New Orleans: One Year Later

Mayor Ray Nagin Talks About Efforts To Bring The Crescent City Back To Life

(CBS)  Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans a year ago this Tuesday, and CBS News national correspondent Byron Pitts has been covering the story ever since.

As Pitts notes, it is once again the heart of hurricane season. Yet for people who live along the Gulf Coast, it’s the hurricane past that still causes sleepless nights.

Hurricane Katrina killed more than 1,300 men, women and children. Many of those who died, died in New Orleans.

One year later, New Orleans is still struggling to recover.

The man in charge of bringing the city back to life is Mayor Ray Nagin. But there are questions: Is he up to the job? And what if there’s another direct hit.

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"Is New Orleans ready for another hurricane?" Pitts asks Nagin.

"I think we’re ready for another hurricane like Katrina," Nagin says.

"There’s a headline," Pitts says.

"Absolutely," Nagin says.

"How is that possible?" Pitts asks.

"When Katrina hit us, our highest levees were 12 to 13 feet. The ones they’re building now, as high as 20 feet," Nagin says.

The failure of those levees was the signature event behind the flooding that left 80 percent of New Orleans underwater after Katrina.

Today, in one of the few visible signs of recovery, the 220 miles of the levees damaged by the storm have been repaired or restored by the Army Corps of Engineers.

Visiting one of the repaired levees, Pitts asks Nagin how it compares to the old levee wall.

"Oh, it was a third of that. Maybe. It was just dirt," Nagin says. "And that was part of the problem. When the water was overflowing, it came and started digging. It dug holes on this side of the levee. And this is the anti-scouring part. So now if the water flows over, it won’t dig a hole and when it dug a hole, it weakened the whole levee and it just kinda caved in."

And will it hold in the face of a Category 3 or Category 4 storm?

"Look at this man, where's this gonna go?" Nagin asks, standing at the base of the wall.

If New Orleans is prepared for a hurricane today, that was not the case a year ago. Nagin helped make a bad situation worse by not ordering a mandatory evacuation until the morning before the storm made landfall.

His delay and indecision almost certainly cost lives.

"That was heart-breaking," Nagin says. "Seeing dead bodies in the water and watching babies and old people, elderly people, really suffering. That was very, very tough."

Nagin says that about 600 people died in New Orleans in the wake of Katrina. Pitts asks if there are private moments when Nagin blames himself for those deaths.

"Absolutely," he says. "I think about whether I could have ordered a mandatory evacuation earlier. I think about what we could have done differently and better with the Superdome and with getting more people out of the neighborhoods. I contemplate and think about that a lot."

How would Nagin evacuate people differently in the event of another storm?

"We're getting everybody out. And we're gonna use every medium available," Nagin says. "No shelter of last resort, buses, trains, planes. Everybody's gotta go."

Under the mayor’s new plan, no Superdome, no convention center. When a Category 3 or higher hurricane threatens New Orleans, everyone leaves.

Planning for the next disaster seems simple compared with fixing what was broken by the last one.

One year later, parts of New Orleans look the way they did days after the hurricane. There's tons of debris still scattered about. Six of the city’s nine hospitals are still closed.

Before Katrina, some 65,000 children attended public schools here. This fall, that figure could be down to 21,000. Thousands of families remain in government trailers.

Neighborhoods are still deserted - block after block of deafening silence.

[katzler-2009]

Personally, I'm a fan of Ray Nagin's. On the one hand he's the only polititian in recent memory to a) openly criticise Washington for it's failures in protecting the country's most needy citizens and b) to fully accept his own responsibilities and short-comings with regards katrina. Frankly, when the President cant get through a press conference without splutterring on the words being fed to him though the earpiece, I think a man like R. Nagin who will be candid in telling people of the harsh realities of the current predicament should be welcomed an a breath of fresh air. Not villified by people who consider their fragile sensibilities more important than the re-building of New Orleans.

[abaralt]

-- the rest --

used to transport probably thousands of people out of Katrina%u2019s path. Personally, I think that every time Ray Nagin opens his mouth, he sticks his foot in it %u2013 either making a disrespectful, misinformed, or simply an insensitive statement. The people in those towers weren%u2019t given a warning, there was no one on the television at the %u201C National Terrorist Center %u201C explaining that they shouldn%u2019t go to work, because Arabs were going to blow up the towers %u2013 let%u2019s be real here, there is no comparison. Ray Nagin, along with Kanye West are probably the two most ignorant people to EVER comment on the issue in New Orleans; I hope they try to hold their tongue, and think next time they speak %u2013 both were born without a filter. On the brink of having to prepare for the first storm of this season for us [Miami], I%u2019ve taken a moment to write what I feel, and think about this whole Katrina issue; Miami survived Andrew, we rebuilt the city, and it%u2019s become one of the biggest city in the United States. Take it from us you%u2019ll weather the storm, just make sure you have the right people to lead you along the path towards a better, and brighter day. Good lick.

[abaralt]

Personally, I'd like extend my condolences to those of you who lost your family, homes, cars, personal belongs, jobs, and all in all %u2026 you%u2019re city period. I would never want to live Miami, and know that it must have been horrible to leave your home in such a bad case scenario. Although, I feel for the people in New Orleans, and I understand their pain, and suffering being that I%u2019ve gone through countless storms, and one equal in size to Katrina [not equal in prize, only because there really is no way for Miami to get completely flooded] %u2013 Hurricane Andrew. I know what it%u2019s like to see your city ruined, family, and friends displaced, and the difficulties in a post-major hurricane like both Katrina, and Andrew. Although, our situations were a misfortune, and without a doubt a huge drain on everyone economically, emotionally, physically, and mentally I doubt that our experiences were half as emotionally damaging as what happened on September the eleventh. As with most hurricanes were warned, given sufficient time to leave %u2013 the people in New Orleans were told the best thing to do was leave. Ray Nagin opted to stuff people into the Super Dome, and random buildings instead of offering people the keys to the hundreds of buses that were left flooded behind locked gates, buses that could%u2019ve been

[jjkstewart]

I WATCH THE SPEICAL LAST NIGHT. I AM DISHEARTED TO THINK THAT OUR LEADER THINK MORE OF THE PEOPLE OF OTHER COUNTRY. JUST GO'S TO SHOW US ALL THEY CARE ABOUT IS THE MONEY THEY GET FOR SUPPORTING THE BILLS THAT HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THE AMERICAN PEOPLE. WE BUILD FOR THE OTHER COUNTRY BEFORE WE BUILD FOR OUR OWN. WHAT THE HELL HAS HAPPEN TO OUR LEADERS. I FOUGHT FOR THIS COUNTRY AT ONE TIME. BUT I DON'T THINK I COULD DO IT NOW WITH THE LEADERS WE HAVE. ITS SAD TO SAY THAT WE ARE NOTHING TO THE PEOPLE IN WASHINGTON. AND IT'S HAPPENING MORE AND MORE.

[alexsmom322]

I am a resident of the Gulf Coast, Mobile specifically. I personally think Nagin doesn't think before he speaks. I really think he doesn't understand how blunt and ill timed his comments are. After I saw the CBS interview, I wanted to drive to New Orleans and tie him to a levee and wait for the next storm to come! I think the people are morons for re-electing him. He continues to be an embarrassment to the entire Gulf Coast!
In regards to the "masks, comment" Mobile is the home of Mardi Gras, and I can attest, as a black female, that the masks have nothing to do with the KKK for mardi gras. The hoods do! You are supposed to wear a mask, not a hood! What the "f" was that about? I was a member of a Mardi Gras society and it is just a tradition of royalty and carnivale to wear the masks. I have never seen hoods at a debutante ball before but New Orleans has changed what Mardi Gras is supposed to be about completely anyway! It's about family fun, moonpies, and feasting before Lent. It's not supposed to be about *** on balconies, and drunks stumbling from corner to corner! New Orleans is a tourist city, for mostly college students or socialites. I visit to get my beignets once a year and I get the heck outta there. I visited there last month, and I realized quickly that New Orleans will never be the same. It's just horrible what happened there and along the ENTIRE gulf Coast. Maybe its a good thing New Orleans isn't coming back to life any time soon.

[bekeenee]

There were many things about this story that were sad or disturbing, but the most disturbing part of the story for me was the photo of the debutante ball that contained images of KKK hoods behind some of the debutantes. CBS what were you thinking! If this was an actual undoctored photo the content should have been addressed. Since this was not addressed, I cannot help but wonder was this doctored to send a message? I hope not. I hope this will be addressed ASAP. If it is a real, undoctored photo it is worthy of a story in itself.

[xtinamvt]

Bryon Pitts is a sad disappointment to journalists. Be aggressive, be assertive - but don't be an idiot. Antagonizing your subject rarely earns you brownie points and only makes you look like an a**.

I may not agree with Ray Nagin but I respect that he speaks his mind, whether it's to the president or a misguided journalist, at least he's honest with himself (and with the public) to a certain degree and that doesn't happen very often to any degree.

In the end Nagin did a great job and kept his cool, had Pitts taken a different approach, it may have ended differently. In the end the objective was successful; we're still talking about it...

[rigrif]

Now, dig this 60 minutes, Mayor Ray Nagin is a Big Easy, laid back, Jazzy modern mayor. He does not use too much spin, he does not talk a lot of non-sense, and if you bark at him the wrong way he lets you know it.
We do not always like the message, so we pick apart the way the messenger delivers it. So chill baby. What, did he just call me a baby.

[shrimpety]

I too saw the KKK faces in the background of only some of the debutante ball photos. my first thought was that the photos WERE doctored by CBS. A debutante ball in and of itself is NOT a racist event so why would there be any KKK members in attendance? I thought the pictures really made the whole article less credible.

I can't say for sure if Ray Nagin is or is not a good mayor, the folks in NO re-elected him so that means he must be doing simething right. I do think it would have been better for 60 minutes to more clearly express how difficult it is to clean up the city - that you can't just go throw away people's property without their permission, that it takes a ton of money and YES, wealthy investors to rebuild the city. I think everyone would be surprised that many wealthy people were once poor - and that they are incredibly genererous with their money.

[terryad]

As a Native New Orleanian, actually I would still be in New Orleans if it wasn't for Katrina, I would like to say "BACK OFF" and leave my mayor alone. What people seem to forget, is that Nagin is not only the Mayor of my great city but also a victim of Katrina just like me. He lost his property, his family is scattered all over the US just like mine. How dare people sit up and complain and say he makes inappropriate comments and is hindering the rebuilding of my city. You don't know and I hope you will never know what it's like to leave your city and only to return to devesatation. Places you used to go, people you used to see, gone.. All gone!! Nagin is doing the best he can with what he has and he doesn't need people in his face about a "hole in New York" that has not been fixed. Oh Please come on people, we Americans have more sense then that. I am asking as a citizen of New Orleans and a American, please be sensitive and understanding, we have gone through alot and are still going through it. We don't need your criticism or skepticisim, we need your support. We need your love and understanding. Please help if your going to help, if not then let us rebuild out city and make it great again. Thank you.

[lovieeee]

I have not watched the 60 minutes episode because I watched Meet the Press and I watched Tim Russert bite into Ray Nagins. What I am upset with Nagins about is that he appoligzed for what he said about the hole. I understood what he was trying to say to say when he made the comparison. Niether event was being belittled. Yes, the locals in the 9/11 tragedy came forward, there was no where to come forward with all that water.

[ej03202002]

Byron Pitts is a great disappointment. He should stay out of 60 minutes and keep his *** in NY. I hope this is not a sign of things to come -- a diluted version of 60 minutes. I do not know much about Nagin, but it was highly irresponsible and unnecessary for Pitts to launch into Nagin the way he did. New Orleans was not given the kind of response and attention that the World Trade Center got and after one year, Nagin, who knows he is under a microscope, would have done his best with the resources available to him.

[ej03202002]

Byron Pitts is a great disappointment. He should stay out of 60 minutes and keep his *** in NY. I hope this is not a sign of things to come -- a diluted version of 60 minutes. I do not know much about Nagin, but it was highly irresponsible and unnecessary for Pitts to launch into Nagin the way he did. New Orleans was not given the kind of response and attention that the World Trade Center got and after one year, Nagin, who knows he is under a microscope, would have done his best with the resources available to him.

[alharlow-2009]

Yes, if you read on to the other comments, many people saw the hooded KKK members behind the Debutantes in those pictures. What's the story behind that one, CBS? Why haven't you come out with an explanation for this? It probably has a lot of people upset. Should we contact ABC and NBC about this one? It seems improbably that this wasn't a doctored up photo, which would make news headlines, I think.

[caracephus]

Referring to the portion of the interview where the discussed the ..."debutante parties went on..."

Did anyone notice the society page and the men wearing white hoods? 60 minutes needs to do a story on that.

[inyurmnd]

What an idiot Byron Pitts was...how insensitive. He backed Nagin into a corner and all Nagin did was back him back. Quite honestly, I thought of Pitts far better than the action he displayed. He seemed like someone willing to exploit other's pain to get a sensational story of What HASN'T been done. It was a cheap shot.

Becase Mayor Nagin asserted himself and didn't let Byron Pitts ask ignorant questions with out anykind of reply he is wrong??? Yet, the media can pick at him all day...Come on. Get a grip. It HAS been FIVE years since 9/11.

These are POOR people who can't get back to their areas to collect memories and valuables. Look at the ENTIRE picture before you sit back and DECIDE YOU have ALL the answers, as YOU Always DO...and then decide to spoon feed us your (UN)common sense.

[zalud1234]

I didn't see the newscast last evening, however the statements that the mayor of New Orleans made last yr after the hurricane and now yesterday may have really stopped the great people of America from helping that city. Didn't he ever learn that you should think before you speak?

[freedomrox]

This was a very disturbing case of complete non-journalism.

The reporter was so so obviously gunning for Nagin before the first camera rolled, and he conducted the entire interview with a VERY condescending tone.

What happened to JOURNALISM? This was a personality piece, and by someone who obviously did not have any civil respect for the subject.

Where is the reporting on what REALLY caused New Orleans to drown?

The Army Corps built the levees improperly - THAT is the story, and they happened to break on Ray Nagin's watch.

And the real continuing story is how much corruption and gouging is happening RIGHT NOW, but no, let's focus on when Ray Nagin ordered the city evacuated, even though he ordered an evacuation AT ALL is what is historic.

The shameless use of the "hole in the ground" quotation as a promotional device also belies the intent of this piece - to make Ray Nagin look bad, period.

As far as Nagin's provocative statements go, as far as I can tell, those are the only times anyone seems to listen. So I say, good for you Ray Nagin - keep fighting the good fight!

[tammyn2]

4. If every news agency in the country was reporting before the hurricane that there was the potential for flooding the entire city of New Orleans, you had warning, if the rest of the country knew what could happen, there is no excuse for you not to know, don't you have a television?

That "hole in the ground" as you called it was not only the site of two of the largest buildings in the world, but housed beneath it a massive transportation hub, and power and phone connections which serviced areas far from the site. No excuses have been made, because none needed to be made, the city of New York can and should be proud of the way they handled 9/11 and the recovery.

You can take no credit at all for the rebuilding of the levys, the Army Corps of Engineers did that. Katrina did not come out of a clear blue sky, the planes that hit the WTC did. Do yourself and New Orleans a favor, keep you mouth closed and get to work, your constituents deserve better than what you have given them. The people of New York don't need to hear your ignorant comments, you could learn a lot from the way they handled things.

[tammyn2]

2. There was no warning on 9/11, it happened and within minutes, not hours, volunteers were on the scene helping one another. Fire companies from across the river were on their way, ferry captains were evacuating people and civilians were helping the wounded. No one waited for authorization, they just did what needed to be done.
3. Permission from homeowners to clean up, a year later? are you kidding, the WTC is private property, government has the responsibility to clean up unsafe conditions, automobiles and private property were removed from the streets of New York in days and weeks, not months.