A Spin of Events
- Nigel Palmer
- Feb 14, 2017
- 2 min read
As the tornado withered and the rain stopped, hundreds of families were left without power and some without a home. On Tuesday, February 7, a tornado struck New Orleans East, devastating a predominantly black neighborhood that was already struggling to revover from Hurricane Katrina.
Homeowners like Katrina Green are optimistic about the rebuild because it’s bringing the community together. When Green was a child growing up in Uptown New Orleans, she always dreamed of living in the East. “The community I live in is peaceful and there is rarely any crime around here. I raised all of my children here with no problem,” she said.
As a single parent and native of New Orleans, Green had to prepare for hurricanes often. She had her evacuation plans set and was ready to hit the road on a moment's notice. But what was Green to do when the unexpected tornado damaged her house and her neighborhood. In the past seven years, Orleans Parish has experienced a total of zero tornadoes.
“I didn’t expect the tornado to do that much damage because I personally haven’t experienced it. A windstorm yeah, but not a tornado,” Green said.
The tornado caved in Green’s roof, which damaged multiple bedrooms and the electrical wiring of the house. “It’s a blessing in disguise, my insurance will cover the damage and the community can work together to rebuild,” Green said.
Although disasters are known to bring out instances of brutal hijacking, rioting, and looting in New Orleans, after the tornado there have been high reports of altruism, cooperativeness, and camaraderie among the community. And this is exactly the spirit that this storm triggered.
On Sunday, Feb. 12, in New Orleans East the Women of Grace held a potluck for members of the community who needed a hot meal to help get them through the day. The Women of Grace is an organization founded by Elder Shalonda Johnson in 2015. The organization's goal is to bring women together so they can give back and nurture the community. “We know how it feels to be in this position," Johnson said. "When I was a victim of the flood of Baton Rouge, it was people from those communities whose house didn’t flood who fed us.”
These acts of kindness were seen throughout the city following the tornado. Domino's Pizza on Read Boulevard donated pizza to first responders and tornado victims. This isn’t the first time Domino's has given away pizza to the public after a disaster. In 2010, Dominoes gave free pizza to tornado victims in Albertville, Ala., to show their support for the community.
The Beta Iota Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., collected water at Xavier University on Thursday and Friday for people affected by the tornadoes this past Tuesday. “It our civic duty as citizens of New Orleans and as future leaders to help
out when the situation is as dire as a tornado or any other disaster,” said Kylar Wiltz, a member of the Beta Iota Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi.
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