Alas, you have found the website of Tim Lyons!

Hurricane Katrina

Home | Contents | Bay of Bengal Trip

mlyonstionktopdsc00040.jpg

dscn0139.jpg

plaquemines2ndcard067.jpg

mines2ndcard032.jpg

This house moved a bit.

mlypdscn0099.jpg

nstcn0083.jpg

From October 10th to December 13th, I went down to southern Louisiana to work on Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. I went through the Crisis Corps, a small branch of the Peace Corps, and was attached to FEMA. It was the first time in the 44 year history of Peace Corps that volunteers were sent to work domestically.

We had 3 days of FEMA training in Orlando, Florida, and then moved on to New Orleans. The group of volunteers that I was with stayed just south of the city, and we worked in the countryside between New Orleans and the Gulf coast, in Plaquemines parish.

The work we did varied, including passing out food, water, and supplies, cleaning out fire stations that were devastated, and working with the Vietnamese and Cambodian fishing communities.

023_20a.jpg

Some of us Crisis Corps Volunteers (CCVs) having lunch at the first disaster recovery center we worked at.

dscn0125.jpg

dsc00036.jpg

dsc00111.jpg

The patched levee above the lower 9th ward.

dsc00105.jpg

dscn0389.jpg

Living quarter and facilties for disaster workers.

dsc00055.jpg

dscn0083.jpg

My first home in New Orleans.

inktent.jpg

000jjj01.jpg

Wind damage

dsc00023.jpg

waterline.jpg

This is an orange grove. You can see the waterline where the salt water sat for 4 weeks.

dsc04446.jpg

Sam cleaning out the warehouse on fishing docks.

dsc044451.jpg

Me stacking buckets of oil.

dsc00020.jpg

dsc00012.jpg

dsc00018.jpg

Andrew in the Buras auditorium.

dsc04439.jpg

All of the other water towers in Plaqumeines parish held their ground.

dsc043952.jpg

The southern part of Plaquemines parish was under water for 4 weeks. When the water receeded, this house was placed on the median of the highway.

dsc04416.jpg

The inside of that house.

dsc04435.jpg

It floated for awhile.

Sadly, some of our friends didn't make it.

dscn0396.jpg

dscn0581.jpg

dsc000171.jpg

dsc00024_1.jpg

dscn0338.jpg

dscn0584.jpg

dsc000161.jpg

dscn00182.jpg

043721.jpg

The water unearthed many graves in the area.

c000091.jpg

These caskets were recovered.

dsc043791.jpg

This one floated off into the bushes.

dscn0255.jpg

Parking

boat1.jpg

dsc00159.jpg

dsc00053.jpg

uimtiopdscn0031.jpg

dscn0229.jpg

uimldscn0049.jpg

dscn0244.jpg

dscn0171.jpg

scn0141.jpg

dscn01001.jpg

dscn00192.jpg

dscn0109.jpg

plaqueminesndcard013.jpg

The best food we found in Plaqumemines parish.

010_7a.jpg

Free food at Mardi Gras World.

dsc04497.jpg

BP, me, Sam, and Andrew at the Abita Brew Pub.