Katrina Recovery:Helping Hands

Biloxi, MississippiNovember 2005

The Call

October e-mail from the National Diaconate Office:“We’ve been saying ‘wait,’ but NOW is the time!”

Get yourself here, bring sleeping bag/bedding;we’ll support the rest

Response is a leap of faith: more questions than answers!

The Storm

Katrina’s eye passed just East of New Orleans, so 75 milesof Mississippi Gulf Coast got the impact of on-shore winds

4 hours of 100 mph sustained wind, 155 mph gusts, 13 hours of destructive winds

32-foot wall of Gulf water from storm surge. In Biloxi, a second 20-foot wall of water also came from the bay behind

The Aftermath

The green paint is the address, because this house is now on its neighbor’s lot

The orange paint is the FEMA “X” triage sign: date, inspector, number of dead persons found inside, and number of dead pets found inside (0 and 0 in this case)

The first 5 blocks inland

For all 75 miles of the Mississippi coast, the housing areas nearest the shore were, with few exceptions, totally destroyed, for up to 1/4 mile inland

In Bay St. Louis and Waveland, near-total destruction from wind alone extended 30 miles inland.

In the part of Biloxi pictured here, 120 people lost their lives during the storm

At 11 weeks, the tree foliage has returned. Real recovery has yet to begin. Note the chairs on this porch roof, where people waited for the waters to recede after the winds died down.

East Biloxi

Garbage Piles

On streets where houses could be salvaged, everything soaked by flood waters had to go

Personal possessions, furniture, carpet, wall board; everything down to the studs and subfloors got dumped on the street

Beachfront Property

These upscale condos, across US Hwy 90 from the beach, survived the winds reasonably well

The bottom floors, however, did not survive the wall of water, the storm surge

Casinos and Barges

The area economy is shellfishing, and more recently, gambling casinos. State law forced gambling on barges, though casino hotels are on land

In the storm, the barges became liabilities, wreaking havoc in their path. All are now on dry land, across US Hwy 90 from the water

The Stories

Many took refuge from rising flood waters in their attics. Some died, but many survived by breathing in house ventilators in the roof

Children were sometimes held above the water line

One man in Bay St. Louis survived by breathingthrough a piece of PVC pipe

Many people have relocated, either permanently or temporarily.There is a “ghost town” feeling

Some people remain, living in tents in their yards

After 12 weeks, some are living in FEMA trailers on their property

Some agencies provided shelter early on; many still provide food. Our own lunches came from the Salvation Army or Red Cross

Some folks make do: one Vietnamese lady cooks on an open wokin the street for all her neighbors

Survival After the Storm

The People

Thanh, survivor Winnie, volunteerAfter escaping from her attic by falling through the wallboard, she survived with her grandchild by hugging a tree for four hours in 100+ mph winds

With her husband Don, came from Montana to “help in any way we could”

After 10-12 weeks, many just beginning to get over the shock and looking at “picking up the pieces” of their lives

Many who did not evacuate had no choice;those who chose to “ride it out” cannot be judged

Paralysis from the enormity of rebuilding can strike anyone. The secretary at our retreat center could not face her own home without help from volunteers

Survivors

Volunteers

From every part of the country, every age and walk of life, singly and in large teams, volunteers come to answer the need of suffering people

Sponsored by Catholic Charities, this effort is only one of myriad who are on site

The Volunteer “Product”:A gutted house — and no more smell!

Emptied, cleaned, stripped, and dry

Ready for mold remediation and reconstruction

Working Together

Volunteers with the homeowners (4th and 5th from left) and their daughter and her husband (right), down from Jackson, MS to help

The help of the volunteers enabled them to take on the daunting task, and to gain confidence in being able to finish it

Joy: A Shared Experience

Amid the disaster, through the suffering, joy emerges

Survivors and volunteers both experienced the joy

Survivors: An Advent People

Residents often expressed a range of similar thoughts, whether in person, on TV, or in letters to the editor:

We’ve been through a lot. We now know what is important

What we lost is not what is important

What remains to us is not material, but it is irreplaceable:the family, the love, the connections among us all

We live in hope and in trust

We are grateful, now more than ever before

Volunteers: Changed Forever

A bonding experience, with other volunteersand with survivors

A change of heart: no judging, empathy instead

Get to see it from the victim’s perspective

Changed forever by the strength of the survivors

The Promise“In Biloxi’s destroyed St. Michael’s Church, I met a young lady who had come home to help her mother cope with the aftermath of the hurricane. She was distressed by the destruction of her childhood church, and of the whole area.

“Seeing I was a volunteer, she thanked me for coming to help her region in its need.

“I told her that when the earthquake or volcano came to my part of the country, she would be there to help us. She nodded and thought about it, and we went on to our own explorations of the church.

“When I left, I called out good-bye. She stopped me, looked at me intently, and said ‘When that earthquake comes, I will be there.’

“We shared a holy moment together.”— Deacon Brian Diehm

The NeedMoving from tear-down phase into rebuilding

The need will be for 3 — 5 years

Volunteers (that’s you) are always needed:individuals, groups, couples; all ages and skills

Call Deanna at the Catholic CharitiesLong-Term Relief Office: (228) 234-3901.Let them know when you’re coming