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Opalesque Exclusive: Finding liquidity after the flood: How hedge funds helped in New Orleans, Pension fund to increase hedge fund allocation, interested in European managers Matthias Knab reports live form the World Hedge Funds Summit in Toronto: Jerome Davis, a trustee of the City of New Orleans Retirement System explained that before the flood, the city had a population of 400,000 population. Apart from being in the hurricane zone, the city’s weak point is that the average elevation is minus 3 to minus 6 feet.

On Aug, 27th 2005, the city Mayor told the residents to evacuate the city. He said the ones who decided to stay in the city should write their social security number on their arms so that they can be identified by those who would return to the city after the storm. Aug 30th, the hurricane Katrina hit the city with 130mph and a storm surge of 27 feet. 125,000 home flooded or swept away, and 20,000 people were stranded. In the aftermath from Sept. 1 to 3rd, Coast Guard rescued 7100 people in 48 hours, there was widespread looting, and people were dying in hospitals that could not operate any more. The storm left 125,000 abandoned cars and 150,000 refrigerators clogging the streets, and 12 million tons of storm debris. All along the coast, the fishery industry was devastated with virtually all boats destroyed.

Even now, the city population still down to less than half what is was before the storm. 3000 city employees were laid off; the city is left......................

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