All along the Gulf Coast, cities remember Hurricane Katrina

As Hurricane Katrina hammered the nation’s Gulf Coast in late August of 2005, very few residents of the region had seen anything like it.

Though New Orleans became the focus of the media’s scope following the break of the levees that flooded large portions of the city, a number of smaller cities and communities in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida were also affected by the devastating category 5 storm.

Now, a decade after the storm pummeled the Gulf Region, a few of its other communities are breaking through the solemn thoughts and memories that annually cloud the last days of August to commemorate and celebrate their survival, rebuilding and resilience after Katrina.

New Orleans’ coastal neighbor to the east, Gulfport, Mississippi, shared the brunt of the storm’s force in late August 2005.

The second largest city in the state, Gulfport was slammed with eight straight hours of winds up to 150 miles per hour and a 28-foot storm surge once the storm made landfall on August 29.

According to local records, the hurricane left 9,500 homes damaged or destroyed, wrecked nearly 100 city-owned public parks and businesses and ruined parts of the city’s water, sewer and drainage infrastructure.

In total, initial cleanup and restoration efforts cost the city $79.7 million with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other organizations providing more than $300 million in public assistance and revitalization funds to repair the community in the 10 years since the storm.

Today, the city touts better public safety efforts, increased tax revenue, thriving businesses and efforts in historic preservation and beautification as it reflects on the growth and change it’s seen in the wake of incredible destruction.

“Hurricane Katrina tested the Coast, and we passed with flying colors,” Gulfport Mayor Billy Hewes said in a written statement.

Back in 2005, Hewes served as State Senator before becoming the city’s mayor in 2013.

“We came back stronger, smarter and better than ever, proving that bricks and mortar do not make a place; it is the resiliency and determination of the people who have a true love for their home,” he said.

On Saturday, the city and its local churches plan to unite for a remembrance service at Gulfport Harbor to celebrate the past decade of recovery, rebuilding and renewal since Katrina.

“The End”

For Biloxi, Mississippi and its residents, remembering the years since Katrina battered its coastline will mark the end of what’s been an emotional decade of memories, vigils and revitalization.

“We’ll have a memorial service, similar to what we’ve done each year since the storm, but number 10 will be the end, Biloxi Public Affairs Manager Vincent Creel said. “[Maybe] until the 20th anniversary.”

According to Creel, this Saturday night, to mark what the city is calling the “end of the beginning,” there will be a concert for in the city’s new MGM Park, a 6,000-seat minor league baseball stadium, to mark its 10 years of progress.

“We lost so many historic properties that can never be replaced because of new flood regulations and building codes,” Creel said. “It was reminiscent of the old photos you see of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.”

While the community and its residents had weathered 1969’s Hurricane Camille some 30 years before Katrina, Biloxi’s city planning and development were no match for the 2005 hurricane’s force.

“Katrina was not our first rodeo, but it was certainly the biggest we’d ever faced,” Creel said. “Everyone had a habit of basing everything on Camille, the strongest storm to ever strike the U.S. up to that time. People built houses based on the Camille high water mark, and gauged everything by Camille. Fatalistic thinking, it was.”

Fifty-two Biloxi residents died in the storm’s wake. 

“We began picking up the pieces,” Creel said. “Removing 3 million cubic yards of debris, enough to cover a football field with debris piled 140 stories high, took 18 months. Today, we continue to rebuild our infrastructure – the storm drains, utility lines below our city streets.”

“Prepare for disasters of all kinds”

Before Katrina made landfall on the Gulf Coast, coastal communities and cities like Miami experienced large-scale effects like wind and water damage related to the storm while not being in its direct path. 

 “The City of Miami suffered extensive damage throughout,” Assistant Fire Chief Pete Gomez remembers.

Gomez, who also works as Emergency Manager and Urban Areas Security Initiative Administrator, said that Miami law enforcement and emergency officials rallied to provide support for residents distressed by flooding, power outages and medical needs.

“Points of Distribution (POD) sites were set up in strategic locations to be able to provide ice and water to residents who lost power and the city’s personnel performed admirably in [providing] the needed services to the residents in very trying and stressful conditions,” he said.

Like many residents and officials in other communities affected by Katrina’s wrath, Gomez can also remember the presence of FEMA relief efforts in tandem with those of local elected officials and the importance of plan development to ensure the recovery of the city.

Because of Hurricane Katrina and its magnitude, Gomez says, “we are able to plan more effectively and prepare for disasters of all kinds.”

As Biloxi and the countless other communities affected and forever touched by Hurricane Katrina remember the storm that changed them and the decade since, it is the things learned, noted and cherished in hindsight that are the focus – not the destruction and somber memories.

“We’ve gained a new appreciation for what is really important,” Creel said. “And, finally, we know that, recovery is in our DNA.”