In The Four Years Since Katrina...

[Ixolib]

I realize a thread already exists on the birth of Katrina, but I felt it fitting to begin one on her anniversary to offer those impacted a place to vent and/or comment on their story. Here's mine – but it's content is really only one blink of the eye...

In my case, Katrina was surely and absolutely a life-changing event, and I'm sure I'll never be able to put truly into words her impact on me and my family. In the shortest words possible, Katrina changed our lives so completely that I now consider my 53 years on this earth as those "before Katrina" and those "after Katrina". As I sit here this evening thinking about that time exactly four years ago, it almost seems like a fog that is always there, but yet one that's never really present. How does one even grasp the reality of the present vs. the times of the past?

In the four years since Katrina - and as a direct result of the events we've been faced with - we have been from one financial extreme to the other and that rollercoaster continues. We lost a son to a drug overdose. No doubt, that's an event that is truly unimaginable but also something that I can directly relate to Katrina's aftermath. We've uprooted our young grandsons from their home in Biloxi and continue to struggle everyday with the decisions made there and the challenges that brings. We lost contact with so many friends, it would be difficult to put a number to that. Our entire family lives in Gulfport, Biloxi, and Ocean Springs, but we get to see them only a couple of times a year now.

In the four years since Katrina, we've endured – and continue to endure - the public's ignorant concentration on New Orleans and their unawareness of not only the initial impact on the MS Gulf Coast, but its continuing impact to this very day. We've long ago stopped trying to have people truly understand what we went through – not only during the few measly hours of the storm but, more importantly, in the immediate aftermath and in the years since. The weeks immediately following Katrina were like those we see on the news regarding third-world countries. Anarchy and famine, we thought, were going to be right around the corner. And in some cases, that was more of a possibility than it wasn't….

In the four years since Katrina, my input and participation here on S2K has dwindled considerably – it seems my heart just simply isn't it anymore. My thrill related to hurricanes now has a whole new meaning and, in reality, that is kinda sad since pre-K, I so enjoyed the rush of seeing those models trend toward the US or the Gulf. Never again will I experience that naïve feeling, nor do I ever want to… These storms, I have now realized, are so much more than a couple of coordinates on a map and a few numbers highlighting intensity. And no doubt, I will never – EVER – look at a hurricane's winds and believe for a moment that's were the true threat is. One can hide from the wind, but one cannot avoid a 30 storm surge. It's the water in a hurricane that massively kills and destroys, NOT the wind!!

In the four years since Katrina, there were and are some bright times as well. While both my wife and me lost lucrative and long-time positions with Harrah's Entertainment & Grand Casinos in Gulfport and Biloxi as a direct result of the storm, we now have jobs here in St Petersburg that are wonderful and quite fullfilling. Mine has actually turned out to be one of those "dream jobs" we often hear of but never experience. And hers is just about to that level as well. But let there be no doubt, the income "now" in comparison to "then" is apples and oranges on the negative side. Who says money is everything!! But, even with that financial rift, life in general seems to be relatively okay and looking brighter. St Petersburg is beautiful and if I had to be uprooted out of the rat-race corporate world we were in pre-K, the place we're in now is great.

In the four years since Katrina, we've often reflected – and still do – on how much we lost in those few hours, but more importantly, how much we've gained in knowledge and perspective since – the key word there being PERSPECTIVE!!

Yes, life pre-K and post-K are, night and day, two different worlds that very few will ever truly realize unless they personally have something to lose and experience something like that first hand. Even now, four years later, the K-word comes up almost daily – and we're living 600 miles away!!

Because of Katrina, I was able (of course, out of necessity) to single-handedly rebuild our home in Biloxi – but in a large part at my own expense and with my own sweat. Sure, FEMA kicked in a few dollars and the MS Katrina Recovery Program helped immensely. We were 20 feet above sea level – surely we'd never need flood insurance!!! Well, that bubble got seriously busted and the lack of that insurance has put a significant strain on the personal pocket book which was, and continues to be, enormous. We still own the home there and have great tenants renting it from us. Yes, we now have flood insurance but we have dropped our wind insurance on our Biloxi home. Don't really need it and couldn't afford it anyway.

Well, I could (should) write a book on this whole experience and the above few paragraphs cannot even begin to summarize our life before and after. But, I remain thankful that S2K is here, with like-minded people, and I have the opportunity to vent a bit every year on this somber occasion.

Will another like Katrina strike our homes again? I surely hope not and can't imagine going through this all again. But storms are a bit fickle and, as we all know, tend to throw us for a loop every now and then. So far, thank goodness for the trough and ridge off the east coast. May they all be recurvers!!

Here's hoping the remainder of this season, and all to come in our lifetimes, will not present us with another experience like Katrina. Going through this ever again in a single lifetime would be and is, simply be asking too much…

[stormchazer]

My thoughts and prayers are with you.

My sister and her family live in Gulfport then and now, and although I understand what happened in New Orleans was tragic, in Mississippi it was devastating. I remember the coastline as it was, Bay of St Louis, Ocean Springs, etc. What many outside do not realize is that those places are gone and still in the process of being rebuilt. Whole blocks that were once homes on the coast are blank slabs. There are people still missing that will never be accounted for and that a fragile economy along the coast has barely been sustaining itself since. For Gulfport and the rest of the MS coast, this recession has been a depression since just after Katrina struck.

Anyway, hang in there and know you are in my prayers.

[attallaman]

I realize a thread already exists on the birth of Katrina, but I felt it fitting to begin one on her anniversary to offer those impacted a place to vent and/or comment on their story. Here's mine – but it's content is really only one blink of the eye...

In my case, Katrina was surely and absolutely a life-changing event, and I'm sure I'll never be able to put truly into words her impact on me and my family. In the shortest words possible, Katrina changed our lives so completely that I now consider my 53 years on this earth as those "before Katrina" and those "after Katrina". As I sit here this evening thinking about that time exactly four years ago, it almost seems like a fog that is always there, but yet one that's never really present. How does one even grasp the reality of the present vs. the times of the past?

In the four years since Katrina - and as a direct result of the events we've been faced with - we have been from one financial extreme to the other and that rollercoaster continues. We lost a son to a drug overdose. No doubt, that's an event that is truly unimaginable but also something that I can directly relate to Katrina's aftermath. We've uprooted our young grandsons from their home in Biloxi and continue to struggle everyday with the decisions made there and the challenges that brings. We lost contact with so many friends, it would be difficult to put a number to that. Our entire family lives in Gulfport, Biloxi, and Ocean Springs, but we get to see them only a couple of times a year now.

In the four years since Katrina, we've endured – and continue to endure - the public's ignorant concentration on New Orleans and their unawareness of not only the initial impact on the MS Gulf Coast, but its continuing impact to this very day. We've long ago stopped trying to have people truly understand what we went through – not only during the few measly hours of the storm but, more importantly, in the immediate aftermath and in the years since. The weeks immediately following Katrina were like those we see on the news regarding third-world countries. Anarchy and famine, we thought, were going to be right around the corner. And in some cases, that was more of a possibility than it wasn't….

In the four years since Katrina, my input and participation here on S2K has dwindled considerably – it seems my heart just simply isn't it anymore. My thrill related to hurricanes now has a whole new meaning and, in reality, that is kinda sad since pre-K, I so enjoyed the rush of seeing those models trend toward the US or the Gulf. Never again will I experience that naïve feeling, nor do I ever want to… These storms, I have now realized, are so much more than a couple of coordinates on a map and a few numbers highlighting intensity. And no doubt, I will never – EVER – look at a hurricane's winds and believe for a moment that's were the true threat is. One can hide from the wind, but one cannot avoid a 30 storm surge. It's the water in a hurricane that massively kills and destroys, NOT the wind!!

In the four years since Katrina, there were and are some bright times as well. While both my wife and me lost lucrative and long-time positions with Harrah's Entertainment & Grand Casinos in Gulfport and Biloxi as a direct result of the storm, we now have jobs here in St Petersburg that are wonderful and quite fullfilling. Mine has actually turned out to be one of those "dream jobs" we often hear of but never experience. And hers is just about to that level as well. But let there be no doubt, the income "now" in comparison to "then" is apples and oranges on the negative side. Who says money is everything!! But, even with that financial rift, life in general seems to be relatively okay and looking brighter. St Petersburg is beautiful and if I had to be uprooted out of the rat-race corporate world we were in pre-K, the place we're in now is great.

In the four years since Katrina, we've often reflected – and still do – on how much we lost in those few hours, but more importantly, how much we've gained in knowledge and perspective since – the key word there being PERSPECTIVE!!

Yes, life pre-K and post-K are, night and day, two different worlds that very few will ever truly realize unless they personally have something to lose and experience something like that first hand. Even now, four years later, the K-word comes up almost daily – and we're living 600 miles away!!

Because of Katrina, I was able (of course, out of necessity) to single-handedly rebuild our home in Biloxi – but in a large part at my own expense and with my own sweat. Sure, FEMA kicked in a few dollars and the MS Katrina Recovery Program helped immensely. We were 20 feet above sea level – surely we'd never need flood insurance!!! Well, that bubble got seriously busted and the lack of that insurance has put a significant strain on the personal pocket book which was, and continues to be, enormous. We still own the home there and have great tenants renting it from us. Yes, we now have flood insurance but we have dropped our wind insurance on our Biloxi home. Don't really need it and couldn't afford it anyway.

Well, I could (should) write a book on this whole experience and the above few paragraphs cannot even begin to summarize our life before and after. But, I remain thankful that S2K is here, with like-minded people, and I have the opportunity to vent a bit every year on this somber occasion.

Will another like Katrina strike our homes again? I surely hope not and can't imagine going through this all again. But storms are a bit fickle and, as we all know, tend to throw us for a loop every now and then. So far, thank goodness for the trough and ridge off the east coast. May they all be recurvers!!

Here's hoping the remainder of this season, and all to come in our lifetimes, will not present us with another experience like Katrina. Going through this ever again in a single lifetime would be and is, simply be asking too much…

That's a very good post. At 20 feet above sea level in Biloxi were you located north or south of the L & N railroad tracks? The reason I ask is because I'm north of the Edgewater Mall area at 26 feet above sea level, the L & N railroad tracks acted like a levy, no storm surge made it to my house according to my neighbors who decided to stay and ride the storm out and those who did stay to ride it out said the electric power was out for about two weeks in my neighborhood and the city's water supply wasn't safe to use in my neighborhood until September 29, 2005 when the city gave the all clear saying it was safe to use the water again.

[Ixolib]

North of the tracks, but more toward the central part of Biloxi on Lafayette Street.

[attallaman]

North of the tracks, but more toward the central part of Biloxi on Lafayette Street.

Would that be the Lafayette Street off of Porter Avenue to the east and Forrest Avenue to the west? Lafayette Street not too far from the old Howard Memorial Hospital? I have friends who once lived at the north end of Park Court, their house took 6 feet of water, they didn't rebuild but instead like so many others have done they moved north to D'Iberville to get away from the beach and the water from the bay. I haven't been back to that part of town in quite sometime so I don't know how it's doing. Down at the "Town Green" this morning the City of Biloxi had a ceremony and an unveiling of a large tree sculpture done by an artist from Florida who has been here carving up so many of the damaged trees left in Katrina's wake. It's a nice piece of artwork. There's several videos showing the progress of the tree work on YouTube posted by Vincent Creel, the public information officer for the City of Biloxi.

[MGC]

I have been thinking back on the events of four years ago with bitter reflection. My sons lost their great uncle to Katrina. Uncle John died at the New Orleans airport. He didn't want to evacuate and by the time he was rescued was severly dehydrated. A few days in 90+ heat with no water did him in. I wish I could have thanked him for all the good times my sons had with him. Thanks Uncle John and God rest your soul.

I would have never thought Katrina was going to be a bad as it was. We didn't evacuate until Sunday afternoon due to work commitments. As we drove down Hwy 90 we took one long last look a the Mississippi Coast I have grown to love. I knew the beachfront would look quite different when we got back, but never did I expect to see what we did when we got back. We returned Wednesday and a soon a we crossed the railroad tracks we were greeted by part of a house blocking the road. The air was already heavy with the stench of decomposing bodies that got progressively worse as time went on. I just assume forget August 29, 2005......MGC

[jinftl]

New Orleans: A snapshot
What the numbers say about the area and its recovery four years after Katrina's devastation.
By Jennifer Liberto, CNNMoney.com senior

76.4 % Population: More than three-quarters of New Orleans population is back, according to post office numbers showing who gets mail. In the greater New Orleans metro area, 90% of the population is back, getting mail.

5.6% Demographics: New Orleans' public school system reported that Hispanics made up 5.6% of enrollment in the spring, up from 3.6% before Katrina.

6.8% Unemployment: Engineering and construction work rebuilding Louisiana after storms has cushioned unemployment. Nation's rate is 9.4%.

- .3 % Housing prices: Returning residents propped up housing prices in the first three months of 2009 compared to the same period in 2008. Nationwide, prices dropped 6.3% during the same period.
1 in 167 Foreclosures: New Orleans ranks 119th on a list of cities with most foreclosures. In hardest-hit Las Vegas, one in every 13 homes is in foreclosure.

-15% Tourism: Cash-strapped tourists and companies worldwide have cut travel to the Big Easy. City hotel bookings related to conventions and meetings are down 15% from 2008.

-19% Shipping: The global recession hit hard at the Port of New Orleans. In 2008, tons of general cargo fell 19% compared to 2007. Losses in imports of iron and steel hurt.

65,888 Blight: The number of unoccupied residences in March 2009 was nearly equal to those in Detroit. Indeed, the New Orleans landscape is dotted by weed-filled lots and molding houses.

#1 Murder: The city's murder rate, adjusted for population, topped all cities nationwide last year.
-17 % Violent crime: A bright spot: Violent crime dropped in New Orleans in 2008. The city has done better than even a nationwide decline in crime the last two years.

#2 Poverty: Louisiana ranks No. 2 in the nation for people living in poverty, trailing only Mississippi, despite billions in post-Katrina recovery dollars.

http://money.cnn.com/news/storysuppleme ... fographic/

[Dionne]

In the four years since Katrina.....

Our daughter was in her final semester at USM Hattiesburg when Katrina made landfall.....today marks the fourth anniversary of her rescue after being trapped by treefall. She has since graduated and enjoys life in Memphis.

We still own the Hattiesburg home....it took about three months to make it habitable again. It is now a rental.

Mississippi Farm Bureau dumped us.....we are now in a risk pool. Our new policies with Mississippi Casualty effectively doubled. Along with not having flood insurance.....we also are not covered for an earthquake or a "named wind event".

In the months following landfall.....as a contractor.....I had plenty of work. While the money was good, there were numerous outstanding balances....mostly insurance problems. We eventually wrote them off.

Hurricanes still fascinate me. Although, even being inland north of Pontchartrain....I will never ride out another storm. For us it was relentless unforgiving winds.

Life has returned to normal.

[Acral]

Excellent post.

In the years since Katrina, my friend and her two sons are still dead. They drowned.

That's about all I have to say.

[LaPlaceFF]

ixolib,you said it real well. Here in LaPlace,LA There are many things that haven't changed since the storm. My Wal-Mart which was open 24 hrs before the storm, still closes at 10pm.

The things that I lost after Katrina you couldn't put a price tag on. Two days after the storm, my dad passed away. It was so surreal, I was with my dad in my brothers truck looking at the damage around town, and then days later we are burying him.

Then in the months after the storm, my marriage finally came to an end with a divorce. As I write this I don't know where my ex-wife is.

In March 2008, I was diagnosed with Hodkin's lymphomia. I lost weight and I was down to 125 lbs. I went thru chemo and my lsat session was when Hurricane Ike was hitting Texas.

In April 2008 my oldest brother dies from complications from diabetes

But as they say when one dooor closes another one opens. I reunited with my ex girlfriend and now we have a daughter. She and her daughter from her ex-husband live with me now. Mariah is now 1 year old and is walking around the house. I love my daughters and I wish my dad and brother could see them now.

[Agua]

Nice posts, all.

We were fortunate that the water stopped one block south of us. Yes, everyone down here seems to divide their lives into "before the storm" and "since the storm". Old timers, used to divide it into "before Camile / after Camile" as well.

Just as with Camile, the coast will never be the same again.