Wednesday, April 26, 2006

Everything's Gone - The Gulf Coast flyover 6 months later ... Gene Edwards

Gene Edwards
Deputy Director of Content Operations

It’s been interesting to read comments from viewers about our trip. Many quite surprised that it looks so much like it did just after the storm. As a reporter, I’ll never forget being at “ground zero” when a huge tornado struck a trailer park in Brandon, Mississippi a few years ago…this trip was even more unbelievable. Especially when you listen to Coyt talking about what it was like just after the storm. He and Joe were pretty brave to head out that morning with no idea what they might find…and faced with the fact that they might not be able to refuel on their way home.

One of the most amazing things we saw was the boat that had been dropped down amongst the trees. The trees were not damaged! The boat had to come in from above the trees. From the air you also get a much better sense of the “brown line”. In many places the gulf water came more than a mile up onto the land. It’s also tough to see so few signs of activity and rebuilding. Really drives home the totality of the destruction and makes you understand that it’s going to be a very long time before anything seems normal down there again.
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