How Hurricane Katrina affected an Atherton resident How Hurricane Katrina affected an Atherton resident (September 14, 2005)

By David Boyce

Almanac Staff Writer

The destruction wrought by Hurricane Katrina has a particular significance for Atherton resident Lori Nawn, a New Orleans native whose relatives -- about 30 all told -- still live there.

All her relatives have been displaced; about half don't have homes to return to. Three who live in St. Bernard parish will live with her family for a time, including a cousin who will attend Sacred Heart Preparatory High School as a junior.

The Almanac spoke with Ms. Nawn, 47, and asked her to reflect on the fate of her hometown.

"It's difficult to watch the place you grew up in in such disarray," she said. "Unlike most tragedies, in which you can call upon the people you know and love to help you, all the support mechanisms have fallen apart.

"Through the kindness and generosity of strangers, we're starting to put the pieces back together," she said.

Asked about the future of New Orleans, Ms. Nawn said: "I'd like to think it will come back better, smaller but better."

And its unique spirit? "I think that is almost genetic. The people are down and out, but there is a very hard-core contingent that will never live anywhere else."

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