similar to today in
MENTIONED... TODAY IS THE 15TH
ANNIVERSARY OF HURRICANE
KATRINA...
THE STORM WHIPPED THROUGH THE
GULF
COAST IN 2005...
AND WITH RESOTORATION EFFORTS
AFTER HURRICANE LAURA
UNDERWAY --- THE DEVASTATION
KATRINA
BROUGHT IS ON THE MINDS OF
LOUISIANA
RESIDENTS....
METEOROLOGIST THOMAS GEBOY
REPORTS WITH MORE...
I'm meteorologist Thomas Geboy.
I'm in my hometown
of Ocean Springs Mississippi and
behind me
is the Mississippi Sound. I'm
standing in a now-empty
lot. In 2004 there used to be a
house here, but in
2005 Hurricane Katrina took this
house and
everything inside of it.
Hurricane Katrina was one of, if
not the most
significant hurricane to ever
hit the United States. This
wasn't due to it's power alone,
but how widespread
the devastating impacts
stretched. The devastation
could be found for nearly a 100
mile stretch along the
central Gulf Coast from
Southeast Louisiana to
Mobile Bay. The peak storm surge
was record-
breaking of nearly 28 ft. in
Pass Christian.
Katrina completely changed the
landscape of the
Mississippi Gulf Coast. The
physical toll from the
destruction was hard to
comprehend, however, the
emotional toll was even greater.
This is probably
best encapsulated by Hardy
Jackson. He spoke to one
of our reporters in the
immediate aftermath of the
storm.
Hardy Jackson:
Mr. Jackson: The house just
split in half. Got up all
the way to the roof and water
just opened it up.
News 5 Reporter: Who was at your
house? Mr.
Jackson: My wife, can't find
her. She is gone. I was
holding her hand as tight as I
could. She said you can't
hold me. Take care of the kids.
We ain't got nowhere
to go, I'm lost. That's all I
had.
In our area, Hurricane Katrina
brought storm
surge that reached to near 20
feet all the way to the
MS/AL line, nearly 15 feet of
surge in the Bayou and
nearly record-tying surge to
Mobile Bay of almost 12
feet. Water Street in Downtown
was submerged
and communities along the
western shore of Mobile
Bay suffered incredible damages.
Bayou La Batre
was hit hard. In the aftermath
boats had to be
pulled out of trees and houses
were either
destroyed or had multiple feet
of water in them.
Hurricane-force wind gusts
extended into our area and
a wind gust of nearly 100 mph
was recorded on
Dauphin Island. Katrina also
spawned 4 tornadoes
in southwest Alabama and 5
tornadoes in Northwest
Florida.
Hurricane Katrina was truly a
life-changing storm for
those that lived through it and
unfortunately, it
claimed hundreds of lives. The
name Katrina stirs
wounds that may never be healed
along the Gulf
Coast. This storm is a reminder
of what Mother
Nature is capable of at her
worst.
TODAY NEW ORLEANS MAYOR LATOYA
CANTRELL HELD A WREATH LAYING
CEREMONY TO COMMEMORATE THE
DAY...
