Deja Vu: Isaac Stirring Up Memories of Katrina

Mention "Hurricane Katrina" and most people shudder at the memories left by one of the most devastating storms to ever hit land in the southern United States. Hurricane Katrina made landfall in southern Plaquemines Parish, just south of Buras, Louisiana as a Category 3 hurricane at 6:10 a.m. central time on the morning of August 29, 2005.  At the time of landfall, Katrina was packing winds of near 125 mph east of its center.  While in the open gulf waters, Katrina had at one time been a Category 5 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of near 175 mph.  As a huge and strong Cat 3 hurricane, Katrina brought widespread destruction and devastation to areas in several southern states, particularly Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.  It forever changed the lives of many people in the New Orleans and Mississippi gulf coast regions.  

Now, seven years later, on the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's landfall, another tropical system is wrecking havoc across Louisiana and Mississippi, as well as portions of Alabama and Florida. Hurricane Isaac made its first landfall at 6:45 p.m. CDT on August 28, 2012 over a small section of land in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana as a Category 1 hurricane with sustained winds of 80 mph.After re-emerging over gulf waters and creeping along the borders of Louisiana coastline, it made a second landfall at 2:15 a.m. CDT August 29 just west of Port Fourchon, Louisiana.  

As Isaac approached the Louisiana coast, the minds of many residents turned back to the memories of widespread devastation and personal loss experienced from the effects of Hurricane Katrina.   Feelings of anxiety stirred hurried preparations for those in the forecast track of approaching Isaac. My husband and I are among those who vividly remember Katrina.  The days following landfall of Hurricane Katrina include some of the worst moments of our lives.  It is not an experience that we would chose to reclaim.  This past Sunday, when it became likely that Isaac was heading toward us, my husband and I made our final preparations for the storm- we fueled our vehicles, stocked up on canned goods and bottled water, checked our supply of flashlights and batteries, caught up the laundry and more.  We continually watched the news as updates came in regarding the strengthening of the gulf storm.  We hoped and prayed that Isaac would not become another Katrina.  

Though Isaac doesn't compare to the ferocious blow that Katrina dealt, it has still left behind widespread destruction and flooding in its path.  Here, in southern Mississippi, residents have been feeling the effects of Isaac since Wednesday morning, getting worse through Wednesday night, and expecting the severe weather to linger through late today (Thursday) and into tonight.  Since Isaac is such a broad, slow moving storm (moving between five to eight mph), it is continually dumping sheets of rain upon us.  It is predicted that some counties in southern Mississippi will receive up to 18 inches of rain before the system moves out of our area.  Naturally, local schools and several businesses are closed and residents have been advised to stay indoors as much as possible.  There have already been several tornado warnings posted throughout Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Closer to home, tornado warnings have been previously posted in Pearl River, Wayne, and Hancock counties.  Wind gusts here, in Marion County, have been reported at about 35-40 mph.  Several reports of power outages have been posted while power companies are working overtime to restore electricity to local residents.  (Fortunately, we have not lost power yet).  There have been reports of downed trees and power lines and light structural damage throughout the area.  Additionally, Marion County is under a flash flood warning.  Pearl River, which runs through the county, is said to be already at 16.5 feet, while minor flood stage is 17 feet.  

Most recent radar image, 6:05 AM, Thurs, Aug 30, 2012

The above image shows the heavy rain slowly passing through the Columbia area where I reside. Areas to the east including Waynesboro, Leakesville and Wiggins are getting even heavier rain at present.  A friend of mine just posted on facebook that the downtown area of Columbia, including Main Street, is presently flooding.  That is bad news for several businesses located there.  

Downed trees across a vehicle in Columbia- one of the reasons people are encouraged to avoid driving during the storm (fortunately, the driver escaped shaken but unharmed)

Downed tree across a house in Columbia yesterday

Structural damage to a local business on South High School
Avenue in Columbia yesterday evening

Like most others, I will be glad to see the final remnants of Isaac fade away, becoming only a memory in the hurricane history records of the south. Realistically, I know that in the future there will eventually be another  hurricane as deadly as Katrina, but I hope and pray that I nor my loved ones will have to bear witness to such an intense, powerfully gruesome storm again in our life time. One Katrina was enough.  

Sharing Memories: (Week 18) Hurricane Betsy

It was September 9, 1965 when Hurricane Betsy slammed into New Orleans with sustained wind speeds of 110 mph. Before that day I did not even know what a "hurricane" was. However, I would receive a real-life experience of the awesome power within such a powerful storm system.

That day was not unusual from any other day... at least to us kids. We spent some time outdoors playing then came in for supper. After we finished our meal we took our baths and later we were tucked into bed. It had been an ordinary day for us.

For our parents, however, it was more intense. They spent more time than usual watching television that day, hoping to view the latest storm updates. Dad had brought home some extra supplies from the store such as flashlights, bread, non-perishable canned goods and boxed food items. After our baths, Mom had filled the bath tub with water. They also had never experienced the effects of a hurricane but they were busy getting prepared by following instructions given on the local news.

I was awakened by loud popping sounds. I didn't know where the noise was coming from so I got out of bed to investigate. As I sleepily took steps toward the kitchen, I stopped to peek out of the windows. It was eerily dark.. no streetlights shining into the windows as usual. The heavy rains pelted against the windows. As I focused my eyes to peer outside, I saw something dancing across the street. Looking harder, I realized it was a piece of tin metal.. from a rooftop. The gusty winds made howling sounds which frightened me. I saw our car actually rocking back and forth as the strong winds blew around us. As I gasped in surprise, Mom heard me and knew I was awake. I saw her face as she shone the flashlight across my path, calling me into the kitchen. She instructed me to get under the table. I didn't understand what was going on... why were Mom and Dad so afraid? Why weren't the lights on in our house?

As I sat under the table, Mom gave me some kool-aid and cookies while telling me about the bad storm outside. She and Dad paced back and forth in the kitchen as they took turns nervously looking out of the windows. Within a few minutes, Frank Jr. found his way to the kitchen and he joined me under the table. We sat there for a long time, or so it seemed that way to us. Mom had brought us our blankets and pillows and made a pallet for us to rest on. As the storm churned outside, we heard loud banging sounds and the heavy rain against our tin roof. The storm echoed noises all night long.

The next day we ventured outside and saw the results of the storm. There were pieces of metal lying in our yard and on the streets... pieces of tin roofs from the local houses. Broken pieces of glass lay scattered everywhere along with small scraps of wood. Trash littered the streets. As we rode through town with Mom and Dad, we saw street signs down and buildings that had been heavily damaged. It seemed like a ghost town, other than those who were out driving around inspecting the damage. The local stores were all closed down. I remember listening to Mom and Dad as they looked around and talked about the damage.

This was Mom and Dad's first experience with a hurricane. They decided that in the future whenever there was a hurricane threat, they would evacuate. Betsy forced them to face the potential dangers of a hurricane. They learned firsthand that it pays to be prepared.

I later learned that Hurricane Betsy killed 76 people in the state of Lousiana. Betsy was the first storm to cause damage in excess of one billion dollars, earning her the nickname "Billion-dollar Betsy". There were approximately 164,000 homes flooded from the torrential rain in the state.