Frontline tonight: Still flailing in Katrina's wake

Still flailing in Katrina's wake

PBS's Frontline documentary "The Old Man and the Storm" tells a tale of adversity triumphing over one ordinary man.

By Heather Havrilesky

PBS/Jennifer Zdon for the Times-Picayune

Herbert Gettridge Sr., 83, sits in the backyard of his home in the Lower 9th Ward where he was digging up the top layer of soil that was left behind from flooding, April, 2006.


Jan. 6, 2009 | "Why am I back here? Man, I'm back here trying to clear my place up. It took me too long and I worked too hard to build what I have here to just pick up and leave like that."­ -- Herbert Gettridge


After Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in August of 2005, all 82-year-old Herbert Gettridge could think about was returning home again. He watched the devastation from the safety of his daughter Cheryl's house in Madison, Wis., straining his eyes for a glimpse of his own house all the while.

"He was outta his mind, worried about when he was gonna be able to get back to the house," Cheryl told the filmmakers behind Frontline's "The Old Man and the Storm" (premieres at 9 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 6, on PBS; check local listings). At first glance, the documentary looks like another uplifting, ultimately hopeful story about how Hurricane Katrina laid bare one man's will to persevere against all odds.

Sadly, though, Gettridge's experience is anything but positive. First there's the heart-wrenching discovery that his house has been all but destroyed by floodwaters. Even so, Gettridge gets to work, living without electricity, drinkable water or a bed. His wife is still in Wisconsin and longs to be home with him, but the house isn't ready for her yet, and since she's in poor health, it makes more sense for her to stay with her daughter.

As the months roll by, few of Gettridge's neighbors return to the neighborhood, because few can afford to come back and rebuild. Where he was once surrounded by his family, several generations all living within a few blocks of each other, Gettridge now finds himself alone, his seven kids and dozens of grandchildren and great grandchildren scattered across the country and hesitant to return to New Orleans, given the destruction and the lack of opportunities waiting for them there.

While several charities help Gettridge to rebuild, his homeowner's insurance doesn't pay nearly the amount it promised to pay on his policies. Then there were the empty promises of city, state and federal aid. The Bush administration claimed that it would "do what it takes" and "stay as long as it takes" to help residents rebuild their lives, but those initiatives ran aground. Despite the Road Home program's pledge to help underinsured homeowners rebuild their homes, by the end of 2007, over 100,000 homeowners had applied for assistance but fewer than 500 had received a check.

more...

http://www.salon.com/ent/tv/review/2009/01/06/frontline/

I was in NOLA last Spring...and you could feel Katrina everywhere you went. While the French Quarter was back to party city, there were still boarded up bars and stores that still hadn't re-opened. Then take a ride around the area and you'll see trailers on front lawns...newly built modular houses next to still-to-be-demolished homes (some still with the X's on the exterior) next to empty lots that once was a home. And then there's the lower 9th! The tour buses speed through the main drags, but take onto the sidestreets or get a tour from a local and you see an area that is still an utter mess with little relief in sight...it's like the water had just receeded, not like 3 years had passed. Then there were the news reports of people fighting to find the few rentals available and the price gouging going on. The one thing that was impressive was the resolution of those who are there...despite the problems, they're resolved to rebuild.

Here's hoping a change in administration will mean a better day for New Orleans. One big wish is to put money into not just the rebuilding (or big tax credits), but also creating jobs in restoring the wet lands and strengthening the levees.

BTW...how are things in Galveston or around the area? Precious little is being reported about how that area is recovering...

Cheers...

normal; that happens faster for some if they have the $ and/or insurance to fix their homes. LOTS of new fences all over the place. I haven't been to Galveston since the storm but would like to get down there soon for a look around. I know there are still people in mobile homes closer to the coast.

And you're right, not much being reported at all, even locally.

I'll be watching.

K & R for visibility