Collection

David Sarma, Lakeview.

David and Lisa Sarma, early 1980s in backyard.

Lakeview was the second most damaged area of New Orleans, after the Lower Ninth Ward. Storm surge crushed the floodwalls of the 17th Street Canal and inundated the neighborhood in a matter of minutes, uprooting trees, and even completely washing away some houses upon impact. Some areas received as much as fourteen feet of floodwater. Fortunately, most of the residents had the means to escape the city before the storm came ashore, but their homes were not so lucky.

Most people say that they will repair and restore their homes and try as hard as possible to rebuild their lives just as they were pre-Katrina. But the majority of houses are still unoccupied, many still filled with flood trashed possessions and infestations of mold.