Ten years after suffering the devastation brought on by Hurricane Katrina, the city of New Orleans is on its way to a cultural and economic revival that speaks volumes about the indomitable spirit of its people rising up from the ruins.
Through the help of billions of dollars in financial aid and thousands of volunteers, Louisiana's premier city was able to recover from the destruction in ways few people thought even possible in the decade since Katrina's onslaught.
Several reforms have also been initiated, including those on schools, policing, water management and community engagement, all of which were designed to provide support to the citizens of New Orleans in case of another disastrous storm.
As the city continues its road to recovery, however, many people could not help but notice how much different New Orleans has become from what it had once been before Hurricane Katrina. The newer New Orleans now appears to be whiter and the cost of living in the city is higher than what it used to be.
Neighborhoods dominated by African-American residents continue to struggle, especially in the Lower 9th Ward, which was considered to be the center for black home ownership in the city just before the floodwalls gave way. The murder rate in New Orleans is also on the rise again.
Allison Plyer of The Data Center, a think tank based in New Orleans, pointed out that many residents have different views on how things have changed in the city.
While some locals will say that the economy has improved and that things are so much better, others will say that things are so much worse. Plyer said that both of these realities are true.
New Orleans' rebirth comes as a product of many years of labor in order to bring the city and its back to its feet.
By the time Hurricane Katrina finished having its way, the super storm left around 80 percent of New Orleans flooded with polluted water up to 20 feet deep.
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported a year later that the storm took the lives of over 1,500 residents of Louisiana, many of which drowned insider their own homes.
The police and hospitals around New Orleans were overwhelmed by emergencies, with scores of survivors being left to feel abandoned.
The city's once bustling economy had also shut down.
Even after almost a year since the devastation of Katrina, many of the locals who evacuated preferred to stay away from the city.
The impact of Hurricane Katrina went beyond its economic toll, as one of Louisiana's most romantic cities, which has been besieged by years of crime, poverty, unemployment and racism, had seemingly been dealt with a death blow.
New Orleans, however, has shown resilience in the decade after Katrina.
The Louis Armstrong Airport, which became a refuge for thousands of citizens while trying to secure flights out of the city in 2005, was able to surpass its passenger numbers before Katrina this year.
The city is also experiencing 64 percent faster opening for new businesses compared to the national average, and revenue through sales tax is up by 29 percent this year compared to what it was before the super storm.
New Orleans After the Devastation of Hurricane Katrina
