8 yrs ago tonight I never imagined that come the next morning that I would lose everything I had worked for all my life.

Its hard to imagine that living 90 miles inland that Hurricane Katrina would basically destroy my home town and county. 2nd hardest hit area in the state.

We had people from all over the US and outside offering help. We even had the Mounties from Canada down here assisting. It just goes to show that people will band together and help their neighbors!

Yeah just rambling now. Just reflecting on all that has changed since then.

Oh and word of advice. NEVER take having ice or even water for granted lol.

Any of you affected by Katrina back then?

idk im just wondering when all my hard work is going to pay off.

You still live down there? Sometimes I think people who live in Tornado/Hurricane areas are crazy to be there. The worst thing I'd have to deal with here would be fires or maybe floods, but since I live a decent distance from any dense forest and on a hill I wouldnt have to worry about either.

I went to NOLA as a volunteer initially and then went back later with a buddy in the scrapping business. I still live in mississippi but not close to the coast.

It is quiet incredible looking from aus at the images and video how much devastation that was caused. Very sad. Good to hear things are rebuilding.

I don't think anything would come close to actually being there on the ground.

Earthquake is all I have to worry about.

I have been through several hurricanes. Normally you get strong winds for about an hour or two but Katrina lasted over 8 hours with 100 + mph winds.

Just in my county we had over 1600 power trucks from all over. Then figure in 4-5 men per truck working round the clock and power still remained off for weeks.

I have been through 2 pretty devastating earthquakes here in Christchurch, 2 years on and the city is still pretty fluffed up.

We had people from all over the world come to our small little city to help find people which was amazing.

On the water thing, fully agree, it was only 3 months before the earthquakes that we bought this massive chest freezer (for no reason at all except all they wanted was a 24 pack of beer for it!) to save on the power costs for it we collected empty bottles and filled them up with water to ensure the freezer was full (full freezer = cheaper on power usage) we had about 60 liters of water which was a god send for our friends, family and neighbours who had no water for a very long time (we were very very lucky and our water came back on the next day, you could not drink it, but govt was giving out plenty of pills to clean water).

If I can give advise to anyone, always always always store plenty of frozen water in your freezer.

So very true. Water is a must!

Our local sheriff confiscated a FEMA truck that had water and ice and gave it to those that couldn't other wise get to there they distributed it.

There was A LOT of grilling going on after it, just so all the meat in freezers wouldn't ruin.

I get to hear nearly every day how a massive, record-breaking quake is supposed to hit my area any day now....Yay....

Well that sucks big time! Good luck with that for sure!!

Work sent me to work in Mobile after Katrina. I worked in Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi. I will never forget the devastation and chaos I encountered. Eight lane highways as four way stops, a whole field of very large trees laying over with root balls almost the size of houses, homes just gone nothing left but the foundation.
People cried when I arrived at there homes to restore their service, and I am just a TV, internet, and phone tech. I never felt my job really mattered until then. They all said the same thing, that I was restoring some normalcy to their lives and treated me like family. I don't think there was a single home I went to that didn't offer me something to eat and drink.

Yea TY, we had hardly any contact with the outside world. Cell towers last maybe an hour into the storm, no radio stations we on to even hear all of the damage.

1-2 hours is the battery life. Sometimes you can get a bit more, depending on several factors.

After that, sites with diesel generators will have those kick in. A diesel generator can last quite a while if fueled and working properly. However, if the diesel generators are underwater, no dice.

Once the generators run out of diesel, you have to be able to get the diesel trucks there to refuel them (another logistical nightmare).

This all assumes power via the lines isn't restored.

In Katrina it was almost impossible to get diesel into the areas safely.

It is sadly amusing that the power companies get mad at the cellular companies b/c their workers cannot communicate over the cellular networks but they cannot because the cellular networks lack power...

It's been 8 years? Wow time sure flies.

I was working down there too doing flood claims and spent a fair amount of time (~5-6 months) along the Gulf Coast. A lot of it in Chalmette, Arabai, and the 9th Ward.

There was not a lot of grilling in those parts. About a dozen of my claims were total losses, ie, only the footprint foundation of the house remained. Those three towns/areas were all under 20 ft of water. Meat left in a fridge that's been flooded and then rotting in 90 degree temperatures and caked in mud for weeks is arguably one of the worst smells I've ever encountered. Other things I ran into, turned a corner to see a corpse covered by a tarp most of the way (the National Guard didn't find everything the first time through), had a water mocassin jump at me, opened the door to an m16 in my face one night as I must have been a few minutes past curfew, and many more not so fun stories.

Oh, and getting into the city, augh what a mess. I-10 twinspan was washed out. Rt 15 was open on one side. Lake P causeway also open on only one side.

Through it all, the only place in town with cold drinks was the Red Cross/Salvation Army with those water trucks OR in the French Quarter, one or two of the restaurants were open serving only beer (no water), but it was cold.

I was working in S. Mississippi just before the Hurricane, evacuated for 48 hours and then scrambled back down to try and salvage our work. I spent a week in Bay St Louis, then moved to Mandeville. We were doing environmental work related to all of the petroleum tanks that were damaged/destroyed. I remember 5-6 guys hot-bunking in a single bed hotel room, working 16+ hours a day. I did not get back down to NO for a month or so, so I never saw the flooding but the post Katrina environment was the most surreal setting I've ever seen.

Well by now my town would be dark and only the sounds of sirens and chain saws would be heard. Plus it was hot as heck.

It affected me only in odd ways of avoidance. I switched jobs about a month before, the company I had worked for wound up over there for several months afterwards helping restore connectivity. Had I still been with them I'd have gone as well.

Having spent the first 25 years of my life in Florida I've lived through more hurricanes then I can remember. Several Cat-3, one or two Cat-4's I think, but nothing so devastating.

that explains alot... ur on the pill

Always lived in Hurricane "SAFE" coasts ... Long Island ( guess Sandy said BS to that safe idea)and Va beach but now inland.
In my younger days I ran down to SC after HUGO doing the power line hanging and tree cutting routine with a bunch of co workers and yes the days/ weeks after them storms are surreal, and Katrina was in a league of its own. Glad to hear over the time that things have returned. Yes its the people and the organizations coming together that can help, the Govt can only do so much and somehow they can't even stop playing politics when they need to. Its All about people helping people that matter.
and yes, it seems funny with all that water , that water becomes the important commodity/ needed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Joplin_tornado

this is the carnage I survived....Darrian I have dear friends who went to help you guys out down there after Katrina