After the flooding and destruction that accompanied Hurricane Katrina in 2005, life on the Gulf Coast was beginning to feel normal again. Then on April 20, the explosion of a BP rig called Deepwater Horizon caused a gusher of more than 200 million gallons of crude barely 50 miles off the Mississippi Delta.
The spill and cleanup efforts threatened local economies dependent on the waters of the Gulf from Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle.
As residents attempt to adjust to new challenges, lives and livelihoods are on hold.
Six staffers of The Ranger, who traveled across the South Aug. 14-21 as the JSchool Travels, collected these stories. They are the first in a continuing series detailing life after the spill.
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Stories from the Sept. 10 issue of The Ranger
Across New Orleans, “for sale” signs, abandoned homes and schools line the streets. Renovated homes sit next to empty lots and houses left in ruins by flooding after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
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Evera Solomon, 61, has lived in a 240-square-foot trailer parked in the driveway of her home for the past five years.
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P&J Oyster Company sits in the business district of downtown New Orleans in the historic French Quarter.
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French Quarter po’boy shop struggling without local favorite.
Johnny’s Po-Boys is a little restaurant at 511 St. Louis St. in the French Quarter that could easily be missed by a tourist.
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Five years ago, New Orleans suffered the most extensive damage in history to an American city, its people and culture.
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Groups of immigrant laborers crowd the sidewalks along Elysian Fields not far north of the French Quarter.
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On a busy Saturday night in the heart of the French Quarter, tourists and party people parade along Bourbon Street and spill onto side streets carrying fishbowl-sized cocktails.
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One provider says BP compensation checks will not be enough.
The fear of tainted seafood is affecting more than restaurant menus in the Big Easy.
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Stories from the Sept. 17 issue of The Ranger
Fetterman worries Gulf shores will be ignored like Hurricane Katrina areas.
Ben Fetterman planned to document his experience as a volunteer cleaning up oil along the Gulf shores.
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Scientists are researching sea turtles to see if oil is keeping them from laying eggs.
Turtles have been scarce this summer, and scientists at the George F. Crozier Estuarium at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab do not understand why.
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Donations will rebuild habitats.
Oiled birds and turtles have been found on beaches along the Gulf in Louisiana and Mississippi. The animals that survive are taken to rehab centers for cleanup and recovery before being released into a safe environment.
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Stories from the Sept. 24 issue of The Ranger
Business has slowed for tourism hot spots along the Gulf Coast. A once-booming industry is faltering, this time not because of a hurricane but because a crisis that attracted swarms of national media.
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A remote stretch of land 14 miles long and about two miles wide is home to about 1,300 permanent residents and the Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo.
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Stories from the Oct. 8 issue of The Ranger
The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 was a move by the U.S. Congress to improve oil cleanup response time. The Marine Spill Response Corp., headquartered in Herndon, Va., is a product of that legislation.
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Beach-goers relax and play along the shore, oblivious to BP oil cleanup crews a few feet away. This is the new reality.
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Lives and Livelihoods on the Gulf Coast from Journalism Program on Vimeo.
