Update 9.20.05
Sorry for the lack of updates but the only phone line we had working went down and only now came back up.
Thanks to everyone for their thoughts and prayers. We are all ok and my dad is doing fine.
Our area of Algiers was opened again on Monday only to be closed up again due to the threat of Hurricane Rita. As a result my mom, sister and niece have postponed their return for another week and will return next Tuesday Sep 27.
We are stuck in Algiers again since the latest manditory evacuation because once you exit you can no longer get back in through the checkpoint. We will monitor this new Hurricane and if it looks like it will threaten us we will have to leave again. At this point we are keeping our fingers crossed that it will pass to the south of us.
The area is till a ghost town. I'd say only about 10% of people in Algiers came back befor ethey shut down the re-entry. Businesses are trying to clean up and open and we do have some stores upen. The west bank of Jeff Parish is doing well with many stores openign up in Grenta, Harvey and Marrerro.
Hopefully once Hurricane Rita passes, we can get back into the rebuilding effort. Algiers did really well and will be a good foothold to assist the rest of New Orleans in coming back.
Last week Dave and I managed to get into the city and drove around where we could. There are large areas of the city that will take a long time to clean up and restore. Where the water has dried out, it smells like the bayou. Where the water still remains it smells really bad. The good side if there is any, is that the economic center of the city, French Quarter, CBD, was not that bad and should recover quickly once power and safe water are restored.
We have to start somewhere and there are a few small islands scattered through the city that survived and can act as the beggining of the rebuilding effort.
I still find it amazing that a major American City has been over 60 to 70 % destroyed and most of the people are gone.
I'll try to update as best I can.
Thanks to everyone for their thoughts and prayers. We are all ok and my dad is doing fine.
Our area of Algiers was opened again on Monday only to be closed up again due to the threat of Hurricane Rita. As a result my mom, sister and niece have postponed their return for another week and will return next Tuesday Sep 27.
We are stuck in Algiers again since the latest manditory evacuation because once you exit you can no longer get back in through the checkpoint. We will monitor this new Hurricane and if it looks like it will threaten us we will have to leave again. At this point we are keeping our fingers crossed that it will pass to the south of us.
The area is till a ghost town. I'd say only about 10% of people in Algiers came back befor ethey shut down the re-entry. Businesses are trying to clean up and open and we do have some stores upen. The west bank of Jeff Parish is doing well with many stores openign up in Grenta, Harvey and Marrerro.
Hopefully once Hurricane Rita passes, we can get back into the rebuilding effort. Algiers did really well and will be a good foothold to assist the rest of New Orleans in coming back.
Last week Dave and I managed to get into the city and drove around where we could. There are large areas of the city that will take a long time to clean up and restore. Where the water has dried out, it smells like the bayou. Where the water still remains it smells really bad. The good side if there is any, is that the economic center of the city, French Quarter, CBD, was not that bad and should recover quickly once power and safe water are restored.
We have to start somewhere and there are a few small islands scattered through the city that survived and can act as the beggining of the rebuilding effort.
I still find it amazing that a major American City has been over 60 to 70 % destroyed and most of the people are gone.
I'll try to update as best I can.
posted by Nick Spetsiotis at 11:49 AM
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