Katrina Recovery June '07

I was up early Sunday morning thanks to my two alpha male cats who decided to duke it out under my
bed, so I decided to venture out into the local area to witness post Katrina
progress.
click on photos for full-sized versions

My first stop was about a mile away from the house at Bayou Liberty Marina.
where I noticed that new boat slips are being constructed.




There is an old boat still sitting on the penninsula



Several houses are being built along Bayou Liberty Road while others lay gutted
and dormant.










I decided to circle Lake Pontchartrain, so I headed down to Highway 90 to check out the Lake Catherine
and Venetian Isles areas. On the way, I passed a FEMA trailer park still being occupied by Katrina victims


This eastern section of Slidell was just about ground zero during Katrina.
The storm made its third landfall here with 120 mph (195 km/h) sustained winds and 928 mbar (27.37 inHg) pressure, still at Category 3 intensity.
There is still a lot of work to do in order for the folks living here to be able to have a real home.
About ten miles away to the southeast, right before the Rigolets Bridge the there are signs of life.


This beauty sits on Lake Borgne.

There hasn't been a lot of activity in the Lake Catherine area since
my last visit, but I just HAD to stop and snap a picture of this fridge, still sitting in a tree, six or more feet off the ground.



Continuing on to Chef Pass I came to Venetian Isles.
Slammed by Katrina, since it is outside the levee system and it's surrounded by water. But the past few months have seen
a flurry of activity as people are rebuilding.





Heading north again, I passed through Irish Bayou. There are several raised houses popping up along this
small fishing community located on Highway 11 at the south shore of Lake Pontchartrain.









The Irish Bayou Castle's been spruced up as well



Back in the Bayou Liberty area, St. Genevieve parishoners are awaiting the beginning of
the rebuilding of their church. The chapel, however, stood up to Katrina's wrath and won.



Back at home one of the earlier offending cats relaxed in the backyard


I thanked him for getting me up early enough to make the little "recovery progress" trip.