Project Katrina

The Independent reports in detail on their journey to Beichuan, maybe the city hit the hardest by the recent earthquake.

Reaching Beichuan is a long march into hell. When you finally emerge scrabbling through the dirt into the town, what lies before you is a breathtaking vision of horror. Official estimates say China’s worst natural disaster in 30 years has claimed 50,000 lives so far, but looking at the devastation here, it is hard not to imagine the final toll will be much, much higher.

Beichuan county in Sichuan province used to be home to 160,000 people, and most of them lived in the now-forsaken town of the same name, nestling in one of the world’s most beautiful valleys. But everyone is gone, either dead or having abandoned their flattened home.

Beichuan was too close to the epicentre of this week’s earthquake to stand a chance. At least 80 per cent of it is destroyed, with many thousands of bodies still buried in the rubble. It’s hard to imagine this place ever functioning as a town again.

There is still no access by road. People’s Liberation Army soldiers rally behind red flags at a rescue station three kilometres away, before starting the trek into the heart of this shattered place.

Talking Points Memo has this little tidbit today:

As both The Wall Street Journal and AP report, it’s unclear why Jackson is resigning. Or, rather, it’s unclear what reason he’ll give for resigning. We hotly anticipate his statement this morning, but chances are you won’t hear any mention of the grand jury investigation that’s probing the depths of his cronyism. Both pieces make mention of the fact that with the country facing a mortgage crisis, Jackson might not be the best man for the job. He’s certainly not the best man to be working with Congress, since he’s stonewalled Congress’ questions about the investigation and allegations that he retaliated against Philadelphia’s public housing director when he didn’t agree to dish a property to one of Jackson’s buddies. Oh, and the senators who chair the two oversight committees think Bush ought to fire him.

And to think this man was a vital part of working to rebuild New Orleans.

Today I received my copy of Chris Jordan’s book, In Katrina’s Wake: Portraits of Loss from an Unnatural Disaster. Wow! I am not sure I can recall the last time I’ve seen photography this stellar. I can’t really think of words to do them justice. I would have posted more then the single image above, but didn’t cause this is how he makes his living. I strongly encourage you, no I beg you to visit his site and spend some time with these images (and he as many more powerful ones from other projects). Then order yourself a copy.

Just a few more powerful pictures of the aftermath of Katrina.

Some amazing photos are located at Katrina Destruction. A few of the most viewed are below.

The below photos are not new. They are from the first week or so after Katrina. I found them via sub-site on National Geographic dedicated to Katrina. The site has a ton of pictures and articles.

Near New Orleans a small oil-slickened dog was seen wandering in Chalmette, Louisiana, as cleanup crews recovered oil from a ruptured refinery tank on September 6, 2005. Tens of thousands of barrels of oil had spilled and mixed with receding floodwater from Hurricane Katrina.

Three dogs waited for rescue in Pass Christian, Mississippi, on August 31, 2005, one day after Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast town. The dogs were later saved by a local police officer.

Surrounded by litter left by refugees, a dog remained tied to the railing of a highway ramp in New Orleans on September 3, 2005, six days after Hurricane Katrina. Like many of the city’s newly stranded pets, the dog may have been refused passage by rescuers as they evacuated its owners.

A New Orleans resident waded along Canal Street with a dog he rescued on August 30, 2005, the day the local levee system failed and flooded the city.