On the 29th of August 2005, the Gulf Coast was devistated by a monster storm called Katrina. There are many towns around us that don't even exist anymore. Pass Christian is one good example. Bay St. Louis is another. Long Beach was nearly wiped off the map also. Literally the distruction Katraina caused from Biloxi to New Orleans was something I never imagined one single storm could do. I have been through many hurricanes and typhoons but this was the worst by far,

On this page you will find pictures Laura and I took of the devistation near our house and neighborhood. There are also pictures others have taken of the base and south of the railroad tracks where the damage was most severe.

We sheltered on the base in my new office building and were safe. We took on very little water on the first floor because the windows were leaking under the 200+ mph wind gusts. We watched as roofs came off from hangers all around us. We also watched our Ford Explorer get pumeled over and over with pea size gravel used on the hanger roofs.

No one on base was killed or seriously injured. There was a lot of flooding and that is evident by the photos from the base. The BX and Commisary were both under about 12 feet of water, the hospital had between 18 inches and 5 feet. 90 percent of the roofs were damaged and most of base housing was flooded or destroyed by the tidel surge.

Our house took some shingle damage and the dry wall ceiling in the garage came down. The kitchen ceiling leaked a little but didn't fall. No windows were broken and the house stayed secure. My greatest fear was that most of the tall pines behind my house would have ended up on the house but only one fell and didn't hit any of the houses. Four others will have to be cut down because they are either too damaged or leaning badly.

We were lucky! Our neighborhood took very little damage compared to those around us. Our neighborhood is less than .25 miles from the bay but we are 30 feet above the water. The water came up to the Causeway road but didn't come past. You will see this on the satillite photos.

Base Destruction and Flooding