Growing up in the Hurricane Culture... Thomas Broadus
Thomas Broadus
Web Admin
Well, here it is just around the corner. Hurricane Season is looming closer and closer and while it will officially start June 1, 2006, and will last until November 30, 2006, many people in Mississippi never got out of hurricane mode.
I grew up in a little town called Pascagoula, smack dab on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. I lived on Martin Street, which just a little further down the road turns into Beach Blvd, so one could say I am a tried and true coast rat, born and raised in the hurricane culture. Our home was rebuilt from Camille, survived Fredrick, and was again rebuilt from Elaina. We actually got caught in our home during Elaina and this was the first time I remember seeing a true hurricane up close and personal. Ripped roofs, collapsed car ports, flooded rooms and lost memories were all par for the course with these storms.
Time passed and people rebuilt, and again complacency grew between every storm. I remember having hurricane parties, and yes Dominoes did deliver pizzas during a cat 1 storm to my buddy Steve Byrd’s porch. Going down to the Point to check out the weather channel vans and to watch the waves role in was so common, the traffic would be thick with rubber neckers. Also commonplace was boarding and taping up the windows, securing the swing sets, getting batteries and water… all the things you do out of habit. Though even doing all these things I never felt an urgency deserving of these powerful storms.
Then came Katrina. Many or most people who lost homes in Pascagoula are still without. The people in the city are still living in FEMA trailers in their lawns while blue tarps line the neighborhood roofs. All the time this date looms closer June 1, 2006.
I don’t think complacency will set in this year on the coast or anywhere else this season.
But I have to think, at what point will it set in? How many years will it take for people to begin to underestimate these storms again?
Hopefully with our media collection on MPB Online, we’ll be able to remind people how deadly and dangerous these storms are. If you haven’t, please go take a look at the video and photo gallery section over at www.mpbonline.org
And thank you to everyone who has shared their story with MPB, we are proud to be able to let your voice be heard.
posted by MPB Online @ 3:10 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
I really enjoyed reading your blog. It really gave me a sense of coastal life.
I just returned from working in Pascagoula on hurricane relief. We put on a couple of roofs, lots of painting, some sheetrock work and plumbing. We worked out of the United Methodist Church in Gautier and we were told there was enough work to keep volunteers busy for the next 5 years! We were shocked to see all of the blue tarped roofs and other destruction in the gulf area. I had never been to this area before so have nothing with which to compare but, although there was still much man-made repairs to make, I noticed that the magnolias and gardenias have recovered beautifully....spots of joy among the destruction.
I also lived on the coast for most of my life. I to lived right near the beach, I lived on Cherokee St. which wasnt that far from the water. I remember going through Elaina with my family and because of Katrina, I lost my house, car and all possessions and now live in Orlando, Florida. My mom's house was completly destroyed and she has been living in a FEMA trailer ever since...and still to this day..is. I hope the Gulf Coast doesnt see another hurricane like Katrina for a long time.
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