I was on the outer edge of the storm and had to flee and I remember --

My niece evacuated ahead of the storm. Her dad was on the phone with her guiding her out. She lost everything.

At the time she was a student at Tulane. To this day I am profoundly impressed by the kindness of officials at Duke University. Within days, they gave her admission with a full ride and an assigned student helper to get her acclimated. Duke University is a class act. They helped her along with other student refugees to get back on their feet.

Later, she was able to return to Tulane to get her degree. After some time away during the recovery phase, she resides once again in her beloved NOLA.

All of my family lived (and still does) an hour from the Mississippi Gulf Coast and an hour from New Orleans...some relatives right on the Coast. The ones an hour away had to evacuate but luckily only sustained minimal and repairable damage. The ones on the Coast lost everything and for some it took several years before they could return.

We went down there a few months after Katrina and it was sad to see how many of the historical homes on the Coast were lost and how much destruction there was. The last time we were down there (Dec 2013) I was surprised at how much has still not been rebuilt on the Mississippi Gulf Coast :(



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/30/2016 07:52PM by eunice.

I haven't been down there, but the non-rebuilt areas are quite visible on Google maps, satellite view. Waveland, MS, just east of NO, took a direct hit, and you can see empty foundations and lots.

Maybe not fighting, but learning to live with hurricanes is smart. I can't see tiny humans "winning" against the oceans.

ban hurricanes ~


(srs)