By Mark McConville
HAUNTING pictures show what remains of a New Orleans hospital that was decimated by Hurricane Katrina and left to rot.
The eerie images show equipment and supplies that were left behind as people evacuated and fled in fear of the incoming hurricane in August 2005.
Other shots show the damage the hospital endured during the disaster and the subsequent flood, with paint left peeling from the walls.
The snaps were taken at the Charity Hospital in New Orleans by American photographer Jeff Hagerman from Atlanta, Georgia.
“This is a unique type of abandonment that’s been evacuated due to an emergency, much like the disasters in Ukraine and Japan, where everything just had to be left behind,” he said.
“Full of equipment and supplies, the hospital is finally slated for a clean-up. It makes me wonder if and when there will be another place like it here in the US.
“I just don’t want these places to be forgotten – especially this place. Charity Hospital (not this building) goes back to the early 1700’s. Before long, all that’s left will be our pictures.”
Charity Hospital was a teaching hospital before disaster struck. Rather than reopen the hospital its services were carried out at the renovated University hospital until a new centre opened in August 2015, the University Medical Center New Orleans, incorporating both hospitals.
Jeff said in the hurry to evacuate everything had to be left behind.
“Most people are blown away by the amount of stuff left there, not realising there’s not much you can do with all that stuff when there’s a category five hurricane coming your way,” he said.
“I’m sure the majority of it is water-damaged, and now after eleven years, everything is out-dated anyway.
“People are also surprised at what was actually left at the place too. There are body parts in jars, microscope slides, medical records – everything.”
Hurricane Katrina was the costliest natural disaster in the history of the United States.
The hurricane caused severe damage along the Gulf coast from central Florida to Texas.
‘The Big Easy’ New Orleans was hit the hardest and the city continues its recovery eleven years on.
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