More than two years after the record-breaking 2005 hurricane season, many people in the U.S. have assumed that the Gulf Coast region has either been completely rebuilt or is on its way to completion. With news coverage about the area dwindling to the level of non-existence, New Orleans has left the minds of many and is now left to try and rebuild by itself. With the Mardi Gras season a week away and the NBA All-Star game being held in New Orleans this year, many tourists will visit the city and find little progress has been made since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Red tape and roadblocks hinder people’s ability to receive aid relief. The Road Home program, which grants money to homeowners in the New Orleans area, has been giving out awards, which are primarily limited to residents in surrounding areas rather than the city.
The media created such a hysteria in the weeks after the storm that it was all one heard about from every news source available. But the question that comes into the mind of many people is, "Why has so little progress been made in the city?’ Besides the hassle that many have to go through just to get an application filed, many of the city’s residents had to relocate to other parts of the state and country.
With the distance barrier, it has become an obstacle for the residents of New Orleans to repair their homes as well as maintain lives in the places they have moved to.
There are many conspiracy theories that surround the recovery efforts, and evacuees simply don’t have the drive to return home. Many have become comfortable living off the government and care not to go back. But some know that the government assistance for evacuees has long ended. Many government officials believe that this is a time to make a "new" New Orleans – one filled with more businesses and high-end living.
New Orleans has become almost a cash cow for elected officials who are trying to get their hands on the deal. With the three-year anniversary slowly approaching, one can only wonder how long it will take to get the city back to the way it was before Katrina. New Orleans needs to step up the pace and remove some of the barriers to make the recovery efforts easier.
One hopes, the press surrounding Mardi Gras and the All-Star game will show how little progress has been made, and that tourists who visit the city will return to their homes and spread the news about the sluggish pace at which the city is recovering. Maybe that will be the spark that gets recovery efforts moving at a faster pace.
