A lifelong resident of New Orleans, journalist David Meeks is resolved to return to his home and neighborhood, both nearly demolished by Hurricane Katrina.
Photo by Jan Stuchlik, WPI '06 |
NEW ORLEANS — “There was water on the front steps. All the paper was evacuated. People were in panic. In the parking lot, I went to the editor and said: give me one of these trucks so I can stay.”
This courageous proposal was made by David Meeks, then in charge of the Sports section at The Times-Picayune, to the newspaper’s editor Jim Amoss.
“What are you talking about? How are you going to eat?” Amoss answered.
At that time, nobody had an exact idea about what was happening in New Orleans or about the extent of the damage. About 24 hours prior to Meeks’ offer, Hurricane Katrina had hit the city. Then the flood came and put 80 percent of the city under water.
New Orleans was shouting for help when Meeks decided to stay in the city and report what was going on. An eclectic team of about 15 reporters and editors, including a religion writer and a music critic, also volunteered to stay behind in the city and keep working. The rest of the newspaper staff headed toward Baton Rouge, the capital of Louisiana.
On previous occasions, employees and their families took shelter in The Times-Picayune headquarters, a hurricane-proof building in the middle of New Orleans.
“When a hurricane comes, we usually go to the paper,” said Meeks.
But with Katrina it was different. The city had never experienced such a strong storm. And to the despair of the Orleanians, the levees along the Mississippi River broke down and the canals, which cross the city and should have drained the water, did not have gates for hurricanes.
Even one year after Katrina, there are piles of garbage and crumpled houses in many parts of New Orleans.
Photo by Jan Stuchlik, WPI '06 |
During the first four days there was no official help in New Orleans. No soldiers, no Red Cross. Also during this period the only way of spreading the news was by the Internet. There was no possibility to print the newspaper. For this reason, the journalists made the paper only online.
It was hard work for them. They did not have official sources. The only resources they had were a truck, two cars, a kayak, a canoe, four bicycles, satellite phones and two colleagues’ homes.
But they had lots of stories to tell. The first one was written on the back of envelopes. The group of journalists reported what they saw with their own eyes: thousands of people displaced, dead bodies, lack of food and no fresh water. For this job, they received two Pulitzer Prizes: one for public service and the other for breaking news.
Man rescues dog
The journalists were personally affected by the tragedy. At least 1,740 people died in the storm and about 140 were still missing one year later. Many of the newspaper’s professionals, like other citizens of New Orleans, lost their homes and cars — including Meeks. He might have lost a beloved friend, too, if it hadn’t been for another courageous act.
Because pets were not allowed in the newspaper building, Meeks had left his dog at home: a 12-year-old mixed-breed shepherd called Carlson. To rescue him, Meeks paddled by himself in a small red kayak for three miles through New Orleans, submerged in black water. It was on the first day of the flood. When Meeks arrived home, he realized that Carlson was alive. But he also realized that it would be impossible to bring him out. The flood was 10 feet deep on the street and 6.5 feet in his house, which was built in the late ’40s and had never before flooded. His house was 70 miles away from the coast
Carlson was on the second floor, in Meeks’ daughter’s room, barking desperately. The journalist swam inside the house and was trying to figure out how to save the pet when he heard voices outside. To his surprise, there was a motor boat with one old gentleman and two ladies in their late 20s on board. They told him they lived far away from that neighborhood but they had heard a radio call saying that Orleanians needed help to escape the flood.
“What are you doing here?” asked the group. “Well, I had to see if my dog was alive,” responded Meeks. The dog had a sentimental story. He belonged to Meeks’ father, who passed away in 2000. The three rescuers saved the journalist and Carlson. They put everybody on the boat, including the kayak, and drove them back to the unflooded part of the city.
“I was amazed. I thought it was a dream,” Meeks recalled.
In the year following the hurricane, Meeks moved house three times. He intended to return to his own home in November 2006, when he hoped the rebuilding would be completed. Almost 15 months after Katrina.
The tragedy displaced most of the 460,000 inhabitants of New Orleans. One year later, only 200,000 had returned. The city was still devastated. For visitors, it seemed the hurricane happened only a week ago. There were piles of garbage on the streets and abandoned houses in many parts. Some people still lacked access to fresh water. But Meeks was still there.
“The recovery could be faster. But I love New Orleans. I have been here for all my life and I will stay here,” said Meeks, now The Times-Picayune’s city editor.
Notebook
By Solange Azevedo, WPI '06