| allen
& scott My name is Allen and I live(d) on Vendome Place
until 24 hours before Katrina when I evacuated with one of my two cars,
3 changes of clothes, and a laptop. I spent a few nights in Baton
Rouge and then moved on to Carolina Beach/Wilmington NC where I am
currently staying with friends. I have not yet returned to New
Orleans although I expect to return to Baton Rouge in the next few
weeks to pick up with my employer (LSU Health Sciences Center). I
have lived on Vendome Place since 1996, and I love the neighborhood
especially since the street was redone.
It appears from the photo that the house took about 4.5-5 feet of water which likely still exists in the "basement." This lower level houses my washer, dryer, lawnmower, A/C, tools, and storage. My major loss will be a large vinyl record collection and the garden (to saltwater). I had flood and other types of insurances. I also lost one of my two automobiles which has already been replaced. I will return to New Orleans as soon as Vendome Place is re-electrified and as soon as my job functions return to New Orleans. I expect the power to come on slowly due to all the flooding and the need for certified electrical inspections. I feel betrayed by the government at all levels. With adequate investment in the levee system, the disaster could have been prevented. With an adequate evacuation plan, the loss of life could have been largely averted. I decided to put together this website for my neighborhood which could be used as a reconstruction resource. I have 3 other websites: http://hivinfo.us, and http://hivmanagement.org. Please contribute your information, stories, and pictures to me at the following email: vendomeplace(at)gmail.com [substitute @ for (at)] |
| kristi
& blake (4161)
This is Kristi, and my husband and I live at 4161. I have uploaded all of my photos to snapfish, so perhaps you can add a link to there on your website. I'll send you the link in a separate e-mail. We not only flooded, but we got looted. A lot! They stole all our TV's, guns, jewelry, our bicycles, lawnmower, etc.... We know our street fared well before the levee broke, so we are guessing they came in Monday night. We have been in houses on all sides of us (behind and next door) and no one else got "hit." Why us? Anyway- link is coming soon. Thanks for the note. My husband (Blake) also is full time renovating. This was his job before Katrina. He had bought and renovated and sold two houses before the storm and we were putting offers in on a third property. Thank goodness we did not own anything else at the time! He did lose all of his tools, but we are buying more now so he can get started. Let me know what sort of assistance you think you may need. We are now living in LaPlace. I work at Norco, so I am close to work, and my husband drives in to N.O. each day. We figure we'll be here for about a year or so until our house is ready to be lived in again...... |
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karen & pat (4114)
Pat and I were going to evacuate vertically. We checked into the Hotel Monteleone on Saturday but when we woke up Sunday and Nagin called for a mandatory evacuation, Pat reluctantly agreed to leave. He knew I would be way too upset if we stayed so for his own sanity we left. We were going to go to my mom's home in Birmingham, AL and it took 14 hours to get there. Unbelievable. We couldn't get gas until Hattiesburg and that was 8 hours after we left New Orleans. The contraflow didn't start until the I-10 and I-59 split and only continued for 5-7 miles into Mississippi. I don't understand why they didn't institute the contraflow before the twin spans but they didn't. It took 3.5 hours to reach Slidell.
We are now residing in a condo in Destin, FL (again for Pat's
sanity) and don't know when we will be able to live close to New
Orleans or where. Pat works for Loyola and they hope to start back
in January so we will have move closer in December.
We put a few photos of our interior on the website and have no idea
how we are going to be able to get it repaired. Kristi, we would
love to talk with your husband.
We were back at the house two weeks ago and our refrigerators are
now in the courtyard. That was horrendous. Get a respirator and
that will help immensely when it's time to empty it. We were not
looted (so far). We wanted to come back today but all our friends
were not allowed in so we didn't make the drive.
Our power lines were knocked down with a large limb from the
neighbor so we have no idea when we might be able to get the house
powered. Of course the AC units are junk.
We are lucky we left and we will all survive but isn't it going to
be easy for a long time.
When we are all back we need to have a Vendome party.
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|
carroll (3900
Octavia) Hello to my Vendome neighbors...Carroll Sloan
here...Octavia Street. Thanks for all the great photos. I know many of
you as I just live one street over, I am on staff at Loyola (used to
work with Pat O'Brien) and see many of you when you come to vote at the
polls where I usually work. Does anyone have photos of the 3900 block of
Octavia or know someone who does? I am in Denham Springs, LA with my
oldest daughter and her family. I have not been back "home". Hope to be
able to return soon. Everyone PLEASE do the best you can to stay safe
and take care. |
