Thanks! 
Tell us your Katrina or Rita story
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Dave C
- S2K Supporter
- Posts: 868
- Joined: Thu Sep 04, 2003 4:36 pm
- Location: Middleboro, Mass.(midway between Cape Cod and Boston)
Tell us your Katrina or Rita story
Thought it would be good to have a thread for those who weathered Katrina or Rita to tell their stories. Please don't turn it into a wind speed or cat strength bickering thread Thanks!
Thanks!
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My daughter is one of those people that always say "it's not gonne came here" and refused to leave. I could not and would not leave her and the GS here alone so we stayed. I really thought we would be able to go to the hospital and shelter but it was not to be. I was awake all night 9/28 and on the chat with ya'll until I lost power at 5 AM. Things went downhill from there. The wind got higher and higher. Rain, rain and more rain. My daughter got up around 7 that morning and by 10 AM the wind was blowing water through every crack possible. We had water through the windows and door and the celing started dripping.
The windows were vibrating so I hung a quilt over the big window in front to block flying glass. It was horribly hot so we all went to the kitchen at the back of the apartment and kept the patio door open since the wind was blowing against the front of the apartment. Big sheets of metal roofing were blowing by and threatning to hit the patio door so I would run out and kick them away from the opening in the fence. Just a few steps away but the wind was really strong and it was difficult to stand.
I had the radio on and was listening to people call in and beg for help. I expected the apartment to collapse or flood at any moment. I had supplies at the foot of the steps to the 2nd floor ready just in case. We had to be brave to avoid scaring the GS. I prayed that we would be OK. I wvwn had the GS floaties ready.
We could hear windows breaking all around us and see sind going under the roofing of the building next door and balloon it up. A shopping cart from the dollar store up the street blew by our window. Finally Katrina decided to move on. We escaped with minimal damage and alive.
I will NEVER stay again. It was not fun or exciting or cool. I was so frightened and could not get in touch with anyone. My Mom thought we were probably dead from the reports she was hearing and could not get us on the phone. My son in Houston had no idea if we were OK or not. This is not a good thing to do to those that love you.
My story is not near as exciting as others on this board but I thought I would get things started.
The windows were vibrating so I hung a quilt over the big window in front to block flying glass. It was horribly hot so we all went to the kitchen at the back of the apartment and kept the patio door open since the wind was blowing against the front of the apartment. Big sheets of metal roofing were blowing by and threatning to hit the patio door so I would run out and kick them away from the opening in the fence. Just a few steps away but the wind was really strong and it was difficult to stand.
I had the radio on and was listening to people call in and beg for help. I expected the apartment to collapse or flood at any moment. I had supplies at the foot of the steps to the 2nd floor ready just in case. We had to be brave to avoid scaring the GS. I prayed that we would be OK. I wvwn had the GS floaties ready.
We could hear windows breaking all around us and see sind going under the roofing of the building next door and balloon it up. A shopping cart from the dollar store up the street blew by our window. Finally Katrina decided to move on. We escaped with minimal damage and alive.
I will NEVER stay again. It was not fun or exciting or cool. I was so frightened and could not get in touch with anyone. My Mom thought we were probably dead from the reports she was hearing and could not get us on the phone. My son in Houston had no idea if we were OK or not. This is not a good thing to do to those that love you.
My story is not near as exciting as others on this board but I thought I would get things started.
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Wpwxguy
- S2K Supporter
- Posts: 427
- Joined: Sun Sep 12, 2004 2:10 pm
- Location: Southeast Louisiana
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Great story Bev. Mine may not be as dramatic as others, but it was certainly an experiance that I never want to re-live.
I went to bed around 1:30 am and was awakend at 4:40 when my power went out. Had my sister and her family staying with us, who also was awakened by the power loss. The wind started to really pick up around daylight and by 11:00 am it had grown to the monster that they had said Katrina would be. We had no idea things would get as bad as they did, we're 60 miles inland "it won't be too bad I told my family" boy was I wrong. The wind turned to a constant roar , like the sound of hundreds of freight trains in all directions, a loud rumble ......and the scariest sound I've ever heard.
One tree after another began to fall. You could hear them in the distance as they would crash onto homes and businesses. I kept saying to myself at the height of Katrina that as long as it does not get any worse we'll be okay. I think my entire roof would have gone if it were only another 10 mph in those gusts.
We cleaned out an interior closet and put blankets on the floor and put all the kids in there, along with their flashlights and some games. They had a good time I suppose, not knowing just how dangerous the situation was.
When things began to calm down, my brother and I went out to survey the area and could not go more than 150 yards in either direction from my home. A light pole and transformer fell only 2-3 feet behind us as we passed. Had we gone slower we would surely have been crushed.
Around 4 pm a small group of residents got together and we went out and began cutting the trees from the roadway. We opened a single lane, just so emergency vehicles could pass. Oak trees as big around as a Volkswagon were over every road in the parish. 100 ft. Pines snapped like matchsticks. Every single power line in Washington parish lay on the ground tangled in a mess of tree limbs and debris.
I am thankful that we all survived, how easily could it have been just the opposite. I still just sit and look at the damage with disbelief. Its really just unbelievable. Next time, even though I'm so far inland, I think I'll pack up my family and get out of Dodge.
I went to bed around 1:30 am and was awakend at 4:40 when my power went out. Had my sister and her family staying with us, who also was awakened by the power loss. The wind started to really pick up around daylight and by 11:00 am it had grown to the monster that they had said Katrina would be. We had no idea things would get as bad as they did, we're 60 miles inland "it won't be too bad I told my family" boy was I wrong. The wind turned to a constant roar , like the sound of hundreds of freight trains in all directions, a loud rumble ......and the scariest sound I've ever heard.
One tree after another began to fall. You could hear them in the distance as they would crash onto homes and businesses. I kept saying to myself at the height of Katrina that as long as it does not get any worse we'll be okay. I think my entire roof would have gone if it were only another 10 mph in those gusts.
We cleaned out an interior closet and put blankets on the floor and put all the kids in there, along with their flashlights and some games. They had a good time I suppose, not knowing just how dangerous the situation was.
When things began to calm down, my brother and I went out to survey the area and could not go more than 150 yards in either direction from my home. A light pole and transformer fell only 2-3 feet behind us as we passed. Had we gone slower we would surely have been crushed.
Around 4 pm a small group of residents got together and we went out and began cutting the trees from the roadway. We opened a single lane, just so emergency vehicles could pass. Oak trees as big around as a Volkswagon were over every road in the parish. 100 ft. Pines snapped like matchsticks. Every single power line in Washington parish lay on the ground tangled in a mess of tree limbs and debris.
I am thankful that we all survived, how easily could it have been just the opposite. I still just sit and look at the damage with disbelief. Its really just unbelievable. Next time, even though I'm so far inland, I think I'll pack up my family and get out of Dodge.
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Wow Bev, that sounds absolutely harrowing... I'm glad you are safe and everything worked out well for you...
I was at a hospital during Katrina... The hospital I work in sits on the back bay and thankfully it is about the highest elevation in Biloxi and we did not flood.. However, we did see the storm surge and huge waves come up the back bay and we lost some cars in the back parking lot (thankfully, none of them were mine)... I will never forget the sight of the water rising as fast as it did, we knew there would be a storm surge but didnt know it would be that bad. The last reports I had heard on surge were 16-20 feet and what I saw was well over that. When the waves came in they would wash in and wash out and take whatever it wanted to that was in it's path.... to say the least I was frightened and thought the water would come into the building where we were, but fortunately we are high enough up that it did not....
I will not leave for a hurricane because it is my job to stay behind and serve those in the community that did not leave. But I will never have my children stay through another storm with me... It is one thing for me to jeporadize my life for a job, it is unthinkable for me to put small children in a situation that jeparodizes theirs...
I was at a hospital during Katrina... The hospital I work in sits on the back bay and thankfully it is about the highest elevation in Biloxi and we did not flood.. However, we did see the storm surge and huge waves come up the back bay and we lost some cars in the back parking lot (thankfully, none of them were mine)... I will never forget the sight of the water rising as fast as it did, we knew there would be a storm surge but didnt know it would be that bad. The last reports I had heard on surge were 16-20 feet and what I saw was well over that. When the waves came in they would wash in and wash out and take whatever it wanted to that was in it's path.... to say the least I was frightened and thought the water would come into the building where we were, but fortunately we are high enough up that it did not....
I will not leave for a hurricane because it is my job to stay behind and serve those in the community that did not leave. But I will never have my children stay through another storm with me... It is one thing for me to jeporadize my life for a job, it is unthinkable for me to put small children in a situation that jeparodizes theirs...
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Our story started on Sunday evening when we finally convinced our daughter, her boyfriend, and their 2-year old son to come stay at our house instead of their house in Saucier. My convincing story for them was very simple. This house survived Camille intact with no surge problems. Therefore, we will be okay this time.
They arrived and now all six of us - me, my wife, our son and the three above were all hunkered down and waiting things out. It seems that we lost power at about 2am on 8/29, and that was the last time I would see S2K for about three weeks!
We live just across the street from the State Office Building here in Biloxi, and interestingly enough, CBS News had a crew stationed there with their satellite truck. Well, about 4am, here comes this 4-man crew walking through the darkness (and the gusting winds!!) with flashlights, camera, and boom-mic in hand. Soon enough, they knocked on our door and asked if they could come in and do an interview. So, of course we said yes and in they came. The interview consisted of them filming our grandson running around having a grand ole' time, and asking me why we choose to stay in our house in the face of a storm like Katrina. The answer, of course, was that we were here in Camille and had no problems then. Certainly Katrina would be no different. Mind you, it was only 4:30am at that time - little did we know...
As daylight approached, the winds picked up and began getting stronger but all was still okay. Even in the height of things, I still kept telling myself that the storm must have weakened (getting info on the TV/radio was difficult at that time) because the winds were not as strong as I've experienced in other storms. So, I'm thinking all is good and we'll get through this relatively unscathed. Of course, we could hear things bumping and slamming all around, and we could see stuff flying down the street. Certainly nothing we've not experienced in the past.
But soon, things began to take a drastic change in a very surreal way. I first noticed water in the driveway and thought, "that must just be rainwater puddling". On the other hand, though, I was thinking "how can that be? There's very little rain in this storm, in fact much less than a typical afternoon tstm." Soon enough - within only minutes - the "puddle" got much larger and seemed to be flowing. Now, considering we had NO SURGE with Camille, this is where the surreal issue comes into play. Finally, I stepped out on the porch near our mailbox to dip my hand into the water to see if it was actually "fresh" rainwater or "salty" bay water. Much to my amazement, it was the latter!! It was at this point that I told my wife "if it gets past that first step on the porch, then we may need to begin getting a little concerned." No sooner did I that statement out of my mouth then it came up three steps and now covered our porch landing only 3 inches below our front door. About this time, with all of us having this look of astonishment on our faces, we decided to consider "picking things up off the floor - just in case..." That plan lasted about 1 minute as the water came in in a big hurry. First two inches, then five, then 12, then 18, then about 2.5 feet - all in a matter of only five minutes. Needless to say, most of the stuff on our floor stayed there to become soaked with muddy, salty water from Biloxi Back Bay. But, we did save this computer!! Unfortunately, though, my cell phone somehow ended up in the water and floated out the kitchen door. For the story on that issue, CajunMama, Southerngale, and Galveston Duck can add their efforts to the story since they were trying to call me for days on end with no response. I truly regret not making contact with S2K sooner through other means, but we had no power, no Internet, and no phone numbers. Life in those first ten days post-Katrina were extremely hectic to say the least.
For about three hours after that initial onslaught of water, we waded around the house, and took the time to take some pictures through the front and back doors - the only areas, by the way, that did not have storm shutters in place.
After the fact, folks asked us if we were scared and the answer was generally no. It was more a feeling of amazement and disbelief that the water from Back Bay could rise more than 30 feet and enter all the homes in this neighborhood. To this day, the amazement persists!! I cannot imagine how those living on The Point in Biloxi and other areas must have felt as the water completely engulfed their homes. For those who died as a result, that must have been simply horrendous...
Of course, the water receded and the sun came out the next day. But, since that point, life has been forever altered here in Biloxi. We lost much - both in our house and in my workshop/storage building out back were we had five feet of water. And all four of our cars went floating down the road, never to start again. We had full coverage on only one of them, but the rest are our loss. State Farm is trying to be as generous as they can be with the "wind damage" to the roofs and a few other areas, but they won't even talk to us about the surge damage. As I've posted numerous times here, we had no "flood" insurance because not only was not only not required, it was never even recommended by either the state, local, or mortgage officials. In the recorded history of Biloxi, Mississippi, this area had NEVER been the recipient of storm surge. And it certainly has never flooded from rain in ANY storm - hurricane or otherwise.
In the end, though, all will be good. We've removed all the sheetrock and insulation and will soon complete the task of removing all the hardwood floors throughout the house - they buckled badly. FEMA has told us they'll help where they can over and above what State Farm can do. So we continue to be thankful. We still have four walls and a roof, which is much more than many others in this area can say. Neither my wife nor myself have a job as our place of business (Grand Casino/Harrah's) took a huge hit and probably won't reopen for at least two years. But just like anyone who has been through disaster and tragedy in their lives, we too will survive. As has been proven time and time again, no matter what live throws at 'ya, you always somehow figure out how to come out on the other side and continue living life. That'll happen for us, and it'll happen for many others.
When all is said and done, it'll all be okay.
They arrived and now all six of us - me, my wife, our son and the three above were all hunkered down and waiting things out. It seems that we lost power at about 2am on 8/29, and that was the last time I would see S2K for about three weeks!
We live just across the street from the State Office Building here in Biloxi, and interestingly enough, CBS News had a crew stationed there with their satellite truck. Well, about 4am, here comes this 4-man crew walking through the darkness (and the gusting winds!!) with flashlights, camera, and boom-mic in hand. Soon enough, they knocked on our door and asked if they could come in and do an interview. So, of course we said yes and in they came. The interview consisted of them filming our grandson running around having a grand ole' time, and asking me why we choose to stay in our house in the face of a storm like Katrina. The answer, of course, was that we were here in Camille and had no problems then. Certainly Katrina would be no different. Mind you, it was only 4:30am at that time - little did we know...
As daylight approached, the winds picked up and began getting stronger but all was still okay. Even in the height of things, I still kept telling myself that the storm must have weakened (getting info on the TV/radio was difficult at that time) because the winds were not as strong as I've experienced in other storms. So, I'm thinking all is good and we'll get through this relatively unscathed. Of course, we could hear things bumping and slamming all around, and we could see stuff flying down the street. Certainly nothing we've not experienced in the past.
But soon, things began to take a drastic change in a very surreal way. I first noticed water in the driveway and thought, "that must just be rainwater puddling". On the other hand, though, I was thinking "how can that be? There's very little rain in this storm, in fact much less than a typical afternoon tstm." Soon enough - within only minutes - the "puddle" got much larger and seemed to be flowing. Now, considering we had NO SURGE with Camille, this is where the surreal issue comes into play. Finally, I stepped out on the porch near our mailbox to dip my hand into the water to see if it was actually "fresh" rainwater or "salty" bay water. Much to my amazement, it was the latter!! It was at this point that I told my wife "if it gets past that first step on the porch, then we may need to begin getting a little concerned." No sooner did I that statement out of my mouth then it came up three steps and now covered our porch landing only 3 inches below our front door. About this time, with all of us having this look of astonishment on our faces, we decided to consider "picking things up off the floor - just in case..." That plan lasted about 1 minute as the water came in in a big hurry. First two inches, then five, then 12, then 18, then about 2.5 feet - all in a matter of only five minutes. Needless to say, most of the stuff on our floor stayed there to become soaked with muddy, salty water from Biloxi Back Bay. But, we did save this computer!! Unfortunately, though, my cell phone somehow ended up in the water and floated out the kitchen door. For the story on that issue, CajunMama, Southerngale, and Galveston Duck can add their efforts to the story since they were trying to call me for days on end with no response. I truly regret not making contact with S2K sooner through other means, but we had no power, no Internet, and no phone numbers. Life in those first ten days post-Katrina were extremely hectic to say the least.
For about three hours after that initial onslaught of water, we waded around the house, and took the time to take some pictures through the front and back doors - the only areas, by the way, that did not have storm shutters in place.
After the fact, folks asked us if we were scared and the answer was generally no. It was more a feeling of amazement and disbelief that the water from Back Bay could rise more than 30 feet and enter all the homes in this neighborhood. To this day, the amazement persists!! I cannot imagine how those living on The Point in Biloxi and other areas must have felt as the water completely engulfed their homes. For those who died as a result, that must have been simply horrendous...
Of course, the water receded and the sun came out the next day. But, since that point, life has been forever altered here in Biloxi. We lost much - both in our house and in my workshop/storage building out back were we had five feet of water. And all four of our cars went floating down the road, never to start again. We had full coverage on only one of them, but the rest are our loss. State Farm is trying to be as generous as they can be with the "wind damage" to the roofs and a few other areas, but they won't even talk to us about the surge damage. As I've posted numerous times here, we had no "flood" insurance because not only was not only not required, it was never even recommended by either the state, local, or mortgage officials. In the recorded history of Biloxi, Mississippi, this area had NEVER been the recipient of storm surge. And it certainly has never flooded from rain in ANY storm - hurricane or otherwise.
In the end, though, all will be good. We've removed all the sheetrock and insulation and will soon complete the task of removing all the hardwood floors throughout the house - they buckled badly. FEMA has told us they'll help where they can over and above what State Farm can do. So we continue to be thankful. We still have four walls and a roof, which is much more than many others in this area can say. Neither my wife nor myself have a job as our place of business (Grand Casino/Harrah's) took a huge hit and probably won't reopen for at least two years. But just like anyone who has been through disaster and tragedy in their lives, we too will survive. As has been proven time and time again, no matter what live throws at 'ya, you always somehow figure out how to come out on the other side and continue living life. That'll happen for us, and it'll happen for many others.
When all is said and done, it'll all be okay.
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Some, I am sure that many will not agree with chasing Hurricanes - but that it what I do.
For the record I do feel very very sorry for the people who have lost there lives and dreams in this storm - for me it is easy as I have a home with power to go back to in the UK
Yuo can read my account here - with all the spelling and grammer mistakes still included.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/leicester/content/ ... ture.shtml
For the record I do feel very very sorry for the people who have lost there lives and dreams in this storm - for me it is easy as I have a home with power to go back to in the UK
Yuo can read my account here - with all the spelling and grammer mistakes still included.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/leicester/content/ ... ture.shtml
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