In pictures: Picking up the pieces

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John Pagano is just one of thousands of people returning to St Bernard's Parish, one month after it was completely flooded by Hurricane Katrina.

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The house where John and his wife, Louise, lived for 27 years has been reduced to this. Everything they own was smashed and destroyed by the water, which reached the roof.

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Louise is searching the wreckage for her ornaments and photographs, sentimental items she knows she cannot replace.

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Just a few doors down the street, the couple's daughter-in-law, Tammie, is doing the same. Standing in what remains of her kitchen, she says it is hard to know where to begin.

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Theirs was a tight-knit neighbourhood. Tammie and her husband, Johnny, always left this key on their front window sill so neighbours could let themselves in whenever they wanted. Amazingly, when they returned after the flood, the key was still there.

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Tammie is keen to return to the neighbourhood as soon as possible, but Johnny is concerned that the level of devastation is such that St Bernard's Parish will never be able to get back on its feet.

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Religion plays a big part in this largely Catholic community. Like many, Toni Mistretta-Gass had a statue of the Virgin Mary in her front garden. She says that those belonging to her and her family remained standing and intact, when everything else had been destroyed.

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Toni says that she takes great solace from these small miracles - that and the discovery this week that her daughter-in-law is expecting her first child.

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Mould covers every wall in every room, testament to the height of the flooding. It leaves the buildings damp and reeking.

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Anything that can be saved is dragged out into the garden. Toni was keen to retrieve her collection of plates illustrated with scenes from the film Gone With the Wind.

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Angel Chevolleau examines her children's christening dresses, helped by her mother, Candy. Angel said she and her husband, Leroy, had already saved their most precious possession, a cross which had sat on the coffin of their son, Leroy, who died in infancy.

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Like the rest of the house, their daughter Tiffany's room now lies in ruins.

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Fortunately none of the residents on this street died in the flood, although this mannequin ended up on John and Louisa's lawn, prompting initial fears that it was a body. Tammie jokes that it is guarding the house against looters.

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But while the people may be alive, the fact that some have been forced to seek refuge in far flung places makes them fear that the community spirit that makes up St Bernard's Parish may not survive.

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In pictures: New Orleans: Sites of recovery

One month after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, we chart the changes.

The Superdome served as shelter for hundreds of victims. There were scenes of chaos both inside and out. Structural engineers will soon make a decision on its future.

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The Superdome came under the media spotlight after survivors spoke of rapes, murders and suicides taking place inside. The debris that remained has gone following a huge clean-up operation.

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Canal Street runs through the heart of the city ending at the Mississippi River. Some people had to wade through flood waters to evacuate but the street is now dry with contractors working round the clock to restore it to order.

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Many neighbourhoods, such as St Bernard's Parish, were devastated by Katrina and although the floodwaters have receded the clean-up operation has yet to start.

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New Orleans Convention Centre served as another shelter for the stranded. Outside the clean-up has finished but inside it has just begun.

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The 17th Street canal levee was broken by surging waters from Lake Pontchartrain. Many houses which sustained little damage in the winds were either swept away or flooded. Helicopters have dropped sandbags to plug the breach.