Remembering Hurricane Katrina

Members of the 82nd Airborne of Ft. Bragg, North Carolina, assist Joellen Jackson through the water in front of her home. She decided she finally had to leave her home, taking only one of her four dogs.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

Lt. Col. Viet Luong, left, and Commanding Sgt. Maj. Thomas Shoop of the 82nd Airborne try to persuade Vietnam veteran Eddie Cooper to evacuate. They told Cooper that they didn’t want to leave one of their own behind but were not successful in convincing him to leave.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

Heavily-armed police officers ride down Orleans Avenue in an armored vehicle. They are trying to convince people to leave their homes.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

U.S Navy personel end a day of search and rescue in the area of Elysian Fields and I-10.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

Black, murky, smelly water oozes throughout the Ninth Ward neighborhood of New Orleans, making rescue efforts difficult.  (Robert Gauthier / LAT)

Abandoned dogs wait in the attic of a house destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans.  (Robert Gauthier / LAT)

A body floats tied to a tree at the intersection of Lazari and Claiborne streets in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans.  (Robert Gauthier / LAT)

Even 10 days after Hurricane Katrina, many dogs are stranded in flooded homes.  (Robert Gauthier / LAT)

Tied outside a flooded New Orleans house, this dog waits to be rescued.  (Robert Gauthier / LAT)

WRECKAGE: Bobby Underwood consoles his wife, Darlene, after their 7-year-old dog, Dixie, is found dead in the hurricane rubble in Waveland, Miss., a coastal town of 7,000. Virtually no building was left unscathed, an estimated 40 people were killed, and some residents were wondering whether the town is even worth rebuilding.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

THE SEARCH GOES ON: A boat with a rescue team looking for survivors moves along Elysian Fields Avenue in New Orleans.

FOR THE RECORD:
New Orleans street —A photo caption on the front page of Tuesday’s Section A with coverage of Hurricane Katrina said a rescue boat was on Elysian Fields Avenue. The street was near Elysian Fields, but the rescue team was not on that thoroughfare.
  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

RESCUER: Thomas Sterling, 53, bailing water out of an aluminum skiff, says: “I knew I would survive, so I wanted to stay here and help other people who wouldn’t leave or couldn’t get out.”  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

At the Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church in Baton Rouge, churchgoers sing praise on Sunday, a week after Hurricane Katrina hit neighboring New Orleans. Some 300 people from New Orleans are now staying at the church.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

Five-year-old Jakobi Douglas bows his head in prayer at the Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church, where he and his family are staying. His family is uncertain when they will able to return.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

At the Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church, deaconess Melondee O’Conner greets one of the hurricane evacuees during the Sunday service.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

A group of friends enjoy a game of cards Sunday in New Orleans’ Mid City neighborhood. They say they plan to stay.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

Jim Jones and his family are approached by a fire rescue boat squad as they float on Robertson Street. Jones said he is staying home despite ongoing evacuation efforts by federal and state agencies.  (Robert Gauthier / LAT)

Jim Jones, 31, ferries his family along Robertson Street in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina Sunday. Jones vows to stay at home despite continued flooding, no running water, electricity and an official evacuation order.  (Robert Gauthier / LAT)

Much of New Orleans, including parts of downtown, remain under several feet of water nearly a week after Hurricane Katrina hit.  (Robert Gauthier / LAT)

Brian Johnson, 32, wades toward his home on Ursulines Avenue near downtown New Orleans, where he plans to stay despite ongoing evacuation efforts.  (Robert Gauthier / LAT)

John Kane, 49, fights back tears as he talks about riding out Hurricane Katrina inside his Lower Garden District home in New Orleans. Kane plans on staying in his house.  (Robert Gauthier / LAT)

Dave Richardson pilots a horse-drawn wagon with a few local revelers through the French Quarter.  (Robert Gauthier / LAT)

Robin Dean, 41, waves to a bus caravan carting evacuees from downtown New Orleans to Washington, D.C.  (Robert Gauthier / LAT)

Troy Tallent brings some blues back to the French Quarter, by playing for the few residents and police still in the neighborhood. Originally from Georgia, Troy came to New Orleans in 1987 and he hasn’t left yet.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

The relief effort has been focused on the living until now, but will probably change now that most of the people have been evacuated. There has been no place to put the deceased, so many are left in the water.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

More members of the National Guard arrived on Saturday to help in the relief effort. All of the people staying at the New Orleans Convention Center were evacuated, leaving the streets empty there.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

Six days after the hurricane Katrina, thousands of people were evacuated from the New Orleans Convention Center leaving only empty chairs and trash.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

Al Jordana, age 45, a longshoreman, found a canoe which he has been using to visit his friends still inside their homes in Mid City New Orleans. Some residents are refusing to leave the city despite the efforts of officials and volunteers.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

Many of the streets of downtown New Orleans are still flooded six days after the hurricane hit.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

Frank Escorcia, 53, dries out in the back of a pickup truck surrounded by water in the Mid City area of New Orleans. Despite the best efforts of officials, some people refuse to leave the city, unsure what their future will be.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

A young girl sleeps across two chairs in the street in front of the Convention Center. Conditions have been very rough for the thousands of people staying there for the past six days.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

Milvirtha Herndricks, age 85-years-old, has no option but to wait for help at the New Orleans Convention Center, where thousands of people have been stranded for six days. Ms. Hendricks was finally evacuated from the area on Saturday, almost one week since the storm hit.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

Members of the Arkansas National Guard catch a little rest in the loading area of the New Orleans Convention Center, where thousands of people took refuge.  (Robert Gauthier / LAT)

Evacuees sleep in chairs inside the New Orleans Convention Center, where thousands of residents and tourists have been stranded in the days following Hurricane Katrina.  (Robert Gauthier / LAT)

A lone evacuee rests on the dark and debris laden New Orleans Superdome field as Hurricane Katrina victims queue up to leave the Superdome, Thursday.  (Robert Gauthier / LAT)

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin talks with reporters outside his makeshift office on the fourth floor of the Hyatt Hotel hours after meeting with President George Bush who toured the hurricane ravaged city.  (Robert Gauthier / LAT)

Four days after Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, hundreds of families travel to the Louisiana Superdome to be evacuated from the city.  (Robert Gauthier / LAT)

A stray Shih Tzu dog paddles across a downtown New Orleans street. Many dogs were left tethered or to wander in the area of the Louisiana Superdome by evacuees.

Editor’s note: Times photographer Robert Gauthier led the dog to safety.


  (Robert Gauthier / LAT)

Members of the National Guard wait to be transported from the Superdome to the Convention Center, the new area of concentration in the relief effort.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

Tim King steps through sludge inside his home in New Orleans’ 9th Ward, where water reached the ceiling. He came by boat to get a few of his things and see the condition of his home.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

A truckload of evacuees passes as National Guardsmen prepare to move to the New Orleans convention center, where thousands more still wait for help.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

A member of the National Guard stands guard outside the New Orleans convention center where help for the thousands of stranded people finally arrived on Friday.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

Ceasar Martin, age 20, lies on the floor of the helicopter as other evacuees prepare for takeoff leaving the New Orleans Convention Center. The sick and elderly along with their families were evacuated first. Ceasar is a diabetic and was suffering from dehydration and lack of food.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

At the Superdome, the Haynes family eats military rations and even uses the box as a bed for four-month-old Alison. Lexus, age 4, left, and Ariel, 5, right, have been staying at the Superdome and will probably be there a few more days.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

Over 150 dogs and other animals were evacuated from an animal hospital after their owners had left town without them.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

Many of the cemeteries in New Orleans are flooded and in some cases the crypts have come open during the storm.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

The streets of the French Quarter are deserted except for the police who are stationed nearly every corner to contain the looting.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

Sgt. Charles Beatty carries two children to the evacuation bus, as thousands finally leave the Superdome. Photo by  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

Thousands of people waited to be evacuated from the Superdome where conditions had become almost unbearable.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

Rayfield Beal gives refugees water from his personal supply as they arrive at an evacuation center outside New Orleans.  (Robert Gauthier / LAT)

Gretna police officer Ray Lassiegne drives an empty bus toward the Oakwood Mall south of New Orleans, en route to pick up hundreds of evacuees gathered near the Greater New Orleans Bridge.  (Robert Gauthier / LAT)

Gretna police officer Ray Lassiegne stands guard over a busload of evacuees after they were picked up near the Greater New Orleans Bridge just south of New Orleans.  (Robert Gauthier / LAT)

Gretna Police officer Tommy Tompson watches over a busload of evacuees brought to an evacuation center outside New Orleans. Gretna police officers commandeered and drove dozens of city buses, removing thousands of people who walked across the Greater New Orleans Bridge from downtown New Orleans.  (Robert Gauthier / LAT)

Debbie Miller of New Orleans carries her dogs as she waits for a bus at the Metairie evacuation center.  (Robert Gauthier / LAT)

Piles of debris were left behind after thousands of evacuees were bused from the Metairie evacuation center Thursday morning. By the afternoon, thousands more crowded the roadway waiting for buses.  (Robert Gauthier / LAT)

A truckload of evacuees arrives at the Metairie evacuation center outside New Orleans.  (Robert Gauthier / LAT)

A truckload of evacuees arrives at an evacuation center outside New Orleans in aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.  (Robert Gauthier / LAT)

Hundreds of people wait for evacuation buses on the side of Interstate 10 in New Orleans. Many of them were suffering from dehydration after hours of waiting in the heat.  (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

Refugees board evacuation buses in New Orleans.  (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

Kathy Haywood shields her 86-year-old mother, Rose McGrath, from the dust kicked up by rescue helicopters in New Orleans. The mother and daughter were evacuated from a shelter in the city.  (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

New Orleans residents wait to leave the city on buses bound for the Houston Astrodome.  (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

Hundreds gather in hopes of a ride out of New Orleans. New emergencies continued to threaten thousands of refugees, and efforts were underway to evacuate the city.  (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

Cancer patient Yvette Joseph, 48, is helped by John Williams Jr. in New Orleans as they wait to board evacuation buses.  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

People wait to board evacuation buses in New Orleans on Wednesday night.  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

A group of refugees is evacuated from New Orleans in buses as others wait for their turn on Wednesday night.  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Thousands of people are being evacuated from New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)