Katrina was unlike anything we had ever seen. Everyone knows the story of New Orleans, but what’s often forgotten is how Mississippi and the rest of Louisiana were devastated too. By the time Katrina reached where I lived, she had weakened to a Category 1 hurricane—but she was still fierce. Our reservoir churned with 14-foot waves, and we were without power for two weeks. Even then, we considered ourselves lucky compared to the people to our south, who endured unimaginable loss.
We must never forget what happened in New Orleans. The people there were failed. And we must also remember the many others Katrina touched—their lives, too, were forever changed.
Below is an excerpt from my blog, written on August 28, 2005.
Katrina is on her way
AP - 1 hour, 11 minutes ago
NEW ORLEANS - Mayor Ray Nagin ordered an immediate evacuation Sunday for all of New Orleans, a city sitting below sea level with 485,000 inhabitants, as Hurricane Katrina bore down with wind revved up to nearly 175 mph and a threat of a massive storm surge. Acknowledging that large numbers of people, many of them stranded tourists, would be unable to leave, the city set up 10 places of last resort including the Superdome arena. "This is a once in a lifetime event," the mayor said. "The city of New Orleans has never seen a hurricane of this magnitude hit it directly." From Yahoo
This is going to be bad, I hope all my friends in NO and the Coast are Hitailing it out!! My thoughts are with you all!!!!
I can still vividly recall standing in the middle of my street, surrounded by darkness. The sky was full of stars, and the only sound was the low, steady hum of generators.
