THURSDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2005 THE TIMES-PICAYUNE HURRICANE AFTERMATH...

H U R R I C A N E A F T E R M A T HA-18 THURSDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2005 THE TIMES-PICAYUNE

...

‘I haven’thad a

bad mealhere yet’

EVACUEES, from A-1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

ing out a tire and then blowingout the spare on our way out.Then up to New York, throughMassachusetts and on to my sis-ter’s summer house in Kenne-bunkport for a while until weended up here, in Bar Harbor,Maine, which is where I grew

up.”In the wake of the storm, res-

idents of the New Orleans arearemain scattered across all 50states, with high concentrationsof residents across the Southand in major metropolitanareas, according to a map show-ing where hundreds of thou-sands of Katrina evacuees haveapplied for federal assistance.

From Oahu, Hawaii, to thedeepest regions of New Eng-land, most selected their evacu-ation locations based on wherethey had family or close friends.Some now say they’re desperateto return, while others haveturned their evacuation into avacation, or “evacu-cation.” Stillothers don’t think they’ll everreturn and are now signingmortgage papers in their newcommunities.

“We ended up in Hawaii, be-cause we have friends there,”Uptowner Kristin Isenbergsaid. “And they gave us a callafter the storm, and they said,‘Why don’t you come stay withus? You can enroll the kids inschool and stay as long as youneed.’ We were originally think-ing about going to stay with myhusband’s family, but Hawaiijust sounded a little more pleas-ant than Albany, New York.And I said, ‘This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Let’s gostay in Hawaii for a couplemonths and make lemons intolemonade.’ And it’s been won-derful.”

Loyola University philosophyprofessor and temporary Al-bany resident Terence Hoytsaid he has no complaints.

“I like it,” he said from his

parents’ house in the upstateNew York town. “I think it’s oneof the nicest places in the coun-try to live in, particularly in thefall.”

Though O’Connor, Isenbergand Hoyt all said they’re plan-ning to make their way back tothe city in the weeks or monthsahead, others won’t be so quickto return.

Setting down rootsJoe Doucette, an Uptowner

before the storm, just got ap-proval for a mortgage on ahouse in Charlotte, N.C., andsaid he won’t even be thinkingabout coming back for at least ayear.

“We have a 2-year-old, andwe have to take that into majorconsideration,” he said. “If wedidn’t have her, I think we’d be

stuck in down there or at leastmore likely to go back.”

New Orleans Mayor Ray Na-gin previously asked parents tothink carefully about returningto the city with children.

If he feels the city’s ready,Doucette, a contractor, said hecan always turn around theCharlotte house he’s planning tofix up for a profit in a year. Ifnot, he said, that’s OK too.

“Charlotte’s a nice place,” hesaid. “I haven’t had a bad mealhere yet.”

His friend Ted Sheppard, whowas planning to team up withDoucette for some contractingwork before Katrina, said he’scomfortable with his family inSavannah, Ga., and unlikely toreturn.

“I don’t think it’s going to bea place for my children, and,

even when it is, I think it’s goingto take a really long time forthat to happen. And when itdoes happen, we’ll probably bepretty well settled here,” hesaid.

That said, Sheppard said he’splanning to fix up his Broad-moor home, which took 6 feet ofwater, and either base his busi-ness from there or rent it out.

“I want to be part of the ef-fort to rebuild New Orleans,” hesaid.

Sense of placeSociologists say residents’ de-

cisions to return are based on avariety of factors, not the leastof which is their attachment tothe city.

“If you lived in Chicago or

See EVACUEES, A-22

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140 miles

PacificOcean

M I S S .

L A .

New Orleans

Gulf of Mexico

AtlanticOcean

A R K .

A L A .

G A .

F L A .

S . C .

N . C .

V A .

W . V A .

K Y .

T E N N .

I N D .O H I O

P A .

N . Y .

N . J .

D E L .M D .

CONN.R . I .

MASS.

N . H .V T .

M E .

T E X A S

O K L A .

K A N .

N E B .

S . D .

N . D .

M I C H .

W I S .

I O W A

I L L .

M O .

M I N N .

N . M .

A R I Z .

C A L I F .

N E V .

U T A H

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M O N T .

I D A H O

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M E X I C O

C A N A D A

C U B A

B A H A M A S

Sources: FEMA, Census Bureau, Queens CollegeSociology Department, New York Times

STAFF MAP BY DAN SWENSON

KATRINA’S PATH

A L A S K A

H A W A I I

C A N A D A

APPLICATIONS BY STATE523,149383,840156,895109,469

35,34231,00515,52911,02710,953

6,43073,065

38.6%28.3%11.6%

8.1%2.6%2.3%1.1%0.8%0.8%0.5%5.4%

LouisianaMississippiTexasAlabamaGeorgiaFloridaTennesseeArkansasCaliforniaIllinoisOthers

APPLICATIONS BY DISTANCE FROM NEW ORLEANSMiles Applicants Pct.0-100 626,232 46.2%100-200 338,080 24.9%200-400 184,169 13.6%400-800 143,497 10.6%800-1,600 45,371 3.3%1,600-3,200 13,403 1.0%3,200+ 232 0.0%

KATRINA’S EXODUSThe displaced victims of Hurricane Katrina have filedfor disaster assistance with FEMA in nearly every countyin every state. A look at the distribution of 1.36 millionindividual applicants who registered with FEMA:

LEGEND 0 1-40 41-250 251-1,200 1,201-4,200 4,201-15,500 15,501-46,000 More than 46,000