These scenes of devastation date from late 2005 and early 2006 in East Biloxi, which was one of the Mississippi coastal communitues that took the brunt of Katrina's spinning jagged wheel of destruction.
Survivors described a thirty-foot wall of water pushed by the hurricane over the entire peninsula that is East Biloxi. The wall was so powerful it lifted the huge anchored barges serving as offshore casinos and drove them landward, where they demolished everything in their path before coming to rest a half mile inward.
Another wall of water rose from the waterway behind East Biloxi -- Back Bay -- and roared over the land in the opposite direction (toward the Gulf). The two water skyscrapers crashed together over the area, smashing mansions and shacks alike into twisted piles of muddy debris.
Out of the ruins, a community is trying to rebuild itself. Government agencies and the large disaster relief organizations have mostly departed. Residents are depending instead on the thousands of volunteers who have poured into the area since September 2005 in their effort to reclaim something of the vibrant community life they have lost.
Little progress has yet been made. So much remains to be done. I'm trying to bring some attention back on this forgotten coast this Christmas season. In coming days I hope to list organizations in Mississippi and Louisiana that need your help. Please consider doing something to help this holiday season.
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