Hurricane Katrina made first landfall over the southernmost points of Louisiana, then made a second landfall over Hancock County near the mouth of the Pearl River in Mississippi on Aug. 29, 2005, before ravaging its way up the state for 17 hours and losing hurricane status after crossing into Tennessee. It was the costliest hurricane to ever hit the U.S., causing approximately $125 billion in damage and was responsible for the loss of an estimated 1,836 lives.
The nation watched in horror as the levees in New Orleans broke, leaving approximately 80% of the Big Easy under flood waters, the Superdome housed thousands of souls in horrific conditions and fumbles delayed the relief for storm victims. While the primary focus of most news outlets remained on New Orleans, all 82 of Mississippi’s counties were affected, and 47 of them were declared disaster areas.
Much of the gulf coast saw storm surges that reached nearly 28 feet, trees inflicted devastation to homes and roads and many communities were reduced to collections of rubble and concrete slabs. 65,380 homes on the Mississippi Gulf Coast were destroyed, flooding reached as far as 12 miles inland, lines of communication were severely limited if not altogether eliminated and millions suffered without power in the typical late summer 90-degree heat paired with humidity upwards of 80%. There were acts of desperation, price gauging, hoarding of resources and looting.
Despite the chaos, destruction and lack of resources, Mississippi communities came together in ways that defied the odds and ultimately saved lives. Lake Terrace Convention Center housed National Guard forces and provided meals for soldiers and first responders, citizens with chainsaws joined forces with first responders to clear paths along roads piled with trees, neighbors came together and shared their resources and people looked out for one another.
Former Forrest County Sheriff, Billy McGee, performed one of the most notable acts during the aftermath of the storm. The Federal Emergency Management Agency had set up a depot at Camp Shelby but neglected to start distributing the resources. He and six deputies managed to “commandeer” two trucks of ice, brought the trucks to Forrest County residents in need and distributed the ice.
McGee later faced prosecution and proudly admitted that he would agree to plead guilty to the charges in order to protect the deputies that assisted his endeavor. Luckily, a change in federal prosecution resulted in no charges being filed. McGee was one of many whose quick thinking and acts of bravery saved lives when our communities needed him most.
Among the unsung heroes of the community were those in broadcast media, who played the vital role of keeping the public informed during the aftermath of the storm. Particularly in the communities that lost power for weeks, radio was the only access many citizens had to the outside world.
“We took Katrina very seriously, and we thought we were adequately prepared,” said Tom Colt, operations manager and member of the ROCK 104 Morning Crew. While the studio remained manned and stocked with provisions, the main studio for Blakeney Communications lost phone contact and studio-to-transmitter link towers, knocking KZ94.3 and ROCK 104 off the air.
Fortunately for the Pine Belt, there was one remaining tower- B95. The company was putting the finishing touches on a new tower for the station, so they were able to use the new generator to power the old tower to get a signal out.
“A make-shift studio was crudely crafted in the transmitter building, and all our on-air personnel – from ROCK 104, B95 and KZ94.3 – took six-hour shifts of driving there [just east of Collins],” said Colt. “That ‘studio’ consisted of a card table, a couple of folding chairs, a microphone and a couple of CD players. That’s where we’d manually play CDs and read reports of where supplies could be found and whatever other information we had.”
Through the work of employees manning the station and taking calls, this station became an invaluable resource. The station coordinated with WDAM and received permission to rebroadcast their news for those without access to television. So, from a small transmitter building, radio broadcasters kept listeners informed when and where there was water, ice, MREs and other resources available in their communities.
Thankfully, the Pine Belt has not seen another storm of the same magnitude. What the community learned in the storm and aftermath became ingrained into the culture of the Pine Belt. Neighbors check on each other and help each other, if needed- a skill that has been invaluable during times of tornados, pandemics and times of need. Communities became better prepared for emergencies. Most of all, the Pine Belt learned that there is nothing that can’t be overcome with the determination and cooperation of its citizens.
- “Extremely Powerful Hurricane Katrina Leaves a Historic Mark on the Northern Gulf Coast- A Killer Hurricane Our Country Will Never Forget” National Weather Service
https://www.weather.gov/mob/katrina#:~:text=A%20Killer%20Hurricane%20Our%20Country,moved%20northwest%20on%20August%2028th.
- “Hurricane Katrina” Mississippi Encyclopedia
https://mississippiencyclopedia.org/entries/hurricane-katrina/
