Editing St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana (section)

===Hurricane Katrina, 2005===
{{See also|Murphy Oil USA refinery spill}}
[[File:StBernardInvoluntaryDemolishCloseupJudgePerez.jpg|thumb|right|"Involuntary Demolition" notice, posted on buildings in St. Bernard Parish when there has been no significant effort to gut, secure, or repair the building over a year after Hurricane Katrina.]]

On August 29, 2005, St. Bernard was devastated by [[Hurricane Katrina]]. The storm damaged virtually every structure in the parish. The eye of Katrina passed over the eastern portion of the parish, pushing a {{convert|25|ft|m|adj=on}} [[storm surge]] into the [[Mississippi River Gulf Outlet]] ("MRGO"). This surge destroyed the parish levees. Almost the entire parish was flooded, with most areas left with between 5 and 15 feet ({{convert|5|-|15|ft|m|disp=out}}) of standing water. The water rose suddenly and violently, during a period which witnesses reported as no more than fifteen minutes. In many areas, houses were smashed or washed off their foundations by a storm surge higher than the roofs.

For more than two months after the storm, much of the parish remained without proper services, including electricity, water, and sewage. Parish President [[Junior Rodriguez|Henry "Junior" Rodriguez]] declared all of the parish's homes unlivable. [[Emergency Communities]] offered one reason for hope in the first year after Hurricane Katrina. In the parking lot of a destroyed off-track betting parlor, EC built the Made with Love Cafe and Grill, a free kitchen and community center serving 1500 meals per day. Made with Love, housed in a [[geodesic dome]], also offered food and clothing distribution, and emotionally supportive volunteers. Upon leaving, EC has offered logistical support for the founding of a new long-term [[Community Center of St Bernard]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ccstb.org |title=is almost here! |publisher=Ccstb.org |date= |accessdate=November 19, 2021}}</ref>

As of late November 2005, it was estimated that the Parish had some 7,000 full-time residents, with some 20,000 commuting to spend the day working, cleaning up, or salvaging in the parish and spending their nights elsewhere. By mid-December some businesses had returned to the Parish, most notably the [[ExxonMobil]] plant in [[Chalmette, Louisiana|Chalmette]] and the [[Domino Sugar]] plant in [[Arabi, Louisiana|Arabi]], together with a handful of small local stores and businesses.

At the start of January 2006, it was estimated that some 8,000 people were living in the Parish. The H.O.P.E. Project, a collective of volunteer relief workers, founded itself in January 2006 in the empty shell of the Corinne Missionary Baptist Church in Violet, LA, providing the tools for rebuilding and community empowerment. Since June 2006, [[Camp Hope]], located in Arabi, has been housing volunteers' assisting residents of St. Bernard Parish in their recovery from Hurricane Katrina. A grassroots organization, the [[St. Bernard Project]], opened in March 2006. A fully volunteer-run organization funded by the United Way, they help residents get back into their homes by working on the houses, providing tools, support and where possible, funding.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.stbernardproject.org| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060613061330/http://www.stbernardproject.org/| archive-date = June 13, 2006| title = St Bernard Louisiana -Katrina Relief -New Orleans Volunteer}}</ref>

As of October 2006, the population was estimated to be 25,489.<ref>{{cite web |title = New Orleans population still cut by more than half |date=November 29, 2006 |publisher=Reuters |url=http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N29357330.htm |access-date=December 6, 2006 }}</ref> After population losses due to Hurricane Katrina, the school was reopened for elementary grades for the 2006–2007 school year.