Today is the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina’s landfall on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. It’s two years after what is now being called the greatest natural disaster to ever hit the U.S.
While Winnie and I were among the lucky ones, August 29, 2005 was still traumatic. In fact, I can honestly state it’s taken this long for me to personally sort things out and take stock of how our lives have changed these past two years.
My story is dedicated to the tens of thousands of people who were impacted so much worse, and lost so much more, than Winnie and I.
In this narrative I have attempted to describe the personal impact hurricane Katrina had on me and my immediate friends and family. I start with the weeks leading up to the storm, describe the day it hit, and then the long year after attempting to rebuild my home and my life.
Some photos are included in this story, for more please go to our Katrina Photo Gallery. This hurricane was a major Life-Altering Event for everyone who experienced it. This article and the small collection of photos are published in the hopes that people not directly involved will appreciate the significance of this event.
Today is the one year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. On this one-year anniversary, everyone here is nervously watching another potential hurricane move north hoping it hits someplace where FEMA parks don’t exist.
I’ve been trying to put into diary the gauntlet of emotions I’ve experienced these past months in dealing with the aftermath of Katrina. Over the past few days, reading about people being evicted from FEMA hotel housing, and reading DKossian comments along the themes of “Katrina Welfare Queens,” I decided I needed to write this all out.
From today’s edition of our local Knight-Ridder newspaper The Sun Herald comes this timely front page editorial MISSISSIPPI’S INVISIBLE COAST
The editorial’s lede:
My wife and I have been busy these past few weeks trying to close in our house with insulation, drywall, and new windows before cold weather sets in. I realize for most people reading this, 60 degree weather doesn’t seem very cold, but down here on the coast it does mean winter. Warm weather is the trade-off we have for putting up with hurricanes – which until two months ago seemed like a decent trade.
I’m picking up some rather interesting feelers concerning the pending economic impact from hurricane Katrina. None of my feelers is good news for the Gulf Coast, and I do believe there will be a negative national impact, despite what bu$hco is claiming.
It’s been 26 days since Katrina blew through the Gulf Coast and the patterns of life here have changed. Physically; the difference can be seen in the ever-present mountains of debris, shattered buildings, Military vehicles and service people everywhere one looks. But there is also a different feel in the air from the way people move and talk; the things that we consider important now and the things that demand our time.
Editor’s Note: This is a commentary on my impressions of initial relief efforts and response by FEMA, the Red Cross, and National Guard. I wrote it about Saturday, September 17, 2005, but did not publish it at the time. It appears here on-line for the first time.
Some commentary on the response time by emergency crews after the storm passed.
Katrina Report – Democrats Screw Up Again
One on-going commentary I read is that the Democratic Party never misses an opportunity to miss an opportunity. Well, with the on-going cleanup and relief efforts for Hurricane Katrina, I see the Democratic party missing an opportunity.
Hurricane Katrina Diaries Opinions & Commentary
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