Meadville Tribune - What if Katrina came a-calling in your town or neighborhood?

Meadville Tribune - What if Katrina came a-calling in your town or neighborhood?: "What if, after Hurricane Camille’s destruction in 1969 you had built a home or business to the specifications required. Your building had to be x-number of feet above the flood level, so you built it the way it would be “safe.” Now you have pillars standing where you built your home or business, but nothing else.

What if you owned one of those beautiful beachfront homes that is now a slab of concrete. You just park your camper or motor home on your property and make the best of it. If you are really rich, you can rebuild, but if this was your ancestral home, you are out of luck if you don’t have the money. So you live in your camper like everyone else. The people in the poorest section of town and the richest section of town are all in campers; what an equalizer.

And the destruction is so widespread. Who knew that the water would go nine miles back in from the beach?

And what if the hurricane was more than a year ago and, today, more than 17 months later, these are still your living conditions? And no relief is in sight."

Many thanks to Carol Bauer for this article - as well as for the time she and her husband spent volunteering here on the coast. Thank you thank you thank you.