Reports from AGA Members in the Gulf Coast Region

Hurricane Katrina Images from AGA's Jackson Chapter

Princy Harrison's newly renovated beach front home

Linda Lewis: I'm an AGA member of the New Orleans Chapter.  Our home was located in New Orleans east.  The water level rose above the rooftop in my neighborhood and was over 12 feet in our surrounding neighborhood.  We have lost everything including the new car that I bought last year.  It's all gone. My husband and I evacuated on Sunday, August 26, 2005 before hurricane Katrina hit the region.  We didn't realize that Houston, Texas did not have available rooms anywhere in the area.  We would have to drive another 239 miles to San Antonia to find space but that was impossible because we were exhausted.  A normal 5 hour trip took 12 hours in evacuation traffic. Therefore, we stayed with my son in a one bedroom apartment shared with 12 other family members.  Trust me, I'm not complaining.  I was happy to sleep on the floor.  It not for him, I would be in the Houston Astrodome shelter.  It
was crowded but the most important thing about it is that we were safe and had food and water.  We only packed two days of clothes.  Fortunately, a Houston, Texas mission gave us vouchers for a thrifty store and we received brand-new underwear and one outfit.  Boy, was I grateful.   We have several family members that are still unaccounted for. I will be grateful for the rest of my life that I was able to get out in time. Sure, we've lost everything but having your life and family is the most important thing.

Billy Morehead, CGFM, September 6: An update from the state of Mississippi: Of course the storm impacted many areas (New Orleans, MS Gulf Coast, Alabama Gulf Coast), nevertheless, the city of Jackson was heavily damaged by the category 1 hurricane force winds (some 150 miles inland).  They just had power restored this weekend.  Communication has been very difficult for all of us down here; yet, I am unaware of any of the Jackson chapter members that have been terribly affected. From the Institutions of Higher Learning and Community/Junior Colleges, I understand that 3 Community Colleges in southern Mississippi were severely damaged along with the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, MS (both of USM Gulf Coast branches will be closed indefinitely – my Ph.D. program is at the branch in Long Beach, MS) and the Meridian, MS branch of Mississippi State University.  All of the MS colleges/universities south of Jackson are closed until September 12 (at the earliest).  I understand that some 125,000 college/university students in LA and MS are displaced because of the storm.  Mississippi’s Commissioner of Higher Learning has made appeals to our Congressional leadership and the US Dept. of Education to waive all reciprocity agreements for admission/graduation among colleges/universities in the affected areas (and perhaps the southeast) to allow those students who cannot attend their university to attend somewhere and transfer the credits back so they may graduate (essentially, most schools require that the last 30 or 60 hours be taken at the school the student is to graduate from and we’ve asked that this requirement be waived for a couple of years). I am at Delta State University in the Northwest part of MS.  We received only minor damage from wind and rain – yet, we have opened a vacant dorm for evacuees and have extended our admission deadlines and class sizes to accept students from other colleges. It has been truly amazing to see so many people from different ethnic and religious backgrounds pull together to make our community home for so many displaced victims – AMERICA IS TRULY A WONDERFUL AND BLESSED COUNTRY IN WHICH TO LIVE!!!!

Mary "Sunny" Wisely, Baton Rouge Chapter, September 6: I am sharing my home with 2 displaced families. One family's home was in Lakeview so the assumption is the house was flooded to the rooftop. The other family is from the adjoining parish. Keep us in your prayers.

Jullin Renthrope, CGFM, September 1: Jullin and his family are staying at his mother-in-law’s house in Charleton, LA. He’s not sure what happened to his house (which is located in an area with severe flooding), so he just said they just need to wait and see. But everyone is okay and he said he’d keep us posted. UPDATE, September 7: My family is well and we left New Orleans on Saturday to go to Houston. I am currently in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. I appreciate your concern and I will stay in touch.

Clyde McShan, CGFM, August 31: Chris Graham with Savantage's Washington office reports that Clyde and the entire New Orleans-based team evacuated ahead of the storm and everyone is safe.

Pete Rose, CGFM, August 31: We have been trying to get home since Sunday. We were at my nephew's wedding in Chicago and were stuck in Atlanta after the flights to Gulfport were cancelled. This morning, we started to drive our rental car back to our house. We were told that there would be no flights out until at least 9/2, if not later. However, we have been told that we cannot get into Mississippi. So, we are in Montgomery trying to figure out the next move. We have purchased a generator and have 15 gallons of gas and lots of water. However, we can't get home. Our car is at the Gulfport airport. We have no idea of its condition. We also know nothing about our house. We can't call anyone at home on our cell phone because all the cell towers have been knocked out. So, we are biding our time.  We have a room for the next few nights and are hoping that we can get home soon. Even when we do, we will probably not have any power for quite some time. Let everyone there know that we are OK and thanks for being concerned. Pete UPDATE: Chris Rose heard from his parents on Sept. 1 that their house is not damaged, but many trees are down.