The population of New Orleans is less today than in 1890. Less than half of the city’s 460,000 have moved back in the past year.
HOUSING: Homes still are without power – 60%. A third of the streets have hurricane debris that still hasn’t been hauled away. Rental rates are up 40%.
HEALTH: 6 of 9 hospitals are closed. Half the doctors have abandoned the city. There is a shortage of 1,000 nurses. Suicide rate is up 300%.
PUBLIC SERVICE: Only 17% of the city buses are operational. 34% of the public schools are still closed.
Popularity: 1% [?]
Independent News
Whereas,I am a native of New Orleans, and certainly grieve over the destruction of my beloved hometown, I had known from a little girl that this would happen one day. A levee would break, and the city would flood. I lived in the French Quarter, and had heard stories from my parents and grandparents about Greewood cemetery releasing caskets that would float down Canal Street. To be honest, I feared that during Katrina because no one lives close by to see if my relatives remains were on Canal Street. My prayers are with the families who lost loved ones in Katrina…and can’t help but wonder if things would have been different if the city planners had heeded the advice of the older generation, and not built levees to chain in the Mississippi River.