Hurricane Katrina Tour

by Sarah Lopez    

The day was August 29, 2005. Hurricane Katrina hit. The winds were blowing, streets were flooding, and whole homes were swept away. People were stranded on the tops of their cars, and on their roofs. Hurricane Katrina was a sad time for New Orleans; they suffered a great deal of problems including many deaths. Even in hard times people still helped each other by providing food and shelter, for those who needed it. But now 80% of New Orleans is rebuilt and is better than ever. 

     On our second day in New Orleans, we took a bus tour around the city. Our tour guide talked about Hurricane Katrina, and how terrible a time it was in New Orleans.  But on the brighter side, the tour guide also taught us a lot of exciting things about New Orleans, from the history to the best spot to get beignets. We saw amazing statues; we passed by the French Quarter; we saw all my favorite spots in New Orleans. We even saw Mardi Gras beads still stuck up on lampposts, power lines, and trees from last year’s Mardi Gras parade. We passed by the best beignet place you will ever eat at, Café Du Monde. Sadly in our time in New Orleans we did not get to taste those hot, powdery, gooey, pockets of bread that light your taste buds on fire with flavor. And we saw all of that from the comfort of our bus. I thought to myself that my class saw most of New Orleans in three hours whereas it took me a span of three years.

     The day time was amazing, but when the sun went down everything was so beautiful: the chandeliers shining brightly through the doors of houses, and that big beautiful white dome with glowing lights all around it and changing colors. The Super Dome actually played a big role during Hurricane Katrina. Anyone who couldn’t evacuate sought out shelter at the Super Dome. Without it hundreds of people would have not had shelter.

     It was the best feeling seeing my classmates finding New Orleans interesting. Suddenly I awoke and the tour was over. I remember saying to myself, How I could fall asleep in taking a tour of my favorite city? We took this tour to see how a natural disaster can create conflict and can disturb peace, and to see how some neighborhoods were more affected by the storm and environmental problems than others.