Three Years Later
Aug. 29th, 2008 07:11 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dreamflowerA few weeks ago, my husband and I drove home from my mother's funeral, and decided to come home by way of Mississippi, in order to see his sister, whom we hadn't seen since we moved.
I don't know how to say this more politely: it made me sick, literally. Yes, the bridges are fixed. But Highway 90 is still only two lanes for most of its length. Yes, most of the mounds of debris are gone. But far too many hulking shells of broken buildings still stand. Yes, some things have been rebuilt. But they are far too few and far between, and most of the intersections still consist of empty concrete slabs.
Now, three years later, the Coast is hunkering down as Gustav is expected to head that way. It is a mandatory evacuation for everyone who lives south of I-10. That includes my sister-in-law, who after 18 months in a FEMA trailer, had finally settled into a new apartment in Bay St. Louis. She has only just begun to rebuild her life, which was completely wiped out by Katrina.
My own dreams have been troubled the last few days with the memories of that horrible time. And we were among the lucky ones.
Some of you are new to my flist. If so, you may not have seen the diary I kept during Hurricane Katrina. You can find it here:
My Hurricane Katrina Diary
And here are some of the pictures I took after the storm:
Katrina Pictures here and Here.
I still have many friends on the Coast. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers this weekend. Let's hope that Gustav will go away.
Another blow like Katrina at this point in time--well, I do not think the Coast will *ever* recover.
I don't know how to say this more politely: it made me sick, literally. Yes, the bridges are fixed. But Highway 90 is still only two lanes for most of its length. Yes, most of the mounds of debris are gone. But far too many hulking shells of broken buildings still stand. Yes, some things have been rebuilt. But they are far too few and far between, and most of the intersections still consist of empty concrete slabs.
Now, three years later, the Coast is hunkering down as Gustav is expected to head that way. It is a mandatory evacuation for everyone who lives south of I-10. That includes my sister-in-law, who after 18 months in a FEMA trailer, had finally settled into a new apartment in Bay St. Louis. She has only just begun to rebuild her life, which was completely wiped out by Katrina.
My own dreams have been troubled the last few days with the memories of that horrible time. And we were among the lucky ones.
Some of you are new to my flist. If so, you may not have seen the diary I kept during Hurricane Katrina. You can find it here:
My Hurricane Katrina Diary
And here are some of the pictures I took after the storm:
Katrina Pictures here and Here.
I still have many friends on the Coast. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers this weekend. Let's hope that Gustav will go away.
Another blow like Katrina at this point in time--well, I do not think the Coast will *ever* recover.