Zeitoun: Part 1: Sunday August 28 Summary & Analysis

Kathy wakes up before dawn and turns on the TV to see that Katrina is heading directly for New Orleans and expected to arrive that night. That day, clients call Kathy and Zeitoun to ask them to secure their windows and doors. Zeitoun and one of his carpenters drive around the city from job to job. That morning, Mayor Nagin orders the city’s first-ever mandatory evacuation, but Zeitoun still doesn’t plan to leave.

In Baton Rouge, there are high winds and black skies, and the power goes out by evening. Kathy tries to call Zeitoun but can’t reach him, so she assumes the lines are down. At home in New Orleans, Zeitoun tries to assess what the damage might be—he assumes there might be leaks and a few broken windows, but he is optimistic, determined to protect his home. Still, the levees are meant to hold back 14 feet of water, and the storm surges in the Gulf are now 19 or 20 feet.

Zeitoun manages to call Kathy that evening to tell her that there are only strong winds so far. The storm arrives not long after, with rain in sheets and swirling winds. The leaks begin late that night, and a window breaks just after 3:00. The house creaks and strains under the assault. Before dawn, it occurs to Zeitoun that a flood isn’t impossible, so he drags his secondhand canoe from the garage and ties it next to the house.

Zeitoun had bought the canoe, an old aluminum model, from a client a few years before for 75 dollars. He had been intrigued by the 16-foot-long canoe, which seemed associated with escape and exploration. At home, Kathy had shaken her head at her husband, but knew that it wouldn’t hurt to keep it in the garage as a connection to her husband’s seafaring past. A few times Zeitoun had tried to teach his daughters to row on Bayou St. John, but they were not interested.