The new New Orleans

Alarming Numbers Two Months In

In his article "New Orleans population to halve," James Bone reports the following:

"New Orleans could shrink to about half its previous population after the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina, Ray Nagin, the Mayor, predicted.

The city, which had 484,000 residents before Katrina struck, can support only 250,000 to 300,000 over the next year, he said. Officials estimate that 110,000 of the city’s 180,000 houses were flooded, with many sitting for weeks in more than 6ft (1.8m) of water.

Although the number of evacuees living in emergency shelters has dwindled to about 6,900 from a peak of 270,000, about 200,000 of the displaced people are still living in hotels and motels. A poll of evacuees found that 39 percent did not plan to return home.

Mayor Nagin said yesterday that his top priority was housing. An estimated 30,000 to 50,000 houses — about a quarter of the city’s housing stock — will have to be demolished as unsafe. Tens of thousands more may also be knocked down because homeowners did not have flood insurance and cannot afford the cost of refurbishing them. "

This is article is very disheartening. The reality of 39 percent of the New Orleans population not returning to the city would be devastating. However, I have heard uplifting news about homeowners insurance settlements.

I spoke with a claims consultant for State Farm Insurance who said that almost 50 percent of their claims from Katrina have been settled and over 90 percent of their policyholders have been met with. This, he said, is an incredibly fast response for the seriousness of this disaster.

Hopefully, people will be able to rebuild their houses quicker because of this timely response and return to the city before they become too comfortable in their new settings.

posted by Jessie Tucker @ 10/31/2005