I worked for a utility company at the time. We were natural gas so we had to go to every single home that had gas to shut it off before we can pressure up any lines. I spent four months not seeing my wife and kids before they could come home and there isn’t much I remember of that time intentionally but those damn Xs will never go away.
When they rescued humans, they were not allowed to take any animals. Some people refused to leave without their pets. It was up to the Animal Welfare groups like the SPCA to then come & find them. Many animals starved or died before they were rescued. After Katrina, the PETS Act was passed, mandating that any rescue effort needed to include domestic animals.
I don't really want to remember this time. I moved to new orleans a week after katrina to help out and ended up as a plumber's apprentice and later plumber there. I was part of a crew that ran sewer cameras and locators to find the city connections so FEMA could cap them off to prevent backflow. We were given a number to call if we found a body. The first time wrecked me hard but eventually it happened so often it became just another normal day at work "Call the number again." which sounds inhuman but you just...got used to it. The smell you never did but you recognized what it meant.
I had to locate the cleanouts and lines on the lots where houses used to be right under the levee that broke. A huge temporary thin seawall was all that was holding back all that water from the lake and canal looming above me and it was terrifying. All that devastation still brings nightmares.
On the positive side a lot of people were helping each other out. New orleans wasn't full of gunfire and looters like the news made it seem. We had a huge group of people feeding and helping each other but the news crews were not filming until two guys were running down the street with a tv they looted and the news was on them like flies on crap. Really made me mad. You wouldn't believe how badly the charity groups from religious groups could be towards people not their faiths and how many they refused to help. At the same time numerous other churches, companies, and people from the poorest of areas came together to help regardless of race, gender, religion, etc.
I saw both the best of humanity and the worst of it. Never again, I hope to God never again.
Sleep2Little on October 19th, 2025 at 14:48 UTC »
I worked for a utility company at the time. We were natural gas so we had to go to every single home that had gas to shut it off before we can pressure up any lines. I spent four months not seeing my wife and kids before they could come home and there isn’t much I remember of that time intentionally but those damn Xs will never go away.
Odd_Pause5123 on October 19th, 2025 at 17:30 UTC »
When they rescued humans, they were not allowed to take any animals. Some people refused to leave without their pets. It was up to the Animal Welfare groups like the SPCA to then come & find them. Many animals starved or died before they were rescued. After Katrina, the PETS Act was passed, mandating that any rescue effort needed to include domestic animals.
FoxTenson on October 19th, 2025 at 18:45 UTC »
I don't really want to remember this time. I moved to new orleans a week after katrina to help out and ended up as a plumber's apprentice and later plumber there. I was part of a crew that ran sewer cameras and locators to find the city connections so FEMA could cap them off to prevent backflow. We were given a number to call if we found a body. The first time wrecked me hard but eventually it happened so often it became just another normal day at work "Call the number again." which sounds inhuman but you just...got used to it. The smell you never did but you recognized what it meant.
I had to locate the cleanouts and lines on the lots where houses used to be right under the levee that broke. A huge temporary thin seawall was all that was holding back all that water from the lake and canal looming above me and it was terrifying. All that devastation still brings nightmares.
On the positive side a lot of people were helping each other out. New orleans wasn't full of gunfire and looters like the news made it seem. We had a huge group of people feeding and helping each other but the news crews were not filming until two guys were running down the street with a tv they looted and the news was on them like flies on crap. Really made me mad. You wouldn't believe how badly the charity groups from religious groups could be towards people not their faiths and how many they refused to help. At the same time numerous other churches, companies, and people from the poorest of areas came together to help regardless of race, gender, religion, etc.
I saw both the best of humanity and the worst of it. Never again, I hope to God never again.