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A City in Ruins


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I went to NOLA to do some volunteer work the past few weeks

and i wasn't quite prepared for what i saw

 

Even though i knew there had been substantial destruction

I didn't know that literally every single refrigerator in the city had been destroyed by a power surge (and were then thrown onto the sidewalks)

Nor that so many thousands of cars were ruined and many still sitting by the sides of roads

It was more trash than i ever saw or even imagined

 

Many businesses are still closed

Every one that is open is hiring

And except for highway traffic jams, the city is mostly deserted

 

 

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outside of downtown, many if not most traffic lights are still not working

 

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these used to be busy intersections

 

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everyone has a refrigerator outside

 

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you can see the water lines in many neighborhoods, even on trees

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IMG_2547.jpg

this is one of about ten tree piles i saw in what used to be a city park

 

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this is a trash pile

one of about a gazillion they're gonna make

 

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everywhere you look, shits fucked

 

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driving down the highway, for miles and miles, every neighborhood oyu pass is dark and deserted

it feels lawless, and you often see army trucks and humvees tooling around

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well, photobucket got all crazy on me and they're huge, sorry..

 

poor new orleans needs help

 

in mississippi, everything was just swept away, there is no trash,

but there is nothing else either

 

seeing all those closed businesses and deserted vehicles and streets makes it completely twilight zoned out

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that would be an awesome thing for you to do.

it feels terrible kind of to be down there, but really good at the same time

i met so many cool people doing that work also

good hearts

and a lotta tough minds

 

..some more i forgot..

 

 

outside of NOLA, little suburb kinda area east of the city..

 

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the cop car got it

all the side windows were busted out

and in the rear, the trunk had been wrenched open by ripping the metal

 

 

 

..and inside NOLA again

 

IMG_2422.jpg

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i worked in red cross "logistics/facilities management" for the first ten days

meaning i scouted sites for the new disaster relief headquarters in NOLA

[they moved it from baton rouge the day after i got there]

so i took pictures of the sites, ones me and my coworker chose, and also ones that had already been chosen

i also helped break down a couple staff shelters that weren't going to be used, and gathered supplies and also set up three client assistance centers [where people can get a short interview and hopefully some money] at sites i had scouted

 

so it allowed me to see a LOT

 

but i got sick of the guy i was working with, plus the frustrations of working in administration tired me out, i transferred out, and the last ten days i was there i was on an ERV

[emergency response vehicle]

handing food out of a window to victims, some of the pictures i have were taken while we were doing that

 

ERV6.jpg

 

ERV9.jpg

 

i'm not in these pics

but the freaky shit?

ERV #1109 (shown in picture above) was working out of my kitchen, and my first couple days, thaty was the ERV i worked on.

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My city use to be dope,now its vacant as fuck,although i didnt lose my house,we did suffer wind damage,i cant really tell you how much i appreciate everyones love,its helped out alot of people,it takes alot of heart(symbols) to not be from the city and come in and help just out of kindness and care,i'll add pictures at a later date,some are disturbing so im not sure if i wanto post them here,if anyone wants to know details on how the city is coming along,just ask me,or pm me and i'll fill you in....Thank You

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best wishes to ya grimeylife

 

your city has a lot of heart

i encountered a few distraught people who were just seeing their homes (or what was left) for the first time

 

but for the most part, people were smiling, grateful, and in good spirits

i really hope people return

there's a lot of flavor in new orleans, a truly unique place

 

my favorite signs were

"kiss my ass katrina, i'm home"

 

and on refrigerators

"do not open, george bush inside"

 

i met more than a few volunteers who fell in love with the place

and want to return

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Thanks Symbols,New Orleans is definately a unique city,a city i love alot,we'll be back in business before people know it,people are coming back slowly but surely,all i know is Mardi Gras is still gonna happen in Febuary,that shows you how crazy people are here,even after a hurricane like Katrina

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Originally posted by symbols@Nov 2 2005, 11:15 AM

driving down the highway, for miles and miles, every neighborhood oyu pass is dark and deserted

it feels lawless, and you often see army trucks and humvees tooling around

 

 

that would be so bizarre...to drive through the middle of such a large city, and see no lights and to hear nothing.

 

sounds like new orleans is going to be like sf, a city built on a landfill.

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The military are still rollin hardcore through most of the city,i havent seen too many rollin through my hood,but there still out there.Alot of houses,business',and other buildings will have to be bulldozed,everybody is workin around the clock to get the city back up and running.I still cant believe this shit happened,its wierd.

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i still havent been to nola since it happened. i feel guilty. i wish i could have volunteered.. it would definetly have been emotional.

 

my friend is an insurance adjuster and was sent home to asess damage and took hundreds of pictures.. i'm posting the ones that stood out to me.

 

ORLEANS PARISH:

img019300050dc.jpg

img021900058di.jpg

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img046200047fd.jpg

img046400068st.jpg

 

 

ST. BERNARD PARISH:

img038600027nc.jpg

img041100276rr.jpg

img041900351sl.jpg

img044600624gq.jpg

img043600529jy.jpg

img044200581mf.jpg

img043900550ul.jpg

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(what used to be)PLAQUEMINES PARISH:

img051800306qb.jpg

img055300650ik.jpg

img055700691ai.jpg

(that is a HUGE FUCKING SHIP on the levee of the miss river)

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(house moved from it's foundation to the middle of the street)

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(a water tower fell on that house, un-fucking-real)

 

 

 

 

 

..i got my one-way ticket.. leaving the dirty south for good..

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Damn, Grimey I can't even begin to imagine what its like out there, and I doubt I really want to.

 

Symbols, what a quality thread. I think PMB said it best, you're a good person and it shows not only through your words but also through your actions, its pretty inspiring.

Sara, your contributions were dope those pictures are insane,

makes you really wonder about the stories behind them and definitely gives you a whole new prespective on the damage in the area.

Sorry if i'm rambling, a good friend of mine from NO who was staying with me just went back to New Orleans to find work as well as rebuild the city

and after a few long nights talking with him a lot of the images and words in thread resonate with me.

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