As a result of the destruction caused by Hurrican Katrina there will be no permanent change of station moves to NSA New Orleans or to any unit at NSA or in the vicinity through 31 December 2005.
Family members will be allowed to return as soon as it is safe to do so, however, everyone should give the decision to return thoughtful consideration.
Despite the impression given by news reports that destruction of housing is nearly total, some residents will find that their homes are relatively, or even completely, undamaged. Yet even the fortunate few would be returning to an area where there has been massive and long-term damage to the physical and civic infrastructure, which will affect everyone's daily life for some time to come. For example:
- Public schools in St. Bernard Parish are closed until September 2006. It's too early to say definitely, but it seems likely that some facilities will not re-open for more than a year. In addition, many private schools were damaged and some will not re-open soon.
- Many businesses have been destroyed and some will never be able to re-open. Many other former employers, although less damaged, still face large immediate financial losses and reduced revenue in the near future. Some will fail.
- Recent experiences with recovery after hurricanes in Florida showed a great increase in the frequency and number of serious accidents among both workers and people cleaning up in and around their homes. Yet there has been a significant reduction in the overall ability to respond to medical emergencies. The large civilian hospitals are damaged and many of their staff members are still evacuatees. At this writing only one of four hospitals in the city of New Orleans is open.
At the same time, undoubtedly some private schools will find ways to meet additional demand and some home-school support organizations will creatively increase their support. In addition, many businesses will probably expand rapidly due to the enormous increase in construction and re-construction, and there may even be labor shortages in some fields. Enormous resources are being poured into the task of restoring emergency medical services. When the Services allow families to return it will mean that housing is available and reasonably secure, so we're not saying "Stay away!" -- just that you should make a well-informed decision.
Your situation will be different in some significant way(s) from that of others. Be sure that you have as much reliable, current information that is relevant to your family's circumstances as possible.
NOTE
The remainder of this file contains pre-Katrina information that is no longer relevant, and some of which will not be accurate when things return to normal. That information will be changed as the recovery develops.