The force of Hurricane Katrina reached an unparalleled level of destruction in America that broke all previous natural disaster records of the last 100 years. Over one million people were evacuated from the Mississippi Delta near the Gulf of Mexico. The fear of a levee rupture finally became a terrible reality, and over 80 percent of New Orleans was submerged as a result of the hurricane. Originally people believed that their evacuation would be temporary, but even now there are still hundreds of people unsure when they will be able to return home.

Driving along a long bridge, we entered New Orleans. Both sides of the bridge were wetland areas with towering pine trees whose needles turn golden in the fall and fall off in winter. This special kind of tree is only found in the downstream areas of the Mississippi River.

New Orleans is one of the top ten tourist cities in the United States, and is famous for its vibrant jazz scene, its maritime industries, and the diverse multiculturalism of its people. Its colorful 300-year-old history has left the city infused with a blend of French, Spanish, and African cultures, and this exotic influence has always attracted many tourists.

The French-style buildings were still there when we arrived, but the jazz music couldn't be heard anymore. This was the 10th day after Hurricane Katrina had rampaged the city, and all we saw ahead of us were streets full of ruined houses, fallen trees and tangled electrical wires. When we passed by Veterans Boulevard, the floodwaters there were still as high as the roofs. Many of the local residents stood by the water with blank disbelief in their eyes, unable to comprehend the full extent of the destruction and the floods that reached as far as the horizon.

Several boats entered and exited the city, evacuating flood survivors. Leslie Oliveria was one such evacuee. Holding her dog in her arms, she explained that her house, six miles away, was underwater, so she had to stay with a friend. She wondered when, and if, she could ever return home.

Waves of evacuation

The roads were so jammed that a six-hour car trip now took 15 hours. The hurricane had totally submerged many houses.

On August 29, Super Hurricane Katrina rammed the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama.

At one point, the storm was rated as Category Five with wind speeds reaching 280 kilometers (175 miles) per hour. Meteorologists called it "a perfect hurricane." By the time Katrina made landfall in Louisiana, it had been downgraded to a Category Four hurricane, but it was still the most destructive and costliest natural disaster in American history.

Many towns along the Gulf of Mexico were submerged by floods. As a result, 1,000 people were killed and over a million people were evacuated. New Orleans, the birthplace of jazz music, became the focus of the world's attention.

New Orleans is situated between five and ten feet below sea level. To its north is Lake Pontchartrain, to its south is the Mississippi River, and to its east and west are huge areas of dense swampland. The city is shaped like a bowl with lakes, rivers and swamps on all sides. A 500-kilometer (310-mile) system of levees had been keeping the water out of the city. However, for a long time experts had been worrying about a potential rupture.

Zhuang Xing-ya, from Taiwan, has lived in New Orleans for 11 years. Previous to Hurricane Katrina, he had been evacuated on three occasions because of other hurricanes. When he heard that Katrina was so very powerful and that the government had appealed to the public to evacuate, he and several friends, altogether five families of 16 people, took their luggage and went on the road at 9:30 am. They planned to stay for two days at a friend's home in Houston, Texas, and would return when Katrina had passed.

The Greater New Orleans metropolitan area has a total population of 1.4 million people. The evacuation of 80 percent of the residents (around one million people) led to intense traffic jams which blocked all of the roads leading out from the city. Zhuang thought that the trip should take them six hours, but the trip actually took 15 hours instead and he finally reached his friend's home at 12:30 am.

Zhuang never expected that it would take so long to go back home--the floods destroyed the levees around New Orleans and water gushed into the city from the lake in the north. Eighty percent of the city was underwater, and the average depth of the flooding reached as high as the first floor of every building.

The floodwaters were also contaminated by bacteria, there was a shortage of water and electricity, and public security was in shambles. The government had to evacuate 500,000 people from New Orleans in order to carry out a complete recovery.

Underestimating the power of nature

There was debris and broken furniture everywhere, filth flowed along the streets, and the once beautiful city of New Orleans was turned into a scene of total disarray.

Hurricanes come to the Gulf of Mexico every year, but since they usually do no serious damage, people had let down their guard. Ah-fang, a Chinese woman in New Orleans who refused to reveal her true identity, was an example of one of those who underestimated Katrina's strength. The weather was so clear before Katrina arrived that she even took her children swimming. Even though all her neighbors had left, Ah-fang's family still stayed behind.

When Katrina arrived, the storm immediately destroyed the city's power supply. Ah-fang's family stayed together but grew more and more frightened as the hurricane intensified. Soon the storm was beating at the windows, walls and doors of their home. They witnessed windows in the hotel across the street being smashed to pieces, and they were stunned to see tables and chairs being swept upwards from the hotel into the darkening sky. When the levees ruptured, water poured into their house and within an hour had risen as high as their knees. Furniture, cans, bottles, trees, and signboards floated down the streets, and water gushed everywhere.

They were trapped within the house with no way of getting out, so they ate whatever was in the fridge and crowded together on the sofa, terrified and crying. Fang was dumbfounded; she couldn’t eat or sleep. A few days later, the mayor of New Orleans ordered the people to abandon the city, and Ah-fang's parents-in-law were determined to send the children to a friend's home in another state. Her husband decided to stay behind, and Ah-fang went to Houston alone.

On the eighth day after the disaster, many poor black people fled from the city carrying only pillows, comforters, and plastic bags filled with a few personal possessions. In comparison, Ah-fang was luckier; she still had a suitcase. It was 10 pm when they arrived at the Houston bus terminal. Ah-fang was worried and scared to be alone amongst so many evacuees.

She took out some small change to make a few phone calls. She had been advised to contact the Tzu Chi Texas branch office. Shortly afterwards, Tzu Chi volunteers arrived, picked Ah-fang up, and prepared some supper for her. Then they drove her to a free apartment.

Ah-fang was still fearful when she recalled the ordeal of her evacuation. She had never felt so lonely, helpless, and frightened, but with the arrival of the Tzu Chi people her spirits began to lift.

Curfew for public security

Some people didn't want to leave, and some didn't dare to return home. Was there anyplace where they didn't have to worry?

Zhuang returned to his home on September 8. His house was located on higher ground and so it wasn't flooded, but the roof had been damaged by a fallen tree.

We followed Zhuang to New Orleans. Many soldiers and police were stationed along the highways and would only allow local residents and news reporters to enter the city, but everyone was under strict orders to leave before 6 pm. The police and the military were carrying out this curfew in order to maintain public safety.

When we arrived at the New Orleans Convention Center, which had been used as a shelter for the evacuees, a foul odor came wafting through the windows of our car. The floor of the center was filthy and littered with glass bottles, shopping carts, clothes, mattresses, etc. As there was no drinking water or electricity after the hurricane, thousands of people would walk outdoors in order to avoid the heat inside. People ate, drank, and urinated in the convention center, so it was no wonder that it was so smelly and messy.

The center was empty when we arrived, but National Guard soldiers from Puerto Rico were guarding the place and only press, police, and military vehicles were allowed to drive around. Pauline Nguyen from Vietnam told me that although the government had allowed people to return home to pick up their belongings, she didn't dare go because she felt the city had become very unsafe.

On an empty lot not far from the convention center, military forces were helping evacuees to leave the city. They were sent to Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport by buses or helicopters, and the airport became the frontline service center where people could rest before continuing to other locations. The airport was stockpiled with large quantities of food, drinks, and telephone cards. Volunteers provided much needed care and support for each evacuee at the airport.

Waiting for recovery

Strangers had helped them twice, and he felt sad and grateful.

The floodwaters had receded on many streets, and police, engineers, and clean-up workers were zigzagging busily across the city. A major recovery operation was underway. Huang Fang-ren, from Taiwan, said that four days after the hurricane, he saw trees and utility poles lying on the ground and blocking traffic, but two days later the roads were cleared.

Huang, who worked in a shipping agency, has lived in New Orleans for 25 years. He and his wife relocated to a hotel downtown when the hurricane came, thinking that they would be able to go home two days later. It never crossed Huang's mind that this would not happen. After the hurricane hit New Orleans, and Huang realized the extent of the damage, he and his wife had to rely on the care of strangers, sleeping on the floor of a local Taiwanese family's house. They talked with their hosts about their past and about Taiwan, and they formed a strong friendship. During our interview, Huang suddenly became speechless, humbled by the realization that he had never been helped before, especially by strangers from his home country.

He had made a good living and enjoyed an affluent lifestyle, so he had never experienced anything like this. Running water and power were out of service after the hurricane, and he became tremendously dehydrated. Fortunately, a looter who had broken into a grocery store gave him some soft drinks. He didn't approve of the robbery, but he was still thankful.

Huang said that the government sent them some military food packages, which contained tea bags, cakes, coffee, candy, and some meal bags of different flavors. They could take as many as they wanted, so there was no shortage of food.

He read news reports that the floods in the disaster areas contained bacteria 10 times higher than the safe level, and the air was malodorous too. The military had plans to spread disinfectant throughout the city. Huang placed his full faith in the government, because he believed that with 60,000 soldiers to help with the recovery, it would be a fast and efficient operation.

Working together

Five families and three generations leaned on each other during this dreadful time.

We returned to the house where Zhuang and his friends were staying in Houston.

The hurricane had forced Zhuang's family and four other families to stay temporarily in an empty house owned by Tzu Chi volunteer Xiong Shi-min. Though it seemed cramped, at least these families had a safe place to escape from the bad weather. Zhuang's wife had worked with members of these four families in the same food company, so they already had a good and strong friendship. Now forced together as victims of a natural disaster, their relationships intensified and they became even more like one big family.

This house had four bedrooms. Zhuang, his mother, his wife, and five children were the largest of the five families, and they lived together in a partition from the living room. Their five beds and comforters were arranged neatly. It was rare for three generations to be so close to each other.

The five families lived together and shared responsibilities in applying for all kinds of social benefits. For instance, those who knew English well asked for relevant information and signed their names on a disaster victim list; other people lined up before a church to pick up relief goods or found out what welfare benefits they could apply for. The hurricane forced people to flee everywhere and to settle down in a vast array of different places. Those who lived in shelters could receive the latest information despite their filthy living environments; those who stayed in houses had their privacy, but because they didn't have TVs or the Internet, they missed important information on how to apply for social benefits.

Zhuang left at 6 am one morning and signed up as a hurricane victim. Then he went to another place to pick up food stamps. However, there were so many people in line that he couldn't get his stamps before the place closed, so had to return again the following morning. It became normal at every registration center or shelter for people to queue up in long lines. People became exhausted after having to run around on such errands and wait for such a long time. The hurricane had indeed completely destroyed their lives.

If these five families didn't go out in the evening, they would eat together like an exuberant big family or watch the TV news. Their relatives or friends living elsewhere would pass on news to them regarding any new information on applying for social benefits. One day, they learned that in addition to the US$2,000 for each family from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Red Cross was also handing out $360 to each family. Mrs. Zhuang picked up the phone to apply for it, but right up to bedtime she wasn't able to get through.

Whenever Zhuang had time in the morning, he would volunteer at the Tzu Chi Texas branch office and help with phone calls and referrals to other charity groups. Because he himself was a hurricane evacuee, he could truly empathize with those who were destitute and homeless.

　
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The army estimated that the floods in New Orleans would be completely pumped out by late September or early October so long as there was no more rain. Because some parts of the city had running water and electricity, the government announced that people whose houses weren't affected by the floods could return first. Over 200,000 people qualified to begin returning home.

On September 12, Zhuang's family went to say good-bye to volunteers at the Tzu Chi Texas office. They purchased some daily necessities and returned to New Orleans. They had been in Houston for 10 days.

Although their house had suffered some damage and would need repairing, the Zhuangs felt very fortunate that their house had not been completely submerged, as so many others were in the floods. And they counted themselves even luckier to be able to return home within such a relatively short space of time. After all, no place is like home, no matter how dilapidated it may be.

By September 19, one third of New Orleans was still inundated. The awful search for dead bodies was still underway, drinking water was unsafe, and the power supply was unstable. Rescue workers reminded returnees to be constantly aware of any hidden dangers.

"As everyone is now returning home, our lives will hopefully soon be back to normal," said Zhuang. He knows that it will take the tourism industry in New Orleans a long time to recover. However, he is hopeful that if everyone returns and works together, New Orleans will soon rise again.