Katrina anniversary brings memories and Gustav

As Gustav bears down on New Orleans and the residents of coastal Louisiana evacuate, there is little the rest of us can do except watch, wait and hope for the best. And, maybe, read an exceptional account of Hurricane Katrina and its effects on some of those residents, "The Good Pirates of the Forgotten Bayous."

Written by Ken Wells, a former Wall Street Journal reporter and Louisiana native, "The Good Pirates" focuses not on New Orleans but on the adjacent St. Bernard Parish, equally as devastated by the storm. But when the hurricane winds, tornadoes, torrential rains and sudden floodwaters withdrew, St. Bernard's was virtually ignored by authorities, who focused on New Orleans. Rescuers were very slow to arrive; the people of St. Bernard's, many of whom had stayed behind, sheltered their neighbors who had survived and paddled out to rescue those were stranded.

The history of the region is critical to the residents' response, according to Wells, and he tells it in colorful detail — including, yes, pirates. Wells explains the difference between Creole and Cajun and how early French and Spanish settlers ended up in this one place. These chapters alternate with 2005, when the storm rages around the town's residents. He literally ends an early chapter with a wave bearing down on a van with a woman, her two daughters, her brother and their ailing father. It's a breathtaking cliffhanger.

The excitement and history notwithstanding, it's the stories of the survivors that are unforgettable. In some places, floodwater filled homes in less than 20 minutes. How did a 91-year-old woman survive? Why was she compelled, after evacuation, to return?

Author Ken Wells has done a commendable job of bringing the threatened bayous of Louisiana to life. You can listen to his appearance on NPR, which has posted an excerpt — the opening pages — of his book on their site. 

— Carolyn Kellogg

Photo of a house in New Orleans' Lower 9th Ward in May 2008 by Carolyn Kellogg

Comments

[Carolyn Arthurs]

I am a Katrina evacuee living in Los Angeles and am watching Gustav to see if I will once again lose my New Orleans event planning business and have to start over. The memories are flooding in from all directions.

Have you read "Last Single Woman in America"? It was written by a woman who grew up in New Orleans and has a very poignant chapter on going through Katrina from a unique side.