Katrina's 5th anniversary remembered in Buffalo
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Buffalo, NY - Five years ago Sunday Hurricane Katrina made landfall in New Orleans and along the Gulf Coast leaving a path of death and destruction. In its aftermath people traveled to the devastated region to help restore vital services and rebuild.
As University at Buffalo Engineering Professor Jim Jensen shared his photos from a trip to New Orleans and the Gulf area in October of 2005, he was reminded of the people he met while there. "My biggest memory is of the people down there and I have never seen such a display of dignity among people," said Jensen. "They welcomed us with open arms. They were very appreciative that people were going down there and trying to help."
Professor Jensen joined a team from UB that traveled to the Gulf to study Katrina's impact, and how to improve disaster response. He met with public health officials and managers from waste water treatment plants. Within 10 weeks drinking water was restored. Although other problems persisted, Jensen saw humanity at its best.
"I think there were just so many heroes of people walking into a waste water treatment plant that had 13 feet of standing water and were able to make it work again so that people could come back to their homes," said Jensen.
Tom Sandner saw Katrina's devastation and joined the rebuilding effort. As a UB student in 2007, he was part of a group that traveled to the Ninth Ward in New Orleans. "We went into homes that weren't even touched since the flood in 2005 and basically just gutted out the houses, took out everything, and made them so they were reusable to build and to restore," said Sandner.
On the 5th anniversary of Katrina's landfall, President Obama spoke at Xavier University in New Orleans. "This city has become a symbol of resilience and community and of the fundamental responsibility we have to one another," said the President.
Professor Jensen says there are many lessons to be learned from Katrina, but one stands out. "I think one of the big lessons learned from Katrina was how important evacuation is and the evacuation routes," said Jensen. "One of the evacuations routes actually has a very large dip in the road that flooded out completely and it prevented people from leaving."
Over 14-hundred people lost their lives as a result of Hurricane Katrina. As New Orleans and the Gulf Coast region struggle to recover, Sunday the nation paused to remember.