The 2021 hurricane season ended at the close of November. Each hurricane season since 2005 has reminded me of Hurricane Katrina, which hit the U.S. Gulf Coast on August 29th of that year. We (my wife and I) were living in California at the time. It was surreal watching from afar. We had plenty of family in the New Orleans area, so we kept our eyes glued to the television for updates. We visited New Orleans a few times after the storm and were humbled by the aftermath. Three notable scenes were:
- West End Boulevard: this area is a large median (neutral ground for locals). After Katrina, it was used as a transfer point for debris from people gutting their homes. It was an amazing amount of trash and debris.
- Highway 23: this highway runs from the New Orleans area to Venice, Louisiana. I got to see an album of pictures and videos taken after Katrina that showed a phenomenal amount of devastation.
- Community Service: I had the opportunity to take my leadership team to clear out a musician’s home six months after Katrina. It turned out to be the first time the house had been entered since the storm. We ended up gutting the house to the studs. I’ll share more of that story on a different post.
For the summer of 2021, we planned to spend a month in Tennessee to escape the heat and humidity of New Orleans. It was a lovely time, until late August. Hurricane Ida formed in the Gulf and was headed to New Orleans. When it was clear that New Orleans would get hit, we wisely decided to stay put in Tennessee. Once again, we experienced that surreal vision of watching the destruction from afar. As it turned out, Ida made landfall on August 29, 2021 – exactly 16 years from Katrina. Power was knocked out for the entire area. We decided to stay in Tennessee until our power was restored.
About two weeks after Ida, we made the trip back to New Orleans from Tennessee. We could see the impact of Ida from afar as we drove. Trees were down, signs were missing, and debris was evident (more so as we got closer to New Orleans).
When we made it to metropolitan New Orleans, we were humbled at the extent of damage. Blue tarps were everywhere – they are used to cover roofs that have been damaged until the roof can be repaired or replaced. A massive number of trees were down. Two blocks from our house, we passed the local YMCA. It was quite bizarre to see military Humvees with red crosses on them parked out front. Apparently, they had been using the YMCA as a local field hospital for first aid cases.
We pulled up at our house, and didn’t think it was so bad. Granted, it was dark. When we got up the next morning and made our rounds, we noticed more damage than we originally thought. A piece of siding had fallen off our house and dented our car. No trees were down, but quite a few limbs were broken. There was more roof damage than we thought, and quite a few of our windows had leaked.
It took us a couple of days to come to grips with what was happening in the city, even after two weeks. We had power, but many areas still hadn’t. There were piles of storm debris all around. We couldn’t get anyone to help out with our damage – it wasn’t as severe as others, and they were booked. Two weeks after the storm, the city still hadn’t been able to start picking up trash. It was over three weeks after the storm (close to a month) before we got our first trash pickup (no debris, only cans). Then, the city reduced the pickups from twice weekly pre-storm to once weekly. We still haven’t returned to pre-storm service levels, and the city hasn’t resumed recycling pickups.
About a week after our return, I drove someone to Houma for work. Houma was where Ida made landfall, and received the worst of the wind damage. I was deeply affected by the scene surrounding me. I didn’t know I had it so good in third-world New Orleans!
I learned a few lessons from my Ida experience:
- Beware of PTSD after an emergency. My wife and I were “in a funk” for 2-3 days upon our return. We were depressed about the damage to our house, as well as the damage our daughters and family members experienced. It took us a while to pick ourselves up and carry on. Don’t underestimate the mental and emotional impact – take care of your mental health!
- Normal doesn’t come back quickly or easily in a major disaster. Here we are over three months after the storm, and things are not back to pre-storm levels. The extent of the power outage in the area, and the brave and tireless efforts of the linemen from all over the US, cannot be adequately expressed. The fact that we got power restored relatively quickly is amazing. The other services (groceries, trash, gasoline, repairs, etc.) took a long time to return.
- Make sure you get to know your neighbors, and develop good relationships with them. Because we had good connections with a few of our neighbors, we were able to find out more about our house and the neighborhood while still in Tennessee. Once we returned, everyone was sharing contacts for roof repairmen and handyman services. We truly are in this together!
- Emergency response plans for your family are absolutely essential. My wife and I have long prepared plans for disasters. I believe it’s due to my training at Chevron – it was ingrained in me, and I brought it home. Fortunately, my wife sees the benefit to this. We had a reasonable plan, and we readily adapted it to the situation on the ground.
- Local leadership can make or break a community’s response to a crisis. There have been a few books written on the breakdown of leadership at all levels (national, state, and local) during Hurricane Katrina. Hurricane Ida was no different – there were breakdowns everywhere. The mayor of New Orleans did not declare a mandatory evacuation. This bureaucratic step bogged relief efforts down, and hurt many people. The parishes (Louisiana’s version of counties) didn’t coordinate efforts very well. This caused confusion. This happened to be an election year for many of the local officials. I would have thought they would have concentrated on getting good things done for the most people. This didn’t seem to motivate many of them. The best examples of leadership came from non-governmental organizations (NGOs). They seemed to have the right approach – they just wanted to help others get their lives back. Values really drive leadership styles!
When I look at how the various communities in Southeastern Louisiana have responded to and recovered from Hurricane Ida, I am surprised at the difference. Some have rebounded, while others are still languishing from the effects of the storm. I can’t help but think that my last lesson is the most important one.
What examples of leadership during crises can you share? Do you and/or your family have an emergency response plan?
Please share your thoughts.
