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W e d n e s d ay, Au g u s t 27, 2025
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STAFF FILE PHOTO BY TED JACKSON
Palm trees bend and banners rip on Canal Street as Hurricane Katrina blows through New Orleans on Aug. 29, 2005.
The stories of two people who made big impacts after Hurricane Katrina Junior Rodriguez left the hospital to help with Katrina recovery. His daughter tells his story.
Lessons learned by Laura Maloney, SPCA, changed animal rescue in disasters
BY EVA JACOB BARKOFF Contributing writer
BY EVA JACOB BARKOFF
Like most people who lived in St. Bernard Parish in late August 2005, Rhonda Hannan has a story to tell: an evacuation, a return three weeks after Hurricane Katrina to a rented home in Arabi that had taken on 10 feet of water, rebuilding in Meraux. But she has another, unique story to share as well. It’s about the dedication of her father, Henry “Junior” Rodriguez, who was elected St. Bernard Parish president only a year before. Shortly before the hurricane, which blew through on Aug. 29, 2005, Rodriguez had taken a leave of absence as parish president to have gall bladder surgery. While he was recovering, Rodriguez took an unexpected turn for the worse. “My mother, Evelyn, and I took a break from the hospital to get something to eat and suddenly, the hospital called,” Hannan
Contributing writer
Rescuing animals and reuniting them with their owners in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina was an arduous mission for the Louisiana SPCA staff and its volunteers, but a lot of good came from a terrible situation. “Katrina caught everyone off guard,” recalled Laura Maloney, PROVIDED PHOTO CEO of the shelter at the time the Laura Maloney, seen in the days storm hit on Aug. 29, 2005. “The after Katrina while she was the storm wasn’t supposed to hit New Orleans, and when it turned only head of the Louisiana SPCA. days before, there was very little time for anyone to prepare. At that those days, however, have brought time, no one in the country truly changes to state evacuation policies had that kind of experience.” ä See MALONEY, page 2G The trials and tribulations of
STAFF FILE PHOTO BY CHRIS GRANGER
St. Bernard Parish President Henry ‘Junior’ Rodriguez, left, talks with residents about communicating evacuation orders Oct. 17, ä See RODRIGUEZ, page 2G 2005.
Remembering Katrina: Metrowide events recall the crisis and recovery, and look to the future The events of Aug. 29, 2005, and their aftereffects are seared into our collective memory. To mark the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, events both unusual and traditional are continuing into September. From screenings and concerts to book readings and second lines, metro-area residents will gather to remember and reflect.
For city of New Orleans events, see katrina20.nola.gov.
AUG. 27 TURNING THE TIDE: WEATHERING KATRINA: Journalists from The Times-Picayune who stayed in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina
will talk about what it was like at a panel discussion on Aug. 27, 5:307:30 p.m., at the Tidewater Building Auditorium, 1440 Canal St. in New Orleans. The Times-Picayune won two Pulitzer Prizes in 2006 for its coverage of the hurricane and its aftermath, including a gold medal for meritorious public service. Also, the exhibit, “Operation Dream: A Future-
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in her book, “Words Whispered in Water,” on Aug. 27, 6-8 p.m., at Octavia Books, 513 Octavia St. in New Orleans. www.octaviabooks.com. ‘WOMEN OF THE STORM’: A screening will be held on Aug. 27, 6-8 p.m., at the Prytania Theatre, 5339 Prytania St. in New Orleans, of the 2015 documentary film that
ä See KATRINA, page 2G
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spective for New Orleans, Another 20 Years Post-Katrina,” is on display through Nov. 7 in the Diboll Gallery, adjacent to the auditorium. DISCUSSION WITH SANDY ROSENTHAL: Sandy Rosenthal, founder of Levees.Org, will share how she exposed the Army Corps of Engineers’ role in the levee failures after Katrina, an experience she details
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