KATRINA.. AND BY WHAT CAME
"NEXT." THE FAILURE. THE FLOOD.
FOR ONE LOCAL FAMILY,
TIME "HASN'T" ERASED THE PAIN...
OR THE MEMORIES. BUT
OUT OF THE DARKNESS OF AN ATTIC
... THE WILL TO PRESS ON.
" I'm evil with Katrina. Katrina
took the only family I really
had. I'm the only child, just
me and my mommy and
you took that away from me."
THIS IS A SPECIAL PRESENTATION
OF WDSU ... HURRICANE
KATRINA: 10 YEARS FORWARD. "THE
NINTH WARD."
HURRICANE KATRINA DIDN'T MAKE
LANDFALL HERE... DIDN'T
CROSS OVER THE CITY OF NEW
ORLEANS, IN FACT... BUT WHEN
SHE ROARED BY, JUST TO THE EAST,
"THIS" PIECE OF
SEEMINGLY ORDINARY LAND... WOULD
BECOME REMARKABLE.
IT WAS HERE ALONG THE INDUSTRIAL
CANAL IN THE
LOWER NINTH WARD THAT THE LEVEE
FAILED, CAVING TO THE
PRESSURE OF A SIXTEEN TO
NINETEEN FOOT HIGH STORM
SURGE.
GOOD EVENING, I'M SCOTT WALKER.
AND I'M MARGARET ORR. THE WATER
POURED IN.
HOMES FOR SEVERAL BLOCKS WERE
RIPPED FROM THEIR
FOUNDATIONS. AND IT WAS HERE
THAT MANY WERE LEFT SCRAMBLING
FOR SURVIVAL. THE NINTH WARD,
ALONG WITH GENTILLY, SAW
THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF DEATHS
FROM DROWNING.
AND EVEN NOW, 10 YEARS LATER,
PEOPLE OF THE NINTH WARD
STRUGGLE TO REBUILD .... ON
WHAT'S BECOME A PIVOTAL POINT OF
RECOVERY IN ORLEANS PARISH.
DURING THIS NEXT HALF HOUR WE'LL
EXPLORE HOW FAR THE
NINTH WARD HAS COME IN THE LAST
DECADE.. AND EXAMINE WHAT'S
LEFT TO BE DONE.
WE BEGIN WITH A STORY NEVER
BEFORE TOLD... ABOUT A FAMILY
THAT WILL NEVER BE THE SAME.
WDSU ANCHOR LATONYA NORTON
SHOWS US WHAT HAPPENED, BACK
THEN... AND HOW THEY ARE
FARING... 10 YEARS FORWARD.
TRAGEDY... SURVIVAL... AND SLOW
YET STEADY RECOVERY...
THAT'S HOW MANY SUM UP THE PAST
10 YEARS HERE IN THE LOWER NINTH
WARD... THE BATTERED CHILD OF
THE "MOTHER OF ALL STORMS."
SO MANY SUFFERED TREMENDOUS
LOSS... FOR ONE
FAMILY, KATRINA DESTROYED MORE
THAN A HOUSE... AND THE
POSSESSIONS WITHIN. IMAGINE...
FOUR LIVES LOST .... IN
ONE DAY. ROLISHA SMOOTH DOESN'T
HAVE TO IMAGINE. IT WAS
HER REALITY. AND IT'S A STORY
SHE'S NEVER SHARED -- UNTIL
NOW...
NEW ORLEANS...
MONDAY, AUGUST 29, 2005...
DAYBREAK IN THE LOWER NINTH
WARD... GROUND ZERO... THE
DAWNING OF A DAY THAT CHANGED
THE CITY FOREVER...
CRISIS ON THE HORIZON
"Bout 6 something that morning
we heard like a loud noise like
a boom."
THEY HAD ALREADY BEEN AWAKENED
BY A FREAK BATHROOM
FIRE HOURS BEFORE; NOW, THE
SMOOTH FAMILY HEARD WHAT
MANY THOUGHT WAS A DETONATED
BOMB... AN EXPLOSION...
PROMPTED BY AN UNPRECEDENTED
CATASTROPHIC BREACH IN THE
LEVEE SYSTEM... A FAILURE THAT
ALLOWED MORE THAN 20 FEET OF
TREACHEROUS STORM SURGE INTO THE
MODEST COMMUNITY...
AHEAD OF KATRINA... THOUSANDS
WERE SENT PACKING...
BUT OTHERS? INCH BY INCH SHE
BROUGHT THEM TO THEIR KNEES...
ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO
UNDERESTIMATED HER POWER.
"We opened the door and like
kind of went out looking to see
what the noise was and we seen
water rising in
the street."
ROLISHA SMOOTH WAS 15 YEARS OLD
AT THE TIME. IT WASN'T UNUSUAL
FOR THE SMOOTH FAMILY TO COME
TOGETHER UNDER ONE ROOF... FOR
SPECIAL OCCASIONS... OR, IN THIS
CASE, TO RIDE OUT THE
STORM. 10 YEARS AGO -- THAT DAY
WHEN THE NEIGHBORHOOD SHOOK --
ROLISHA SMOOTH HAD PLENTY OF
COMPANY... HER
MOTHER - 33 YEAR OLD URSELL, AND
URSELL'S BOYFRIEND TERRY
DERRELL. OTHERS IN THE HOUSE
THAT FATEFUL MORNING: HER
TWO COUSINS... 18-YEAR OLD
KENDRICKA AND 16-YEAR-OLD
KENDRA SMOOTH... AND HER AUNT,
MARION, AND 14 YEAR OLD COUSIN
DONEIKA LEWIS... RONISHA'S
GRANDMOTHER -- THE MATRIACH --
HAD 17 CHILDREN... AND 1-HUNDRED
PLUS GRAND AND GREAT
GRANDCHILDREN... BUT GET
TOGETHERS WOULD NEVER BE
THE SAME AFTER THAT DAY...
MARION'S HOME STOOD ON THIS
CONCRETE SLAB... BEFORE KATRINA
ROCKED THE FAMILY'S VERY
FOUNDATION.
"As we went back in the house to
grab our keys and shoes, It's
like the water was coming in the
house like
rapidly. Just like to where we
couldn't do nothing but get to
an attic."
A LAST-GASP HAVEN FOR THOUSANDS
TRAPPED IN THE
LOWER NINE... BUT WITH STORM
SURGE INCREASING BY
THE SECOND... THE REFUGE
WOULDN'T LAST LONG...
"The water was rising high in
the attic and it was coming to
where we couldn't stand up in
the water no longer so we
tried to get a way out to get on
the roof."
TO NO AVAIL... AS MUCH AS THEY
TRIED NO ONE COULD BREAK
THROUGH... LIKE MANY IN THE
LOWER NINTH WARD... THE
SMOOTH FAMILY WAS DESPERATE,
HELPLESS, AND RUNNING OUT OF
TIME.
"We called my aunt Iris and let
her know, you know, what was
going on. She talked to her
kids for the last
time."
"and I could hear my sister
Marion in the background
asking which way y'all gone go.
You gone go this way? You gone
go that way? and the next thing
you they went
to hollering and screaming and
the phone went dead and that was
it with them." IRIS
SMOOTH-SMITH, KENDRICKA AND
KENDRA'S
MOTHER, LIVED ON ROYAL STREET --
MINUTES FROM HER SISTER
MARION. SHE WAS HOME WITH HER
OTHER FOUR CHILDREN... THE
FRANTIC CALL ALERTED HER OF
IMPENDING DANGER.
"Kendra was in the background
hollering and screaming saying
want my momma, I want my
momma."
"and we walked outside and it
was just like this outside
and we went back in the house."
"and the water just start
gushing through the back
door."
IRIS SAYS HER DAUGHTERS WERE
SWEET GIRLS...WHO
WANTED TO BECOME NURSES...
KENDRICKA GRADUATED FROM
ALFRED LAWLESS HIGH SCHOOL AND
WAS HEADED TO COLLEGE. KENDRA,
AGE 16, WANTED TO BECOME A
NURSE.
"Let her live long enough to
warn us about the water.
"
"The Lord used her to warn us
about the water. Even
though she lost her life and the
other people lost their life he
let her live long enough to warn
us for to be able to get
out and to get out to safety."
BUT SAFETY WAS NOWHERE NEAR...
AND PRACTICALLY OUT OF REACH -
FOR THE SEVEN TRAPPED INSIDE AN
ATTIC QUICKLY FILLING UP WITH
KATRINA'S WRATH... DERRELL WAS
THE ONLY SWIMMER IN THE
GROUP. WITH NO TIME TO SPARE, HE
BATTLED THE FLOOD AND SWAM
TO UNLOCK THE SECURITY GATE ON
THE HOME'S FRONT DOOR... HE
RETURNED TO RESCUE THE SIX
OTHERS.
"He was like come on I'm going
to take Marion and Ursell first
since y'all the biggest. I'm
going to take
y'all two first and I'm going to
come back and I can get all four
of the kids at one time. But my
mom was like no
take Ro take my baby first."
AT HER MOTHER'S INSISTANCE...
ROLISHA WAS BROUGHT TO
SAFETY FIRST... BUT WHEN DURRELL
RETURNED TO
HELP FREE THE REMAINING FIVE....
URSELL... MARION...
DONEICKA... AND IRIS' TWO GIRLS
- KENDRICKA AND KENDRA ...
"He couldn't see. He didn't see
anyone, because of the water it
was like black. It was a dark,
dark color to
where if you went under the
water you wouldn't be able to
see anything."
"He went in three or four times
trying to see if he
could see someone."
HE CONTINUED TO SEARCH, WITH
ROLISHA CLINGING TO A GUTTER
OUTSIDE THE FRONT OF THE HOME...
THAT'S WHEN SHE HEARD
A NOISE ... FOLLOWED BY THE
SCREAMS OF FAMILIAR VOICES
COMING FROM INSIDE.
"I saw them. I saw them like
moving their hands trying to...
You know they were fighting to
get back out from
under the water and they were
screaming."
HER MOTHER AND THREE COUSINS
WERE DESPERATELY
FIGHTING TO STAY ALIVE...
ROLISHA SAYS SHE DID THE ONLY
THING SHE
COULD TO HELP...
"they had a stick floating in
the water and I grabbed the
stick and kind of trying to
stick it in the door and still
hold on at the same time to you
know see if someone would grabit."
"but nobody grabbed it and I
stopped hearing them and
stopped seeing them and that was
that from that part."
"I witnessed them drown."
IN THE ATTIC, HER MOTHER GREW
INCREASINGLY AFRAID. WHEN SHE
COULD WAIT NO MORE, SHE DID WHAT
SHE HAD TO DO. SHE BROKE
FROM THE ATTIC... HER THREE
ADORING NIECES, RIGHT BEHIND...
FOLLOWING THEIR BELOVED AUNT
URSELL... URSELL SMOOTH WAS FUN,
OUTSPOKEN, AND LOVED CHILDREN...
SHE WORKED AS A HOUSEKEEPER AT
A LOCAL HOTEL... BUT DREAMED OF
OWNING A DAY DEVELOPMENT
CENTER.
"Like I'm sitting here. I don't
really like to be on camera or
take pictures. She would have
been posing for you.
She was that type of person."
AND ROLISHA WAS THE APPLE OF HER
MOTHER'S EYE... STILL, THERE WAS
ONE PERSON IN THE FAMILY
UNACCOUNTED FOR... WAITING
FOR DERRELL TO RETURN... AND
FEARING HE COULD BE IN
DANGER... ROLISHA CLIMBED FROM
THE GUTTER TO THE ROOF...
AND KNOCKED OFF A VENT ... LIGHT
FINALLY FOUND ITS WAY INTO THE
MURK FILLED DARKNESS ... AND THE
UNEXPECTED HAPPENED...
THERE WAS MOVEMENT.
"She was like Ro. I was like
yeah and I was like Auntee
Marion. She was like yeah."
"I didn't know she was you
know... I didn't think she had
made it because I already know
what happened to my mom and my
three cousins, but when I seen
her I
smiled."
MARION EXPLAINED HOW SHE TRIED
ESCAPE WITH THE
OTHERS... BUT THE FORCE OF
WATER SLAMMED THE ATTIC'S DOOR
SHUT... TRAPPING HER ALONE
INSIDE... IT WOULD LATER BECOME
HER SAVING GRACE. HOURS LATER,
A GOOD SAMARITIAN... CAME ALONG
ON A BOAT -- AND TOOK THE
SURVIVORS TO HIGHER
GROUND.
TODAY MARION SMOOTH STILL LIVES
ON FLOOD STREET... TWO
DOORS FROM WHERE HER DAUGHTER,
SISTER, AND TWO
NEICES DROWNED... FOR HER,
KATRINA IS TOO PAINFUL TO
DISCUSS ...
"and that's understandable
because she was there. Like I
told her, she's strong to move
back over there
where it took place at."
THE FAMILY'S GONE TEN YEARS
WITHOUT COUNSELING...
EMOTIONAL SCARS AND FLASH BACKS,
AT TIMES IT SEEMS LIKE ONLY
YESTERDAY.
"I got the phone call and
sometimes I still here them
hollering and screaming and
knowing that I couldn't do
nothing to help my children. I
still hear that."
"I didn't know what to do and
what to think like. I was just
a child. I was scared myself."
"Katrina took the only family I
really had. I'm the only
child, just me and my mommy and
you took that away from me."
HER COUSINS WERE HER THREE BEST
FRIENDS ... THE BIG FAMILY
PARTIES DON'T HAPPEN AS MUCH AS
THEY USED TO... JUST ONCE A YEAR
NOW... KATRINA SEPARATED THE
INSEPARABLE...
GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN...
ROLISHA IS WRITING A BOOK...
CHRONICLING HER FAMILY'S STORY
OF KATRINA... A STORY THAT'S
TAKEN A DECADE TO TELL ...
" I wasn't ready. I wasn't... I
wasn't emotionally, physically,
I just wasn't ready, but now
today I can
honestly say I'm ready to tell
that story."
ROLISHA SAYS EVEN IN DEATH HER
MOTHER AND THREE COUSINS
DESERVE TO BE HEARD AND SHE OWES
IT TO THEM... FACT IS,
THERE ARE MANY UNTOLD STORIES IN
THIS HARD HIT NEIGHBORHOOD.
SOME TOO PAINFUL FOR SURVIVORS
TO PUT INTO WORDS...
BUT KNOW THIS ... WITHIN EVERY
EMPTY FOUNDATION LIES A MUTED
TESTIMONY OF A FAMILY... THAT
ONCE CALLED THE
LOWER NINTH WARD HOME.
MENTAL HEALTH EXPERTS SAY THE
IMPACT OF HURRICANE
KATRINA IS WIDESPREAD, DEEP AND
ENDURING.
IT WASN'T JUST THE LOSS OF A
LOVED ONE. ONE STUDY OF ADULTS
FOUND THAT ONE IN 12 HURRICANE
KATRINA SURVIVORS
WANTED TO KILL THEMSELVES, AT
SOME POINT. FOUR YEARS
AFTER THE STORM, ANOTHER STUDY
FOUND ONE-THIRD OF LOW INCOME
MOTHERS SUFFERED FROM POST
TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER.
.
NEXT: THE 9TH WARD HAS FACED
PLENTY OF CHALLENGES OVER ITS
HISTORY BUT NONE LIKE THOSE OF
THE PAST DECADE.
this is where I live, this is
where I grew up.
WHAT'S CHANGED FOR THIS HISTORIC
NEIGHBORHOOD... AND WHY MANY
RESIDENTS SAY THEY'LL BE HERE...
TODAY
TOMORROW... NO MATTER WHAT.