New Orleans remembers Katrina 10 years later

NEW ORLEANS — Brass bands blared and people danced on Saturday in the same streets that — 10 years ago today — were buried by a wall of water that ruined homes, drowned residents and brought this city to the brink of annihilation.

In the Lower 9th Ward, local and national leaders mingled with clergy members along North Claiborne Avenue and laid flowers next to a granite plaque commemorating those killed in the 2005 floods here that followed Hurricane Katrina on Aug. 29, 2005. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and former Louisiana senator Mary Landrieu followed a marching band with residents along the thoroughfare.

“We’re so blessed,” said Laura McCann, 77, a resident whose house was demolished by the floods. Today, she lives in a home built by actor Brad Pitt’s Make It Right foundation a few streets down. “It's going to be awhile. But we're coming back."

The events in the Lower 9th Ward culminated a week’s worth of panel discussions, speeches by past presidents and concerts celebrating the city’s resurgence from the devastating floods a decade ago. President Obama spoke here Thursday and former president George W. Bush visited a high school in central New Orleans the following day. Former president Bill Clinton was expected to give remarks later Saturday at an event that will include brass band tributes.

The breach of federal levees and subsequent floods in 2005 submerged 80% of the city. Overall, Katrina was responsible for more than 1,800 deaths in the region, the majority of them occurring in New Orleans. The city has largely rebuilt and repopulated since that disaster, but some areas, such as the Lower 9th Ward, have struggled to return to normal and the city still faces serious challenges, including a persistent murder rate and intrinsic poverty. Fewer than half of the 14,000 residents who lived in the Lower 9th Ward pre-Katrina have returned, according to local leaders.

State Sen. J.P. Morrell said the memorials and concerts are important to highlight the city's progress since the floods, but many residents fear the national attention will quickly fade once the anniversary passes.

“They think everyone’s going to forget about them,” Morrell said. “We need so much help still. That thought is terrifying to them.”