My Hurricane Katrina story

I moved to New Orleans in January of 2004. I had never been there but like most people, I had read about the great food, music and culture. I had a great interview and my future boss and I got along great so it seemed like a good option though it was in different time zone from my home and family in NC.

I had been out of work in North Carolina for nearly seven months and got a job offer I could not turn down. With a career in Staffing and more specifically in Energy/Utility related Staffing, I had gotten my self into a specialty that had greatly reduced my opportunity for a job. There are only so many Electric Utilities and a limited number of jobs.

I lived in a building that was over 100 years old. It was a Cotton Mill at one time and had been converted into apartments and condos in the Warehouse District. It was a great location, about a 10 minute walk to the Old Quarter and Bourbon Street. Close to the CBD or Central Business District where I worked and just 5 minutes to the Garden District.

It was a unique place to live though the developer had done a great job in upgrading the building with all the modern necessities and requirements. There was a bar/restaurant connected called the Sun Ray Grill. A beautiful courtyard and pool which was like a tropical paradise.

I made friends quickly and was able to connect with many locals who liked the location because it was close to their business and the CBD. Many were from multi-generational families and were owners or partners in restaurants, bars or other related business’.

The first few months I lived there, rarely do I ever say ‘no’ to an invitation to go check out a band or go to dinner at one of the many world class restaurants. Emeril Lagassee’s flagship restaurant was a 10 minute walk away.

I was having just ‘too much’ fun and nearly every month, a family member or friend was coming to the Big Easy for a visit. In short, I loved it. If you are a foodie, music lover and someone who appreciates history and culture, you’re in your element and I certainly was.

Invariably, those late night sessions would always turn to the topic of ‘Hurricanes’. No, not the type you get at Pat O’Briens in the Quarter, but they type that can flood and destroy a costal city. It was well known that the Parrish of New Orleans was below sea level. Whenever there was a heavy rain during monsoon, it was problematic because the drainage system could simply not handle the volume of water which resulted in flooded rains which were sometimes impassable.

I would often make the point that it was not a question of ‘if’ but rather a question of ‘when’ the ‘Big One’ was going to take aim at the Crescent City and wipe it out. Interestingly it was mostly the local who would scoff and my prediction. They talked about other storms they had endured and how their families always took it in stride and would rebuild with never a thought of moving to somewhere not so prone to weather disasters.

It was the summer of 2004 when the talk turned to Hurricane Ivan. It was early September and the Hurricane had been in the news for days. It was the strangest thing for a Hurricane to track across the Caribbean, up into the gulf, cross the Florida panhandle, into Alabama, the Carolinas and then go back out to sea in Virginia, only to come South again cross the Southern tip of Florida, come back into the Gulf and take direct aim at New Orleans.

Yet, that’s what it did. It was truly a weather phenomenon. Since I worked for a Fortune 500 company, I paid attention to the weather alerts and the anticipated announcement that it was time to evacuate. Daily I listened to the weather reports and heard of the traffic that was escaping to East or West on Interstate 10. There are not too many directions you can find a main Interstate Highway to escape New Orleans.

Finally on September the 2nd on a Friday, the announcement came. I packed everything I could into my little Maxima and set a course East toward Texas. Try to imagine about a Million people on the Interstate. It was total chaos. Fortunately, I had a full tank of gas. As I drove along, I could see people stranded on the highway who had run out of gas before they could find a station. Many who made it to a station, had to wait in lines for hours, just to get to a pump. Never mind about trying to find food. All the exits to the fast food restaurants were jammed. I will not even go into detail about how people were taking their Interstate bio-breaks. Like the song says, ‘A Country Boy Can Survive’.

There were so many challenges but the biggest was no communication. I could not get a cell signal and when I did, it was so weak, I could not sustain a conversation. Finally, I was able to reach my good friend Gary M who lived in Dallas, Tx. I explained what was going on and ask if he could help me book a hotel in Houston, Tx. He said he would and I kept going toward to the city of Lafayette, Lousiana. Normally, its about a 2 hour drive. I had been on the road for about 5 hours and still was not there. When I did finally get there, I was able to find a gas station to get a refill and some fast food and water to allow me to get back on the road. There were no hotels and I was still waiting on call from my friend Gary.

I decided to continue to press on Westward toward Houston. I thought that surely a city that size would have a hotel for me. It wasn’t too much longer that Gary called me to say he got me a room at the Marriott in downtown Houston.

I’m not exaggerating when I say it was ‘creep and roll’ on the Interstate. Yes, it was miserable. It was astonishing to see the highway littered with abandoned vehicles who had run out of gas. Many people would just pull over to the side of the road to sleep, simply exhausted from driving and dealing with all the stress.

It took me 16 hours to get to Houston Texas. What is normally and 5 hour drive had turned into a marathon of a trip. I was so exhausted when I arrived I could barely keep my eyes open to watch the news and weather to learn the fate of New Orleans. It was late that night that I learned that Ivan had taken a last minute turn and made land fall in Mobile, Alabama and had missed New Orleans.

The next day, like so many thousands of others, I was back behind the wheel, headed for New Orleans. It was not quite as intense going back, though it still took about 8 hours for the return trip.

That night, I got down on my knees and prayed that the good Lord get my out of New Orleans.

It was in June of the next year, that I got a call from a Virginia based Electric Utility for an interview opportunity. Of caused, I jumped at the opportunity. I got the offer and by early August, I was moved out of New Orleans and in Virginia.

It was later that month that Hurricane Katrina struck New Oleans. The stories are well documented. I lost contact with many of my fiends whose cell numbers were no longer valid. The Hurricane had taken out the cell towers.

The city had gone from a popluation of nearly 900,00 thousand to about half of that. So many families with children had to get their kids in school. The city lost thousands of families to cities in Texas and Florida and it was years before people began to move back.

I considered my prayers were answered. I had escaped and though I wasn’t in North Carolina, at least I was in the same time zone and close to my two Sons who were now getting ready for college.

It was a frightening experience and for me, it was an easy decision. I had no family ties to New Orleans, no business interest or reason to keep me there. I lated learned that many of the employees that I worked with at the Electric Utility there decided to stay in Houston. The Lady who was the HR Director was a single mother with two toddler age kids She owned a home near the Ninth Ward which was under water. She never went back.

In the months and years that followed Katrina, I told anyone who would listen, my theory about why so many people stayed in New Orleans rather than evacuate. I related my harrowing experience during Hurricane Ivan and then they got it. It’s like the boy who cried ‘Wolf’. All those thousands of people who had endured the evacuation of New Orleans during Ivan were devastated by the experience only to see the Storm pass by.

I believe they decided to stay because it was their home and no matter how bad it was going to be. Like generations before, they were determine to build back and tolerate the threat of future Hurricanes and deal with life below sea level.