Katrina Victims Tribute

[Pearl River]

Everyone please view this video tribute to the victims of Katrina. This is not just about New Orleans, but all people on the northern Gulf Coast.

http://www.katrinatribute.info/index.htm

[Ixolib]

Everyone please view this video tribute to the victims of Katrina. This is not just about New Orleans, but all people on the northern Gulf Coast.

http://www.katrinatribute.info/index.htm

All I can say is DAMN!! As a grown man of 48, it had been decades since I had broken down and wept in complete helplessness, but on the evening of August 29, my wife and I held each other and did just that in the ruin of our flooded-out home. This tribute brought it all back for me.

Had I not experienced the result of Katrina first hand, in person, and in living color as she was bringing her power upon us, I don't know that I could have a true and meaningful grasp for what really happened here. A complete and utter life-changing event that has impacted so many, myself and family included.

Thanks PR for sharing the link. Although quite painful to watch, it helps me to see where we've been, where we are, and where we are going. No doubt, brighter times are ahead - they're just a little slow in getting here...

[Javlin]

I have to agree Ixolib the pain is still close by.

[JonathanBelles]

wow i cant decribe it wow

[EDR1222]

That is very sobering to watch. Many americans have been very generous in their donations and hopefully that continues and hopefully all of us can make a positive difference. Sometimes it is too easy to forget when your not actually there and it isn't on the news every day.

[mike815]

just makes me say over and over WHY WHY?!!!! these people shouldnt have died.

[MGC]

I still can't understand how this could happen in my America? No amout of planning prepared us for Katrina. The hurricane survival kits remind me of hiding under my dest at school during a nuclear attack, useless. Every day it is like the movie Groundhog Day for me. I wake up, work a bit trying to undo everything Katrina undid and then drive to work past miles and miles of utter destruction. When will this nightmare end?........MGC

[Jim Cantore]

just makes me say over and over WHY WHY?!!!! these people shouldnt have died.

ditto

[mike815]

yeah i just dont understand it. they should hve been treated better. I hope weve learned a lesson fron all this

[Ixolib]

I still can't understand how this could happen in my America? No amout of planning prepared us for Katrina. The hurricane survival kits remind me of hiding under my dest at school during a nuclear attack, useless. Every day it is like the movie Groundhog Day for me. I wake up, work a bit trying to undo everything Katrina undid and then drive to work past miles and miles of utter destruction. When will this nightmare end?........MGC

Yep - you hit that nail right on the head!!

[southerngale]

When I watch this tribute and other similar ones, it brings me to tears. Everyone should see the devastation these hurricanes cause. That was difficult to watch...so very sad.
I have to say though that I think it's absurd to blame Bush as a few pics in that tribute did. Come on now...

I admit that I used to look forward to Hurricane Season. I loved to track them and just look at them in awe. There has always been something amazing about watching that kind of power. (on sat.) After I saw what Ivan and Charley did in 2004, I lost that "woo-hoo, it's time to track canes!" mentality. When you've been what my friends call a "hurricane freak" all your life, I guess you're drawn into watching them, learning.
Then along came Katrina and watching what happened on the news was unreal...this couldn't really be happening!

It did.

Then another mean woman, Rita takes aim for where I live.

Here?

In late September?

Yep.

The whole season was surreal....from the number of named storms to the amount of devastation from Texas to Florida, as well as all of the other areas in the Caribbean and Mexico who were hit. Sometimes I think someone will pinch me and wake me up, and I'll be like "Boy, was that some nightmare! Listen to this...."

I don't think that's going to happen.

Today is exactly 4 months since Rita hit, nearly 5 months since Katrina hit and it's only a little over 4 months until Hurricane Season starts again. Yes, I'll be here watching closely, still learning more about them as I go.

But I don't look forward to it anymore. I dread it. I fear it.

This season I will concentrate more on preparedness (translation: get out). Seeing how things were handled here and other places, it's clear that we can learn from each other and at least improve preparedness and recovery.

[Ixolib]

When I watch this tribute and other similar ones, it brings me to tears. Everyone should see the devastation these hurricanes cause. That was difficult to watch...so very sad.
I have to say though that I think it's absurd to blame Bush as a few pics in that tribute did. Come on now...

I admit that I used to look forward to Hurricane Season. I loved to track them and just look at them in awe. There has always been something amazing about watching that kind of power. (on sat.) After I saw what Ivan and Charley did in 2004, I lost that "woo-hoo, it's time to track canes!" mentality. When you've been what my friends call a "hurricane freak" all your life, I guess you're drawn into watching them, learning.
Then along came Katrina and watching what happened on the news was unreal...this couldn't really be happening!

It did.

Then another mean woman, Rita takes aim for where I live.

Here?

In late September?

Yep.

The whole season was surreal....from the number of named storms to the amount of devastation from Texas to Florida, as well as all of the other areas in the Caribbean and Mexico who were hit. Sometimes I think someone will pinch me and wake me up, and I'll be like "Boy, was that some nightmare! Listen to this...."

I don't think that's going to happen.

Today is exactly 4 months since Rita hit, nearly 5 months since Katrina hit and it's only a little over 4 months until Hurricane Season starts again. Yes, I'll be here watching closely, still learning more about them as I go.

But I don't look forward to it anymore. I dread it. I fear it.

This season I will concentrate more on preparedness (translation: get out). Seeing how things were handled here and other places, it's clear that we can learn from each other and at least improve preparedness and recovery.

Great post, SG. The nightmare description is all too real, isn't it!! But, I'm with you... Love to track the storms and the anticipation/excitement that goes along with it. BUT, the result that occurs when one of these storms brings with it such a significant and personal impact certainly changes to dread and fear - just as you said. And my goodness, the season starts in only four months - WOW!!

As I've said time and again, for my family, Katrina was/is a life-changing event. All three of our kids lost everything they owned including their cars. My son has had to relocate to Tennessee, one daughter has relocated to Largo, FL, our other daughter is still here and hoping for the best, my sister just next door is still in her FEMA trailer, my wife has preceeded me in our move to St. Petersburg (she already got a job with Cocacola in Brandon!!), and I'm S-T-I-L-L here in Biloxi hanging sheetrock, replacing insulation, tiling ALL the floors (no more carpet EVER!!) and rewiring the whole house. Of course, I'm doing all of this single-handedly because the insurance company wouldn't pay for the surge damage... Oh, did I mention I gotta do the roof too?? Bought the shingles, just need help getting 'em up on the roof. Ain't as young as I used to be.

Nightmare - yeah, I'd agree with that!! And this doesn't even bring into the equasion the extreme backload at Lowes, Home Depot, Wal-Mart, etc. Just getting building materials becomes an all-day event.

I'm so looking foward to finally putting this house back together once and for all, joining my wife in St. Pete, and just laying on the beach and going fishing whenever I can. Biloxi has been my life-long home, but for me, it is nothing now but a huge pile of debris and a completely changed landscape - and I don't see any of that changing for years to come. I'm ready to put it behind me. Either that, or I'm waiting on the "pinch" just like you are - whichever comes first is okay by me.

This season I will concentrate more on preparedness (translation: get out). Seeing how things were handled here and other places, it's clear that we can learn from each other and at least improve preparedness and recovery.

And I'll be sure to include in my preparedness a reliable means of communication!!

But if we're lucky, the St. Pete/Tampa area will continue in their ability to avoid majors and I won't have to worry about "severe weather check-in".

[Jim Cantore]

yeah i just dont understand it. they should hve been treated better. I hope weve learned a lesson fron all this

Ditto once again

[mike815]

thanks floyd lol

[LaPlaceFF]

When I watch this tribute and other similar ones, it brings me to tears. Everyone should see the devastation these hurricanes cause. That was difficult to watch...so very sad.
I have to say though that I think it's absurd to blame Bush as a few pics in that tribute did. Come on now...

I admit that I used to look forward to Hurricane Season. I loved to track them and just look at them in awe. There has always been something amazing about watching that kind of power. (on sat.) After I saw what Ivan and Charley did in 2004, I lost that "woo-hoo, it's time to track canes!" mentality. When you've been what my friends call a "hurricane freak" all your life, I guess you're drawn into watching them, learning.
Then along came Katrina and watching what happened on the news was unreal...this couldn't really be happening!

It did.

Then another mean woman, Rita takes aim for where I live.

Here?

In late September?

Yep.

The whole season was surreal....from the number of named storms to the amount of devastation from Texas to Florida, as well as all of the other areas in the Caribbean and Mexico who were hit. Sometimes I think someone will pinch me and wake me up, and I'll be like "Boy, was that some nightmare! Listen to this...."

I don't think that's going to happen.

Today is exactly 4 months since Rita hit, nearly 5 months since Katrina hit and it's only a little over 4 months until Hurricane Season starts again. Yes, I'll be here watching closely, still learning more about them as I go.

But I don't look forward to it anymore. I dread it. I fear it.

This season I will concentrate more on preparedness (translation: get out). Seeing how things were handled here and other places, it's clear that we can learn from each other and at least improve preparedness and recovery.

Southerngale, those are exactly my thoughts. I will NEVER forget Katrina for the rest of my days.

[Audrey2Katrina]

Not to add further grief to those who've suffered through this catastrophe, (as I am one who lost both family and property to this monster), I found this "Hope" video about Katrina very inspiring as well. This isn't overkill; and like the tremendous tribute already linked by Pearl River, this one goes into the trials of New Orleans, Slidell, Mississippi, and even Alabama and mentions them specifically. I found it both cathartic, and inspirational--one of my student's relation (I think it was her father) helped produced this video

http://www.livaudaisnet.com/katrina/hope.html

A2K

[HurricaneJim]

I did something a bit different. Miracle on Bourbon St. is a tribute to those who went in and rescued tens of thousands. Soldiers, cops, Coasties, rednecks with jon boats. A whole lot of blue collar, workaday people pushed in and got r done. Sometimes with orders, other times without. Americans kick'n in and doin it. It wasn't perfect, but then again we haven't had 90,000 sq miles torn up in an afternoon in recent memory. This was the largest mass displacement of people since the US Civil War.

The blame game broke out so soon in the aftermath of it that I don't think the nation really ever stopped and thanked these people. So that's what I did.

To have been there with them was something I shall never forget. Had this been any other country in the world (and I've been out there) the result would have been much, much grimmer.

http://jwbartlett.com/Katrina.htm


Godspeed to everyone who got touched by this event.

Jim

.

[LAwxrgal]

When I watch this tribute and other similar ones, it brings me to tears. Everyone should see the devastation these hurricanes cause. That was difficult to watch...so very sad.
I have to say though that I think it's absurd to blame Bush as a few pics in that tribute did. Come on now...

I admit that I used to look forward to Hurricane Season. I loved to track them and just look at them in awe. There has always been something amazing about watching that kind of power. (on sat.) After I saw what Ivan and Charley did in 2004, I lost that "woo-hoo, it's time to track canes!" mentality. When you've been what my friends call a "hurricane freak" all your life, I guess you're drawn into watching them, learning.
Then along came Katrina and watching what happened on the news was unreal...this couldn't really be happening!

It did.

Then another mean woman, Rita takes aim for where I live.

Here?

In late September?

Yep.

The whole season was surreal....from the number of named storms to the amount of devastation from Texas to Florida, as well as all of the other areas in the Caribbean and Mexico who were hit. Sometimes I think someone will pinch me and wake me up, and I'll be like "Boy, was that some nightmare! Listen to this...."

I don't think that's going to happen.

Today is exactly 4 months since Rita hit, nearly 5 months since Katrina hit and it's only a little over 4 months until Hurricane Season starts again. Yes, I'll be here watching closely, still learning more about them as I go.

But I don't look forward to it anymore. I dread it. I fear it.

This season I will concentrate more on preparedness (translation: get out). Seeing how things were handled here and other places, it's clear that we can learn from each other and at least improve preparedness and recovery.

SG, excellent post and observations.

I loved all of the different approaches to remembering this unprecedented disaster and this unprecedented season.

I, too, am dreading this upcoming hurricane season. This area took a healthy wallop from the storms and has not sufficiently recovered enough to take another significant hit. Heck, even severe thunderstorms that impacted the area last night caused extensive damage.

My aunt died on September 4 and it's still doubly hard. I took a trip a couple weeks ago to see her house -- actually, what's left of it. The stairs led to nowhere. I bawled my eyes out.

[Stratosphere747]

I have to echo the sentiments shared by SG and others. There was a time that I could not wait for hurricane season and tracking the storms. The last few years have unquestionably taken that away. It is fearful to think that we are in a possible cycle with even more devastating storms to come.

I can tell you one thing that I was sick of last year and might even get me a little vacation from here, is the cheerleaders of this board that make the little similes and high-five each other when a storm reaches cat4 or 5 intensity. Check yourself. They are something to be in awe of, but the days of cheering for a storm of that intensity to form, especially one that does so near the CONUS or anywhere in the Caribbean for that matter should be over.

Scott

[creole_lady]

That was wonderful. Thank you. Please everyone keep us all in your prayers. My son whose a NOPD officer seen 2 people in past couple of weeks commit suicide. I'm leaving from work heading to my trailer that's in front of my house. I had 11 ft of water. What's so hard is coming home everyday to see the house like that. But there is hope, I still have my job, my family is well, a hurricane grandbaby on the way, and plans to rebuild. I just need more strength. Don't forget about us.