Then Hurricane Katrina came to town and forever altered the way people think about New Orleans. Visions of Mardi Gras floats and crowded dancehalls were replaced with pictures of broken levees and people sitting on their rooftops as the floodwaters rose, waiting for rescue. People who had lost everything gathered in shelters, desperate for food, shelter and medical help while supplies trickled in. Then the stories got darker, with reports of chaos among the evacuees at the Superdome, widespread looting and lawlessness in the streets. When the floodwaters finally receded and order was established, one of the country’s great cities lay left in ruins.
Three years later, it still hasn’t recovered. The population now is about 200,000 people fewer than it was in 2005. Many businesses never reopened, and large chunks of the city are still abandoned. While restoring the city was a top priority in the country right after the devastation, other news events have pushed New Orleans out of the spotlight.