and some say other agencies, but the people doing the work out many tireless hours and have gone FAR above the call of duty trying to help the area get back to some semblance of life.

[@UberGringo]

So, would it be worth the effort to try to rebuild New Orleans? Without proper levees and other flood safeguards this will happen again.

[@docnoproductions]

It's one of the oldest cities in America and was built to withstand any and all water that came at it, until the Army Corp. decided to make it better - great job boys.

[@bapyou]

In 1988-89 I rented a back apartment on North Priuer Street in the Lower Ninth Ward. My guess is that place is gone. It is a damn shame what has and is going on in one of America's great cities. I agree with what some of the previous posters have written here: The Lower Ninth and other affected neighborhoods will be cleared and developed by outside money; and the former residents will not be welcomed back. If you are a NO native, please don't let this happen. Be aware!

[@MsMerising]

This tragedy still weighs on my mind several years later. My wish is that the US govornment will take some ideas from European countries on how to create new, effective levees. And my gut tells me gentrification will hit the lower 9th Ward and that 93% of those Black folks will no longer have a home in that area. NO was a beautiful city. I walked amongst the poorer folks on MLK Day and folks were nothing but curious and open with me. I pray for them still... Peace

[@Speakeasy1920]

Take a look -- before focusing on blame about who was responsible about the various problems -- and see the scope of the damage. This was a cataclysmic failure at every level of society, from FEMA and the Army Corp to the State of Louisiana to the City of New Orleans. The big lesson here is that absolutely no part of government is prepared for this. As Americans, we should consider who we are and our values about our country.

[@Valkeie]

our government is horrible. we didnt help because everyone was poor. but if it was someone rich and important they would jump into action. i hope that our country 1 day relizes that we all need to change for the best or we r going to collapse under our own weight.

[@bongiwe]

wonderful video, sad reality, that's america for ya, N.O. will never be the same, unfortunately. it will be decades before that city is rebuilt and the politicians will talk and talk and continue to offer empty promises. how sad.

[@ThrowDaLobHun23]

Why bother if it can happen again? If they were smart theyd just evacuate the specific areas

[@sonicbaker]

yeah, so where are they now, Tom??

[@wilburh2m]

There are many cities and towns in US facing similar fate, who not known like NOLA. I agree with the opinion that Federal priorities speak to other countries needs for businss/politic reasons at the expnse of long term infrastructure needs in the US(less profitable for big money/govt interest) This will take min 10-20 years to solve under current paradigm, without true national vision. Sad.

[@shonco]

Someone's going to clear all of that out and make a lot of money on the redevelopment...I'm guessing it's not going to be the people that lived there before...

[@miamivicepastels83]

if this was a predominately white area, it would not look like this 2 years later. oops. --did i say that? ....yep.

[@garfieldt]

But still they know for decades that the possibility of disaster was extremely possible. Hurricanes have missed NO by an inch for years, and they also knew the moment one hits the city dead on, disaster strikes. Earthquakes can be waited on for years, hurricanes occur many times each year.

[@Michaelinator2]

I lived through that.

[@migueluspa]

yes there is a possibility for that theory

[@EggYolk]

volcom yes, they did forget rapidly sorta like the tsunami in the east. I'm sure thats still going on and were not hearing a word about it

[@knightrade]

hey i thought the body count was higher then 60 from what i heard on the news it was in the thousands in some areas....

[@thecrazytracy]

SHAMEFUL IS RIGHT - but if you noticed he was in Alabama within a few days following a tornado.

[@kemtaoro]

i like the music

[@dowling1981]

Pinkyplace - Hope everything works out for you :)

[@EggYolk]

UM ONE SEC HERE?! "none could have imagined what would soon become of there beloved city" what a lie. we've known this could happen for years. "the electrical system was damaged" duh. if houses were in streets what'd ya expect.

[@lovelee182]

i suppose human beings are lower on the list of natural commidities, than say ..oil or gold to our government.

[@beboppete]

Well, it IS below sea level. Everyone knew that it was below sea level. So it's not like a surprise or anything that it would get very watery when a big storm-driven wave sloshes through. The government can't very well be expected build walls around everything to protect it. Under sealevel is still under sealevel, as unfortunate as that might be.

[@OrignalLignator]

What of New Orleans is left? This tragedy was predicted and preventable. So what are American values? Take a little country like the Netherlands, most of Holland is below sea level and the delta of the Rhine River; Yet Holland has in place some of the best flood prevention infrastructure in the world. This little country accomplished this without a large national debt, while still maintaining a high standard of living and social programs.

[@mams14]

The whole situacion just showed the world, that watched speachless the negligence, incoherence, stupidity and disorganization of the US government.I hope after this sad and embarrasing experience,the US try to learn something from countries more prepared for situacions like this such as Holland. But the worst of all is that still new Orleans is suffering with no answers at all. So much money wasted over an innecesay war in Irak, and so many people needing it to restablish their lives. Pitty!

[@joot78]

Without telling us what we can do to help, this is just horror porn. People will watch and say, "How sad, what a shame!" and then what? Nothing more than they are doing now, because none of us feels we have any control over this. What are we supposed to DO???

[@wilburh2m]

This is a decades-long political disaster that failed to address the long-term needs of meagerly-resourced communities; no central planning over the years combined with political neglect left NOLA vulnerable.

[@AzucaNegra16]

I hope the only reason that you posted this nasty comment was that you were having an extremely bad day. Did that someone tell you that a lot of people had no means of getting out. No transportation or money. Could everyone in the town where you live, leave if they had to? I think not. Get the facts!

[@joeyissoweird]

:( we need to rebuild. i miss new orleans.

[@vikalik]

they are not houses. they are homes. we need to remember that.

[@chompy44]

I understand what you are trying to say about mother nature. But the real argument has more to do with how the government handled the disaster.

[@OrignalLignator]

So this is were the USA is at now......... You take a little country like Holland much of which is below sea level and yet they have been able to keep the the sea out, restore and maintain there ecology and farmland, without a big national debt.......... There is something wrong here with America.........

[@Meuk1982]

If that government wasn't so stubbern and asked help of the Netherlands, this horrible disaster never would of happened. I'm sorry to say this, but its the truth. The people of New Orleans have to get what they should get: a complete new city. If not, the USA is the biggest joke ever, if it wasn't already

[@speedforcepunch]

I Hope they keep Mardi Gras