Mississippi Gulf Coast – post Katrina

August 19, 2006

I traveled to the Mississippi Gulf Coast in April ’06, six months after hurricane Katrina just to see what it was like and how everyone was doing. I’d seen the aftermath of hurricane Camille on the same area in ’69, Andrew on S FL in ’92, seen the photos of Katrina flooding in New Orleans, plus personally having been in numerous less famous hurricanes. But nothing prepared me for the absolute devastation caused by a 30-40’ storm surge. There are towns like Waveland with no houses left. Places like Pass Christian that I remember having antebellum houses fronting the ocean that were now just stone door steps and slabs. Massive casinos and buildings reduced to piles of rubble. And an unimaginable number of FEMA trailers. There were areas with a small fraction of the original population.

The personal toll on the survivors who remained was the most significant. I met people who once lived in friendly neighborhoods where their FEMA trailer was now the only structure on their street. And half the other lots had "for sale" signs out front. These people are surviving in places with not only a lack of housing and few neighbors but also with few stores, jobs, or infrastructure to support them.

I returned in August and sought out some of the people I had met in April. Some were rebuilding. Some were still struggling with government and insurance companies. Some had finally thrown in the towel as no trace could be found.

I felt that I was not able to really visually capture the true impact of this storm on these people. Hopefully these will serve as some indication.