first week in Baton Rouge

I've been working in the FEMA Joint Field Office in Baton Rouge for three days now, and loving it. There are more than 2,600 people working in this two building complex that was once a department store. Apparently my “desk” is in housewares.

Just walking through the doors gives a sense of the scope of the response and recovery operation. There was a wide area impacted by the hurricanes, and so many people in need of assistance.

Thus far, the work has been constant, and generally worthwhile. I think I'll be able to get into the field soon for a ride along with the debris removal teams. That's just one of the many facets of this operation that I hadn't considered: What to do with all the trash created by these storms. Collecting, sorting, and destroying millions of tons of waste in an environmentally sound way is an enormous challenge. And it's only one element of the overall operation.

A fair number of the workers here are local hires, native Louisiana chipping in. What is compelling about their efforts is that many of them are victims as well. A woman on my team just said, "since my town was destroyed..." Dozens of small communities have been wiped off the map. As the debate rages here on the rebuilding of New Orleans, I wonder about the fate of these smaller communities, particularly since many evacuees have not yet returned to inspect the destruction.

I'm having some technical issues preventing me from putting up photos, but hopefully that'll be resolved soon.