Bernard Smith and Katy Reckdahl on the men trapped in the Orleans Parish Prison and Broad Street Bridge in the wake of the levee breaches after Hurricane Katrina that flooded New Orleans.

A mix of chemicals released by the explosion are being carried by the Tangipahoa River and could enter the local food chain, ...

About The Lens The Lens aims to engage and empower the residents of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. We provide the information and analysis necessary to advocate for more accountable and just ...

The 2005 abandonment of incarcerated people within the flooded Orleans Parish jail complex became one of the catalysts to reform the city’s dysfunctional justice system ...

Inspired by the floodwaters after Katrina and the birth of his son, photographer Gus Bennett created a new photography series ...

There’s something full circle about our Katrina baby protecting swimmers in the Lower 9th Ward from deep water.,” Lens editor Katy Reckdahl writes in an essay about the city and her son, who was born ...

More News About the Lens The Lens aims to engage and empower the residents of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. We provide the information and analysis necessary to advocate for more accountable and ...

As the Trump administration hobbles FEMA, experts warn the agency is backsliding towards the same failures seen after New Orleans’ levees failed.