You asked Peter Henderson, reporting from New Orleans for Reuters, how the debris clean-up is going in the city and along the coast. “There are still massive debris piles and twisted houses all over the worst hit areas, including Lakeview and the Lower Ninth Ward,” Henderson writes back. Mayor Ray Nagin on Sunday told Lower Ninth Ward residents “it would be a hard three to five years. Water in the Lower Ninth is still not potable,” he added.

And as for NickA, who asked why the rebuilding in Louisana is lagging Mississippi’s recovery, Henderson writes: “I visited the coast about a week ago and it is still flattened. Most of the debris is clear but, aside from the casinos in Biloxi, there is hardly any sign of rebuilding on the coast.” (Pictures by Reuters, New Orleans 2006)

More replies from Henderson

c reimer: What has the City of New Orleans been doing for the last Year? What has the State of La. been doing for the Last Year?
Henderson: Trying to clean up and rebuild. The success is a matter of debate. One important issue: Federal funds to homeowners are expected to start flowing very soon. Mayor Ray Nagin largely blames slow funding for not repairing faster, and also notes the incredible scale of the devastation. The city re-elected him in May, and he was greeted with cheers at a press conference in the Lower Ninth Ward on Sunday, but he has plenty of critics who say he does not have a grand plan for rebuilding.

Jan from Houston: When Katrina hit, the US Army Corps of Engineers had almost completed Hurricane Protection Project, intended to secure the levees and shield the city (1-20 feet below sea level) from Cat. 3 storms. 80% of the city was flooded by Katrinas Cat. 3 Surge. Whats the story? Is this just going to take time to get right? Hows the debris clean-up looking?Henderson: Army Corps chief Lt. Gen. Carl Strock said recently that protection was probably better now because of a few improvements such as flood gates which close the canals that storm waters rushed into last year, but he declined to say the city could survive a Category 3 storm. Also, closing the flood gates sharply reduces the city’s ability to pump out rainwater collecting in the streets, which could also mean flooding. In addition to repairs to get the levee system up to required standards (repairs to date were intended to bring it to pre-Katrina levels, which were below standards in some cases), the Corps is preparing a report due Dec. 2007, on what would be necessary to provide Category Five hurricane protection.

CarlB says: … What we have is a system which is fighting with the river instead of working with it.
Henderson: The book Rising Tide by John Barry addresses this head on. It explains how humans have attempted to tame the rivers and how the system of only using levees failed in the 1927 flood. Now there are ’spillways’ to reduce pressure, at least. I am only half way through the book but it is very detailed.

SuzyQ says: As Carl B says - work with not against Nature then they might not be so disappointed with the results
Henderson: Many critics in the city make similar points and complain of a leadership void. Mayor Ray Nagin’s answer to that question is that individuals and the market should decide on where to rebuild. The current effort is focused on neighborhood plans which will be integrated into a master plan by the end of the year.

PhilB says: What has the mayor of N.O. or the governor of Louisiana learned from the experience? 
Henderson: I’ll ask that question.

Daphiny says: New Orleans will always be a part of my heart , and im hoping to return oneday, not this year , maybe next . but i will return
Henderson: You are not alone. Half of the city’s roughly 450,000 pre-Katrina residents are still displaced, and while many of them appear to be packed into surrounding suburbs, I daily meet people traveling hundreds of miles to look at their houses and try to decide what to do.