Hurricane Katrina Damage Tour
Segment One (03/28/2006)
Driving around Biloxi Mississippi

Welcome to another web trip. Today we are going to take a sobering trip through the Post-Katrina Gulf Coast. Eight months after the storm, the devastation and the garbage still looms and very little rebuilding is taking place. The residents still are just living in a state of shock. This trip was only two days long, a flash in the pan, but enough to give you some photos and stories about our experience. In this web tour we will display damage from Biloxi/Gulfport, Enter New Orleans from the East on I-10, stay in a haunted place in the French Quarter, and finally take a Grayline Devastation Tour by bus, so lets begin. We entered the region from Mobile on I-10, where we headed south on I-110, towards the Beaches and Casinos of Biloxi and Gulfport (#1 on Map). Driving along US-90, towards the east we reach an abrupt stop, the bridge is gone to the mainland community of ocean springs (#2 on map - see photos below). We drove around and saw only three casinos in operation. Most buildings had their lower floors ripped from the skeleton. Even the huge slabs of a concrete parking deck were taken away like Lego pieces being tossed by a toddler. And as the photos show, there is still trash and debris everywhere. Just walking around the area is a safety hazard because badly damaged buildings are still standing with nothing but crime scene tape to block it off. This damage extends the length of the coastline up to about five miles inland. The map to the left shows the routes taken through the whole trip. We continued west until US-49 headed north from Gulfport to Interstate 10, where we headed deeper into the devastation. Take a close look at the billboards just bent sideways like thin wire, by the wind (#3 on map).

Once in Louisiana, I-10 veers off to the southwest towards New Orleans at Interstate 12. Suddenly, while driving, the speed limit drops to 40 MPH and we are in bumper to bumper traffic. I notice we are driving on a metal temporary bridge which feels as if it is “floating” on the water. This bridge handles the westbound traffic into New Orleans and replaces several spans of the original bridge which was also destroyed in the hurricane (#4 on map). Continuing further (between #4 and #5 on map) as it is now approaching dusk, we arrive at the eastern New Orleans suburbs and realize all the structures have been abandoned. It’s a ghost town. We begin discussing weather to turn around or proceed further. Not sure if New Orleans is safe, we decided to proceed. It’s looking worse as we get closer to town. When we exit downtown, we see a city where (outside of the French Quarter and Skyscraper Downtown) about half the traffic lights are not functional. I really have an uneasy feeling now. But once we arrive at the French Quarter all lights are on; an oasis in a see of Crap. In the French Quarter, all seems normal, so tourists come all! The whole city of New Orleans is represented by #5 on map and in represented on the following pages.

Paul J. Lossner