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Hurricane Archive

Collecting and Preserving the Stories of Katrina and Rita

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The Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media (CHNM) at George Mason University and the University of New Orleans organized the Hurricane Digital Memory Bank (HDMB) in 2005 in partnership with many national and Gulf Coast area organizations and individuals. HDMB was awarded the Award of Merit for Leadership in History, and is the largest free public archive of Katrina and Rita with over 25,000 items in the collection. Read More.

Items (29 total)

This is a song I wrote shortly after Katrina. I arrived here approximately two weeks after Katrina hit and have been here ever since. My music is the majority of the reason I stayed, and the unique culture that supports…

This is a photo of myself playing music at a church in the Lower 9th Ward. My music is the main reason I stayed in this area after the recovery and relief efforts were no longer needed.

Hurricane Katrina came through South Florida where I lived at the time as a strong Category Two, killed four people and filled both of my trailers with water. I was at a Red Cross shelter helping with ham radio at the…

A humorous song about spending time in the French Quarter, written and performed by Phil Melancon.

\"Cafe du Monde\"

A song about living in Louisiana.

Phil Melancon writes many children\'s songs like this one.

Phil wrote and continues to write numerous songs for children like this one.

\"I Love Nachos\"

After graduating high school, Phil earned his undergraduate degree in Elementary Education. He taught in Jefferson Parish for twenty years. During that time he established Gifted and Talented programs in numerous…

Phil as a Teacher

An instrumental song Phil Melancon wrote for a documentary a few years ago.

Phil decided to stay during Katrina because he \"lived in Uptown, you know, it\'s high ground.\" He also felt like he needed to stay behind to watch over the condominiums he was managing at the time. So he stayed. …