I had the chance to make a quick trip to my former hometown of Gautier, Mississippi, this past week. It was a quick 6 hour visit made on the spur of the moment while in New Orleans, Louisiana, on a business trip. Although it felt good to be back in my former home town even for a short while and visit with old friends, I also felt a small bit melancholy.
Tag: <span>Gulf Coast</span>
![NOAA Satellite Image of Hurricane Katrina making landfall on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.](https://charest.net/wp-content/uploads/2006/09/hurricane-katrina-noaa-image.jpg)
I want to address the issue of why people (why I) did not evacuate prior to the storm.
My reason for not evacuating prior to Katrina making landfall is simple: I did not believe the officials who were telling us to evacuate.
![NOAA Satellite Image of Hurricane Katrina making landfall on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.](https://charest.net/wp-content/uploads/2006/09/hurricane-katrina-noaa-image.jpg)
My storm-related excitement on Monday, August 29 didn’t actually end with seeing my flooded house. My wife and I had spent the storm with three other families; each family owned a home in the general area. Monday afternoon, after the winds subsided enough to drive, we carpooled in the one vehicle still running to check out the other three houses.
![NOAA Satellite Image of Hurricane Katrina making landfall on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.](https://charest.net/wp-content/uploads/2006/09/hurricane-katrina-noaa-image.jpg)
Although Hurricane Katrina was almost three weeks ago, it is not old news for those of us living here on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. This is the first time I have had enough online time to actually post a diary since the storm passed through. Here is my diary account of hurricane Katrina as seen from Gautier, Mississippi, August 28/29, 2005.