Seven Years Later

I actually wrote this post 2 years ago on the 5th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina hitting....now that seven years has passed I thought I would share it again.

Seven years ago my family was joking “oh there is another hurricane coming to New Orleans”

Seven years ago they were evacuating to come to Houston for “the weekend”

…to do some shopping

…see the family

…have a good time

…to crack jokes that they only time we see each other is when we evacuate

Seven years ago we were relieved for a moment that Katrina had not caused that much damage

Seven years ago my family and I were sitting on the couch watching the flood waters tear through a city we all love

Seven years ago my Aunt was wondering if she was ever going to see her son again

Seven years ago my family was praying that their homes were still standing

Seven years ago we never thought we would be housing over 10 people in our home ranging from 3 years old to 80

Seven years ago my dear friend did lose her home, and almost everything she owned

Seven years ago my cousin was stuck inside the NOLA courthouse because of rising waters

Seven years ago is something that we will never forget

That house was completely uprooted and moved down the street - it is not a cul-de-sac

Hurricane Katrina is something that we will never forget. My family did get lucky and only sustained minor damage, but the city was forever changed. I took these photos - mostly in the lower ninth ward and St. Bernard Parish - a few months after the storm hit. These images I will never forget, seeing the destruction up close is indescribable. 

My cousin who was a police officer at the time, stayed there through the storm, after the storm hit we could not get a hold of him, he had to write his contact information on his clothes in case anything happened. Him and his buddy ended up being able to evacuate after several days. His sister picked him, his buddy, and his buddy's 3 great aunts - all in their late 70's early 80's (there were 3, we called them the golden girls) and brought them to my parents house. It was heartwarming to see people come together to help our NOLA family that was in need, and we will never forget what happened 7 years ago this weekend.

This year my family sits in New Orleans without power battling through Hurricane Isaac. I hope this storm passes soon and we do not look back on gut wrenching images like these as a result of this storm.