Katrina refrigerator

Katrina refrigerators are the many refrigerators that were destroyed or rendered unusable during Hurricane Katrina, and later, Hurricane Ike, and their aftermath. Many were made into temporary folk art.

During the August 2005 and September 2008 storms, much of the Gulf Coast Region and almost the entire Metro New Orleans Area was forced to evacuate for several weeks, as local governments re-established basic infrastructure for electricity and water. Some residents emptied their refrigerators before they evacuated. However, most residents in the region did not know that they would lose power for weeks, or that they would be unable to return home until a month or more later.

When they returned, they found that their refrigerators were filled with decomposing food. This food was so toxic that it melted plastic, corroded metal, and dissolved rubber refrigerator liners. Even residents who suffered no flood damage lost their refrigerators in this way. Residents took photographs of their destroyed refrigerators for the insurance companies, taped the doors shut, and carried them out of their homes as soon as possible.

However, the destruction throughout the region was so extensive that garbage collection was not fully restored for many weeks. Local government officials required residents to separate their garbage into daily trash, construction debris (insulation, carpeting, sheet rock), organic debris (grass clippings, fallen branches, fallen trees), and electronic appliances. Refrigerators were assigned their own specific pickup date, and were considered too hazardous to be mixed with other storm debris. Only waste collectors trained in the handling of hazardous materials and armed with special equipment and hazmat suits were assigned the task of collecting refrigerators.

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Wikipedia