Gulf Coast Still Hurting Two Years Later

By Anastacia Mott Austin

On August 29th, 2005, Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast and essentially drowned New Orleans.

On the two-year anniversary of the disaster, President Bush arrived in New Orleans with words of hope. "This town is coming back," said the President to reporters. "This town is better today than it was yesterday, and it’s going to be better tomorrow than it was today."

These words rang hollow for some. Though over $100 billion in federal funds have been earmarked for Katrina recovery, bickering between state and federal authorities have stalled the disbursement of the money. Many businesses and families have yet to receive any substantial help.

"It’s time for President Bush to quit misleading the nation and tell the people of the Gulf Coast just how little federal money is really available to rebuild their communities," said Jeffrey Buchanan, a representative from the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Human Rights, to reporters. The center has been involved in a study which revealed that most of the federal Katrina recovery money has not yet been disbursed. "The region has not recovered due to slow, insufficient, and misguided federal rebuilding efforts, leaving tens of thousands of American families displaced."

Many businesses along the river port of New Orleans are leaving the state, some because they have no money to rebuild from damages, and some because access to the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet, known as MR-GO, is now limited. Katrina delivered 14 feet of river sediment along the bottom of the outlet, and businesses which dealt with larger vessels can no longer offer them access.

In addition, many businesses are still in disputes with insurance companies that refuse to pay for storm damages, effectively putting some of them out of work.

Gary P. LaGrange, the president and CEO of the Port of New Orleans, told the press, "Right now we’re in neutral. We can’t prepare new projects until we get the insurance money."

Other problems continue to dog the region as well. While two-thirds of the city’s residents have returned, many of those still live in FEMA trailers, or in temporary housing. Those who found sanctuary in nearby states and want to return cannot do so because they too are locked in insurance disputes, or are waiting for federal money to rebuild, or simply have no homes to return to. The city of Houston, which accommodated over 150,000 Katrina refuges, still suffers from maxed-out social programs and overcrowding.

And while new levees have been built, stronger than those which existed before, some say that there is so much more still to be done, and that the current problems which still exist today need to be dealt with before anyone can pat himself on the back for a job well done.

Perhaps the most compelling of these was witnessed during President Bush’s visit to the area. The presidential motorcade passed over a newly built cement levee wall on the way to a meeting. Painted in high, bright red letters was the word, "Hindsight."