Post-Katrina Update

We evacuated New Orleans on Saturday to stay with our friends in Baton Rouge. We brought both cars, the pets, some essentials for the baby and a change of clothes for each of us. We didn't expect the storm to be as bad as it was so we didn't really bring much with us, but that is probably just as well as the important thing was to get out of the city quickly.

Baton Rouge got some wind and rain, but nothing like the storm you saw on the news. We lost power there Monday morning when the storm hit, and it hadn't come back on by Tuesday afternoon so we decided to move on to Houston. The lack of air conditioning (and TV) was getting to us. We're now staying with our friend David, in his dee-luxe apartment in the sky in downtown Houston. We're having a nice time here, it's sort of like an unexpected vacation. Houston's zoo and museums have offered free admission to New Orleans refugees so we can have fun playing tourist. Most importantly, it's cool inside.

We plan to stay here for a week or so until we have an idea of how long it will be before we can return to New Orleans. We will not go back until there is power and the public health concerns (snakes, chemicals, etc. in standing water) have been resolved. They might allow residents to go in sometime next week to survey the damage and grab whatever belongings we can. If it looks like we'll be several weeks to months before we can go back safely I will take the baby out to California and John will take the pets to Buffalo. We expect that John will be wanted back at work as soon as possible so he can help get the university's computer systems back online. That would be a good thing, since working equals income. If the university is able to get power, John could sleep in his office.

As of last week, we were living in an apartment in River Ridge, a suburb, while our house uptown was being renovated. We have stuff in storage in the basement of our old house, in a bedroom of the new house, in a storage lot on the west bank, and at the apartment. There's really no telling what might have survived. Uptown apparently had less flood damage than other parts of the city, so it's possible that both the old and the new house are more or less fine. We have no way of knowing what wind damage, trees falling, roof failure, etc. might have occurred. The house on Jefferson already had a hole in the roof and in one wall due to the renovations, so it was vulnerable. We just don't know how the houses survived and if any of our stuff in storage will be salvageable. Looting is evidently also a big problem so what the storm didn't wreck, the scavengers might have.

Our old house, the duplex, is rented to students. I think they'll continue paying rent for a while anyway. We haven't been able to find out if August payroll went through or not. I have no idea if he'll continue to get paid while the university is closed. Since I'm a consultant, there's no chance I'll get paid for any down time. At the moment, we're okay; we have some money in the bank and credit cards. The bigger concern is once we get back and need to start repairing any damage. The way hurricane insurance works, the deductible is a percentage of the home's value. For us, damages will have to be over $25,000 before we can even start to collect insurance. After that our premiums, which are already high, will probably go up a LOT.

I'm sure there will be some FEMA aid and low interest loans to help bridge the gap. Property values will most likely drop after this so if we decide we're through with New Orleans, it will still be a couple of years before we're able to sell without taking a loss. I am hopeful that this catastrophe will help to rebuild the New Orleans infrastructure which has been in terrible shape for years. Maybe we can come out of this stronger and better. It will take a while to get there though.

Watching the news reports is just surreal. I can't get over the idea that they mean us when they talk about REFUGEES and HOMELESS! I'm going with the assumption that it's really not that dire, we're just on vacation and we'll need to replace some broken windows when we get back, and I might get to buy some new furniture. When we finally get to move into Jefferson, I'm having the mother of all housewarming parties, and I'll register at Target for all the crap we need to replace.

Keep on praying for New Orleans. If you've never been there, it's a beautiful city full of gorgeous old homes and stunning centuries old oaks. I can't think of the United States without a New Orleans. Thanks everyone for your kind comments. Fortunately we're a lot better off than many people in the city.