Slidell Cleanup - 2005

The first weekend of October, I had the opportunity to travel to Slidell, Louisiana, to help in the cleanup effort after the devastation caused by hurricane Katrina. I traveled with a group of 14 persons from Conway, Arkansas, to Slidell where we met up with about 800 others who were in a tent city at the Slidell Airport. On any given weekend, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has about 4,000 people working out of several command posts in the Gulf area. For example, the week before, we had been assigned to Hattiesburg, Mississippi, but that trip was canceled because of hurricane Rita. Different groups from different states are assigned to various locations - our assignment was to Slidell on this weekend.

The morning after our arrival, our team leader went to the command center headquarters to get our work assignments - he returned with six. The photos below provide the details of our part of the cleanup effort in Slidell on Saturday and Sunday, October 1 and 2. I have kept the pictures large so that the full impact of the damage can be seen.

Four vehicles, some pulling trailers full of equipment, traveled to Slidell. I traveled with Oscar (far left), Mark (center), and David (not shown). This was Saturday morning after breakfast while we were waiting for our work assignments to be issued. We traveled in Oscar's truck - the back is shown.

There were no places to eat or sleep in Slidell, so we took tents, sleeping bags, food, water, etc., to survive for two days. We also took all the tools we needed. Some items were provided (extra water, tarps, cleaning kits), and we did have a HazMat shower available and portable latrines.

"Tent City" included about 800 people who stayed in tents, vans, SUV's, RV's, etc. Those of us who rode in Oscar's truck slept in the three tents at the left. I was in the one nearest, then Oscar and Mark, and David was in the third one. We were fortunate that the daily temperature was in the mid-80's, but the humidity was very high. It did get cool enough at night that some people needed to use blankets.

Our food consisted of MRE's and a variety of snack foods. It wasn't wonderful, but it kept us going for two days.

Johnny, his son, Jacob, and a friend, Jeremy, were able to cook some of their meals because Johnny pulled a large trailer and could haul some cooking equipment.
This is the Ricky Brock crew - Doug, Eric, Ricky, and David. Ricky is a contractor, so he had vital equipment and experience for our work assignments. His large fan was greatly appreciated in homes where we had to removed EVERYTHING down to the 2 x 4 studs.
This is Greg. He is Doug's son. I was very happy to see three young men join our crew. Greg was the youngest (senior in high school). Experiences like this can only help a person better appreciate their normally hazard-free lives.
When we first drove into Slidell, the extent of the devastation was not evident. But, as we drove south into the city, it became clear. The most dramatic scenes were those in residential neighborhoods. Our first assignment was to "gut" a house in a neighborhood where the homes had been built in the 1950's. Residents of those homes were in their 70's. After the water had receded, EVERYTHING in the house below the flood level had to be thrown out on the street. In this neighborhood, the flood level was from 3 - 7 feet. As we drove into the neighborhood, streets were lined with furniture, appliances, clothing - everything.
One could see piles of rubbish looking down every street. There were crews with large removal equipment hauling this stuff away. Every house had to be emptied, then "gutted." All downed trees had to be moved to the street. All damaged roofs had to be fixed. Most roofs were covered with blue tarps. There was no water or electricity in the majority of the houses.
We are getting organized to "gut" the house at this address. An elderly couple lived here and were forced into the attic by rising flood waters. One of their sons had to come by boat and rescue them.
This house had about 5 feet of water in it. After the water subsides and it is dry enough to work it, crews come by and throw all the furniture and appliances and everything else out on the street. Another crew comes in and strips the house down to the 2 x 4 studs. All sheet rock and insulation from the outside walls have to be removed and the house has to be sprayed to kill all the mold that has grown. It is a messy job.
This was the former kitchen and dining room area. Before we left, the place had no sheet rock, linoleum, tile, or anything else left on the walls or on the floor. Ceilings generally went untouched because they were above the water level. The studs appeared to be dry and ok, but they will have to be tested before approval is given to rebuild.
This view is after we had completed our job. There is still a lot of cleaning to be done, but the hard, heavy work is finished. Fortunately, the sons of the people who lived in this house, were builders and had ready access to sheet rock and other materials. As soon as they get clearance, they will rebuild.
Even though it was warm and very humid and the work was not pleasant, we had a good time working together. This is our lunch break. The shade, resting, and eating felt wonderful. My lunch consisted of an MRE (Meal Ready to Eat), water, an MRE cookie, and some trail mix. From left - Eric, Oscar, and David.
Part of the rest of our crew. From left - Jacob, Mark, Greg, and Eric. The debris and smells associated with it made for an interesting lunch setting.
This stuff is piled up along side the street. It will stay there until removal equipment comes and hauls it off. Tubs, toilets, vanities, cabinets, etc., are all removed from the house and dumped here. It was sad to see a generation of one's material goods simply dumped on the street.

Our second assignment on Saturday, October 1, was two-fold. First, we had a backyard covered with tree debris that had to be removed and dumped on the street. Second, we had to help the residents finish removing items from a bathroom. This house was lived in by an elderly couple. Their son, his wife, and two children were living in an RV in the driveway while they worked on the house to rebuild for his parents. This is Jeremy. If you look carefully, there is a line above his head and the writing that shows the water level - a little over 6 feet deep. When we left this house, you could see the lawn again.

This is the pile of rubbish in front of the house we are working on. If you look carefully, several cars can be seen down the street. These were the cars of persons at house "gutting" them.
Even though everything in the house was essentially ruined, some people were attempting to salvage some personal items. All these items had to be cleaned with bleach. You can see the bottles in the background.
While we were able to clear out trees from the back yard of this house, we dared not tackle this tree. It will take professional tree removers to do this job. What is sad about this situation is that the government gives each home $2000 to pay for tree removal, but the people who remove the trees are charging $1,500 per tree - price gouging at is ugliest.
This is in front of a house that was not on our assignment list. After we finished clearing the trees from the house next door, we noticed that the work crew at this house had left, so we went over and worked here for another two hours. These people had just finished removing the mud and contents from their home. It is now sitting on the side of the street.
Toward the end of the day and as we were getting ready to quit for the day, the Red Cross came by and provided a hot meal for us. It was much better than our MRE's. We were tired, hungry, hot, and very dirty. From left - Jacob, Greg (back to you), Johnny, Ricky, and Jeremy. The left side of this driveway had not yet been cleaned of mud and debris. The smells in this garage were rather unpleasant.

Up and down every street were piles of rubbish that had been removed from the interior of homes. It was an extraordinary site.

The remaining photographs are representative of the disaster. You can browse through them to see the extent of damage in this part of Slidell.

Courtesy of http://www.brooksgreen.net/Slidell/Slidell.htm