Kate's Home!

Kate's Home!
Originally uploaded by sarahkate.

Kate returned from New Orleans tonight, and promptly passed out on my bed. Matt was sleeping in there, but he's unmoveable once he's out for the night, so I just let them sleep. I talked to Kate for a couple of minutes before she collapsed. She said it was like being in a war zone. There were few people around, mostly millitary personal and police officers. She helped her father's friend assess the damage to his properties in the French Quarter. I'm going to get her to tell me more details tomorrow and I'll see if she will let me post some of her photos. She said the quarter is coming back to life, stores and restaurants are reopening and all have "Now Hiring" signs in the windows, but outside the quarter is so devastated and empty. She says that housing is going to be the major problem that the city faces in the next year. She went to visit a house owned by Marie, a friend of her folks. The water damage on the first floor was so extreme that the walls were crumbling, and the mold was so pervasive she couldn't breathe while walking through the house. The attic on the second floor was totally untouched. The house will have to be leveled. All the beams are rotten and swollen from the flooding. She says about seven-eighths of the city is in that condition. The French Quarter is the least damaged section of the city, because was built on the highest ground. All of the buildings outside the quarter, even just a few blocks off Claybourne street are still without power.
I feel so horrible for all the people who lost their homes, their loved ones and their entire world in this disaster.