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The Storm That Never Left: Inside New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward Nearly 21 Years After Katrina

A Media Milwaukee Special Project

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Nestled just 15 minutes from New Orleans’ bustling French Quarter sits the Lower Ninth Ward, one of the neighborhoods hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina.

Nearly 21 years later, the storm is still here.

It lives in the weeds that rise chest-high across vacant lots. It lingers in homes slowly collapsing into their foundations, their roofs draped with blue tarps and spray-painted markings left untouched since August 2005. It remains in abandoned storefronts that never reopened and empty concrete slabs where houses once stood.

The Historic Lower Ninth Ward sign with a painted levee mural in the background.
The site of the levee breach during Hurricane Katrina, in New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward. Photo: Dorothy Carpenter.

Visitors know New Orleans for jazz clubs, beignets and Bourbon Street. Residents know another side of the city.

“Life in New Orleans is hard,” Yvonne Blue said. “They think it’s ‘The Big Easy,’ but it’s not.”

Blue lived in the Lower Ninth Ward on August 23, 2005, when Hurricane Katrina began. She was one of the people to return to the city and rebuild, months after the storm subsided.

Today, she lives in a different house, but in the same neighborhood. The weeds are so high in the lot next to her home that she deals with a range of pest-related issues. Once, she even had to shoot a possum because she was scared it was carrying a disease.

In the Lower Ninth Ward, this is a reality for many residents. Surrounded by overgrown and unmaintained lots, the critters and bugs are quite an annoyance, and in some cases, even a danger.

  • An overgrown lot of land with a sign handle missing the for sale sign.
    A lot that appears to have been for sale, now abandoned and untouched. Photo: Dorothy Carpenter.
  • A road with overgrown lots and furniture.
    Throughout the Lower Ninth Ward, there are several random pieces of wrecked furniture near overgrown lots. Photo: Dorothy Carpenter.
  • An overgrown lot.
    Despite being in a major city, the Lower Ninth Ward feels like step into the countryside. Photo: Dorothy Carpenter.
  • An overgrown lot with a wrecked couch in it.
    Several residents expressed frustration with looking at empty lots and seeing trash in them, in addition to the overgrowth. Photo: Dorothy Carpenter.
  • Tall grass in an abandoned lot.
    One resident shared that the overgrown grass has led to lots of mosquitos. Photo: Dorothy Carpenter.
  • A couch and bed on the side of the street.
    Many residents feel as though the city is trying to demolish the Lower Ninth Ward and drive out residents by making it unlivable. Photo: Dorothy Carpenter.

This past spring semester, a student from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee spent the entirety of the semester conducting research about the Lower Ninth Ward and interviewing its residents. From April 16 to 20, the student, accompanied by her instructor and two other classmates, traveled to New Orleans to get an up-close look at “The Big Easy.”

For the student focusing on the Lower Ninth Ward, these were her key takeaways:

  1. The Resilience of the Residents
  2. The Support from Outsiders
  3. The Landscape
  4. The Distrust Towards the Government
  5. The Lack of Local Business
  6. The Ongoing Threats the Community is Facing

First and foremost, the resilience of the people living in the Lower Ninth Ward was astonishing.

Many of whom the student spoke with lost everything in Hurricane Katrina, yet every one of them made a comment about being grateful to be there and praised God.

“Church has always been a priority in New Orleans,” said Tangela Baker, who grew up in the Lower Ninth Ward and has a father who is a pastor at a church in the neighborhood.

Tangela Baker standing in front of her house.
Tangela Baker, in front of her childhood home. Photo: Dorothy Carpenter.

The strong religious faith within the community was abundantly clear, as churches were the most seen type of business, by far. Churches are located every few blocks. That speaks to what holds this community afloat.

The support from outsiders, specifically nonprofits and volunteer organizations, is needed to serve not only the Lower Ninth Ward, but the city. There are countless individuals who have stepped up to aid the community in a variety of ways.

The most shocking takeaway, from the perspective of the student, was the landscape.

Just 15 minutes from downtown, the Lower Ninth Ward feels like a step into the countryside. All throughout the neighborhood, the sound of roosters crowing fills the sticky air. The sun beats down, due to a lack of infrastructure and trees, feeling noticeably hotter than it does in the French Quarter.

Several of the sidewalks are unwalkable, with weeds sprawling over them, many of which were taller than the student herself. Several houses have roofs that sinking and could collapse at any minute, never repaired after Hurricane Katrina.

Throughout the neighborhood, there are empty concrete slab foundations and stairs that once led to a porch, now leading to nothing, from where houses lifted off and floated down the streets during the storm.

  • A low shot of a sidewalk with grass growing over it.
    Thought the neighborhood, grass grows over several of the sidewalks, making them inaccessible. Photo: Dorothy Carpenter.
  • A sidewalk with chest-heigh grass on both sides.
    Several residents rely on public transportation, but do not have clear sidewalks to walk to bus stops. Photo: Dorothy Carpenter.
  • A boarded up house.
    There are several boarded up buildings surrounded by weeds throughout the Lower Ninth Ward. Photo: Dorothy Carpenter.
  • A blue house with a sunken in roof.
    A lot of homes did not have flood insurance during Hurricane Katrina, a big factor as to why people chose not to return to them. Photo: Dorothy Carpenter.
  • A house with a collapsed roof next to a church.
    Churches are seen throughout the Lower Ninth Ward. Photo: Dorothy Carpenter.
  • A white building with mold on the sides.
    Mold stains several buildings, providing a representation of how high storm waters were. Photo: Dorothy Carpenter.
  • A boarded up duplex.
    Residents shared that spray paint was used to mark house numbers during and after Hurricane Katrina. Photo: Dorothy Carpenter.
  • A blue house with a blue tarp covering part of the roof.
    Blue tarps serve as a daily reminder of how many people never returned, another source of frustration for the residents that did. Photo: Dorothy Carpenter.

There is a huge distrust towards the government by Lower Ninth Ward residents, on both local and national levels.

The student spoke with one man who was so skeptical of her that he would not tell her his name. The man was so convinced she worked for the government, despite her various explanations that she was a student journalist, doing a reporting project.

There is a general sense of uneasiness towards outsiders in the Lower Ninth Ward, at first, but once they warm up, the southern hospitality and charm start to come to the surface.

There is almost a complete lack of local businesses within the Lower Ninth.

The student and her instructor wanted to eat lunch within the neighborhood, but there was not a single restaurant. The man who did not want to share his name explained that even if there were restaurants, people would not be able to afford to eat out, so there really is no point in having them.

Homemade road signs on a street corner.
Homemade road signs at the corner of Flood and Galvez in the Lower Ninth Ward reflect the entrepreneurial nature of the neighborhood. Photo: Dorothy Carpenter.

For nearly 10 years after Hurricane Katrina, the neighborhood did not have a single grocery store until a resident opened one.

Now, there are a handful of locally owned grocery stores, a dollar store, a bamboo nursery and several gas stations. That’s all the Lower Ninth Ward has, business-wise.

But there are signs of local entrepreneurship. There were a few homes with signs that said “$1 cup of ice,” and small items for sale like this. On one street corner, there was even a homemade road sign.

Additionally, the neighborhood is home to the Fred Hampton Free Store, a former Walgreens or CVS, that has been transformed into a community hub.

“It’s turned into like this party spot, but also like this sort of anarchist thrift store type thing,” Mark Sanders explained, “but it’s not even a thrift store because people just like donate stuff, and if you need something, you can just go down there. I seem to recall people roller skating in there. I’ve played a couple concerts in there with bands and people just kind of do what they want to.”

The Fred Hampton Free Store is a community resource for residents. Every third Monday, a group of women from the community serves a homemade meal. There are representatives from a local STI testing clinic there every Monday. There is roller skating every Wednesday.

  • The Fred Hampton Free Store exterior, covered in spray painted graffiti.
    The Fred Hampton Free Store is inside of what once was a drugstore. Photo: Dorothy Carpenter.
  • The inside of the Fred Hampton Free Store, racks of clothing are in front of a wall.
    The Fred Hampton Free Store attracts many community members on a weekly basis. Photo: Dorothy Carpenter.

Before the store is even open, people are lined up. It is only open for a few hours, a couple of days a week, yet it still serves as a community resource, highlighting the way the community comes together.

The threats to the Lower Ninth Ward community did not start or end with Hurricane Katrina.

According to Willie Calhoun, a lifelong resident, pastor of Fairview Mission Baptist Church and community leader within the Lower Ninth Ward, the community has been under attack for generations, the most imminent threat being a canal widening project.

Calhoun has spent nearly his entire life in the Lower Ninth Ward. After surviving Hurricane Katrina and rebuilding his home, he now worries the community faces another threat from a government project that he believes could further endanger the neighborhood.

“I guess you would say from the time I was 5 years old up until now, I’ve lived on the same street,” Calhoun said.

Calhoun grew up one block from where he currently lives.

“My childhood was great,” Calhoun said. “I did not grow up in the hood. I don’t know nothing about a hood. I grew up in a neighborhood. I grew up around people who cared, neighbors that actually cared about neighbors.”

Now, Calhoun has watched much of that neighborhood disappear. Since Hurricane Katrina, the population has declined, schools have closed and many small businesses have never returned.

As the community continues to rebuild, Calhoun worries another challenge is on the horizon: a proposed $4.7 billion Industrial Canal expansion that he believes could further threaten the neighborhood’s future.

“I’m afraid the disturbance of the levee in any type of way can become catastrophic,” Calhoun said.

  • Roosters by a sidewalk.
    The crows of roosters are heard throughout the Lower Ninth Ward. Photo: Dorothy Carpenter.
  • House remains in an empty lot.
    Remains of homes are found in lots all over the Lower Ninth Ward. Photo: Dorothy Carpenter.
  • A maintained lot next to an unmaintained lot.
    Many residents who own land, but have not built on it, will maintain their lots regularly. Photo: Dorothy Carpenter.
  • Abandoned structure in the middle of a lot.
    Not all abandoned structures are homes in the Lower Ninth Ward. Photo: Dorothy Carpenter.

The proposal would widen the canal and relocate the lock system. Calhoun said construction is expected to last 12 to 15 years, bringing years of disruption to a neighborhood that has spent nearly two decades trying to recover.

He fears the project will lower property values, create environmental concerns, discourage new businesses and further reduce the community’s already shrinking population.

“You’re looking at putting the community at risk,” Calhoun said. “All this stuff you’re doing, and it doesn’t benefit the people.”

For Calhoun, the concern extends beyond construction. It is about preserving a neighborhood where generations of families once built their lives.

“The people of this community coming back here, that’s in that age group of late 60s, 70s and 80s, they don’t have that fight to come here and fight for their area anymore,” Calhoun said. “And their children do not have that kind of tie to community that I had and still have.”

Nearly 21 years after Hurricane Katrina, Calhoun is still fighting for the Lower Ninth Ward—not just to recover from the storm, but to protect what remains. Katrina may have lasted only days, but for residents like Calhoun, the struggle to preserve their neighborhood has become the work of a lifetime.

This story is part of a semester-long investigative reporting project into New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward nearly 21 years after Hurricane Katrina. It was created by an immersion journalism student in the Journalism, Advertising, and Media Studies program at UW-Milwaukee. Other stories from the project are available on The Storm That Never Left: Inside New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward Nearly 21 Years After Katrina.

This work was made possible through the support of MPC Endowment Ltd., the philanthropic affiliate of the Milwaukee Press Club, and a private donor.