My Hurricane Katrina Story & Why I’m Paying it Forward on Giving Day

This Hurricane Katrina story is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of American Red Cross. All opinions are 100% mine.

Over a decade later, Hurricane Katrina is still one of the first things that comes to people’s minds when they think of New Orleans, Louisiana. I don’t think I’ve ever shared my story with y’all, so today I want to let y’all in on a bit of what it was like. Everyone, near and far, watched the devastation and tragedy unfold along the Gulf Coast on August 29, 2005 and the days following. This natural disaster will forever be a part of history that my home state will never be able to erase. Still to this day, people in Louisiana and surrounding areas feel the effects of the aftermath from the storm. While many have rebuilt and came back stronger than ever, there are still reminders everywhere.

My parents and I were fortunate enough to only have roof damage to our home after Hurricane Katrina, unlike the hundreds of thousands in Louisiana and along the Gulf Coast that were left homeless from flooding and wind damage. Unfortunately both sets of my grandparents were not as lucky as we were. They lost their homes due to the flooding and storm surge and were one of the many that had no choice but to live in a temporary FEMA trailer parked at their gutted home for over a year while they rebuilt. Given the widespread destruction, rental housing options were very limited. Like many, they also didn’t want to leave their property due to fear of vandalism and break ins, which were very common at the time, so they opted not to temporarily stay with us or other family members.

The morning we evacuated (I believe the day before the storm made landfall), my grandparents, who lived in Mississippi near the coast, were being hesitant and didn’t want to leave. We arrived at their house to pick them up, only to find out they hadn’t packed anything yet because they had changed their minds and planned to stay behind. After much convincing, we got them in the car and we all headed to safety. We evacuated to North Alabama, where we later watched the devastation unfold. I don’t remember how long exactly, but I know we were stuck there for about 2 weeks.

Once people started to return back to their homes, or what was left of them, we began making calls to neighbors to find out if it was safe to return. We were told our house was fine, but there was no electricity and nothing was open. We were also told my grandparents’ house was fine, so we decided to finally go home. We headed straight to my grandparents’ house since it was much closer from where we were staying. Upon arrival, I remember seeing the military stationed everywhere, armed and on guard. Mandatory curfew was in place and nobody was allowed on the roads after 6pm.

Expecting to arrive to an intact and untouched house, we instead pulled up to what looked like a war zone. My grandparents’s house had been hit by a powerful storm surge which had completely gutted the entire house. Clothes that were once in the closet were hanging from trees across the street, shattered TVs were laying in the front yard, loose bricks were everywhere, mold had set in, the refrigerator had floated from the kitchen to the other side of the house, along with many other pieces of furniture. Nothing was in place and there was very little to be salvaged. We were in shock and devastated. After coming to reality, we walked down the street to see if any neighbors were home, only to see that those houses were completely leveled with only a roof left laying flat on the ground.

Thankfully we evacuated for this storm, otherwise I’m not sure I’d still be alive today to tell this story. Had my grandparents refused to leave, we would have stayed with them and been in that house when the storm surge hit.

Louisiana and Mississippi were anything but functional after the storm. Nobody had electricity, there weren’t any stores open, and every resource was limited. Our original plan was to stay with my grandparents until electricity was restored, but instead we had to come up with another plan. By the time we made it back from Alabama, it was near curfew and too late for us to get on the road and drive any further to stay at our house, so we were stuck. Our only option was to stay at a local church that had turned into a shelter for the displaced, which luckily was untouched by the storm. It was either that or sleep on a cot outside in the grocery store parking lot, where they had set up another shelter. We were grateful to have the shelter we did.

What I experienced the next few days is something I’ll never forget. People were coming together and helping as much as they could. Churches and store parking lots turned into donation centers. Tables were lined up with all the donated, new essentials you could ever need: toiletries, food, water, clothes, etc. Everyone was told to help themselves to what they needed – no questions asked.

The following weeks were spent roughing it with no electricity. MREs (meals ready to eat) were provided by the government for those in need of food. They’re not very appetizing, but food is food. I vividly remember the American Red Cross trucks driving through my neighborhood delivering fresh, hot, home cooked meals door to door every night for dinner weeks following the storm. I looked forward to this everyday! When you go weeks without electricity, you really can appreciate a hot, home cooked meal! I’ll never forget the volunteers that dedicated their time and service to help an entire state get back on their feet and feel a little “normal”.

Having gone through one of the worst and most deadly natural disasters in history, I can really appreciate organizations that give back to those facing similar situations. March 28 is the American Red Cross’ Giving Day. Giving Day is a 24 hour fundraising event focused on driving financial donations to support disaster relief work to help families after any disaster – big or small.

Nearly every eight minutes, the American Red Cross meets a family that has lost everything to a disaster—the roof over their heads, their clothes, their most cherished possessions, all gone. You can help during those first devastating hours by participating in Giving Day. The idea behind this is to raise monetary funds to provide relief for others.  Financial donations are preferable and can be put to use right away to provide people with exactly what they need.

If you’re looking for a great way to pay it forward, consider taking part in Giving Day and unite with thousands of people like you to make a difference. If we each #help1family, think of what we could do! Visit redcross.org/givingday to learn more.

Ready to take action? Click here to GIVE NOW – your donations will support Red Cross Giving Day which is raising money to help support families after every disaster big and small!

Want to learn more about Giving Day? Check out this video.

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