My nephews home and business was in the French Quarter. Rather I should say the business he worked for. He said he rode out the hurricane alright with just damage to windows and doors. He could not get himself and the couple he helped evacuated before the storm due to no transportation. He... like many others did not want to go to the dome because of past issues there. My newphew works for a famous class studio called Pilchuk which is in Washington state. Every summer there are workshops for artists from all of the world. One of those artist has a school and studio in the French Quarter. My nephew was the only one of the group at the facility in New Orleans when the storm hit. He left hundreds of thousands in glass art. Who knows what will happen to all of it now.