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Hurricane Katrina, Four Years On
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Four years ago, on August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall in the U.S. Gulf Coast, forcing over 1.5 million people from their homes, killing more than 1,000, and damaging or destroying the homes of nearly 300,000 families.
The storm's devastation and the breaching of the levees in New Orleans were so extensive that families and communities are still struggling to recover today.
Those most impacted are low-income people and people of color. This is the continued disaster, and it is not accidental.
Tracing the contours of recovery on the Gulf Coast, we find our society's fault lines of race and class. What we see is that entrenched inequalities based on race and class determined people's vulnerability during Katrina and that these inequalities continue to hinder residents' ability to recover today.
In New Orleans, almost one-third of addresses are still unoccupied — most are homes in the Lower Ninth Ward or public housing units that remain empty and boarded-up four years on. Compounding the problem, the city of New Orleans recently demolished additional public housing complexes, wiping out over 4,500 affordable housing units. The city plans to replace just 750 of them.
Since Katrina, UUSC and the UUA have jointly partnered with over 40 organizations in Louisiana and Mississippi to provide over $2.2 million in grants and recovery money to UU congregations, grassroots organizations, and low-income communities and communities of color in support of their efforts to return, rebuild, and remain on the Gulf Coast.
Watch video clips of our partners, and let them inspire you in your commitment to ensuring a just Gulf Coast recovery. Take action — tell U.S. policymakers to pass the Gulf Coast Civic Works Act of 2009, creating 100,000 living-wage jobs for local and displaced workers.
Express your solidarity by volunteering your time and energy with families and communities in New Orleans who are working to pave a safe road home. Contact the New Orleans Rebirth Volunteer Program to reserve your spot today!
