Gulfport, Mississippi- Day 10 in the Gulf... We keep hear people using the phrase "war zone" when they describe the scene here. Today I finally agreed with them. Gulfport, Mississippi looks like what I would imagine in the aftermath of a bomb exploding. You can't tell where the buildings used to be. There is debris everywhere, twisted metal, trees, concrete, furniture, street signs, you name it. The Copa Casino behind where we parked our truck is literally missing one side of the building. Heavy equipment moves the debris into piles, but it hardly makes a dent. We drove down the main road along the coast and saw nothing but foundations, homes and churches gone or barely standing. Like the other towns we've been in there is a police and military presence. But it's clear the job of repairing this city is so big and will take so long it's hard to imagine how long all this support can and will stay here. People walk through the debris looking shellshocked. Some take pictures, others just gaze...

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Biloxi, Mississippi- Getting into Biloxi was no easy task. Unlike other areas where we have traveled, Biloxi is an urban area with widespread damage. There’s no street untouched. It is a maze of roadblocks, military and police. Debris blocks almost every road making travel difficult if not impossible. We finally ended up at a church on the beach where our story was based. Katrina took most of the roof, the walls, the windows. The pews, altar and hymnals were ripped apart and tossed into a pile. But the cross remained above the altar, seemingly untouched. From a hole in what was left of the ceiling a shaft of light shined in through the rafters and illuminated the cross. The building was gone, destroyed beyond repair, but we learned the church itself was still operating. It was just another reminder that the human spirit triumphs here above the chaos…

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For years, the town of Biloxi was a quiet seashore town on the gulf coast of Mississippi. In recent years, it’s become a weekend mecca for those wanting to get away and catch entertainment or gamble the night away at a local casino. The damage that Grand Casino and Beau Rivage sustained is probably well over $100 million dollars. The Hard Rock Casino that was going to open up the week of Sept. 8th was rocked by the storm surge. They’re going to have to demolish part of it and completely rebuild it again.

Our story today brought us to Seashore United Methodist Church – along the beachfront in Biloxi. Samaritan’s Purse – Frankin Graham’s non-profit assistance group has set up their base here for the time being. They hit the ground running last week and they are prepared to stay there for up to a year.

The damage here is amazing to see. Antebellum homes and hundred year old trees were no match for Katrina. I’m sure most people left this area…and I’m also...

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Waveland/Pass Christian – Tuesday

The amount of wind damage in this area is impressive. The water damage is catastrophic.

My heart sank as we drove close to where my parents used to have a condo along the coast. I’ve driven these roads hundreds of times – the main roads, the back roads, the shortcuts no one knows about. Nothing is left along side most of them the closer you get to the coast.



Amanda and Ed scouted out our live location before Brian and I came in. It was a backstreet near the edge of Hwy 90. (The road that takes you along the beach all the way to Biloxi). I had driven through this area many times with friends in high school and college to go to the beach or go fishing. The closer we got, the more I realized most of those memories just wouldn’t be the same.

When Brian and I finally got to the live shot location – I took a minute to walk around the block before checking in with the 530p producer. Blocks and blocks...

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Waveland...Gulfport...Biloxi...Everywhere you look there are campers, tents, people sleeping in trucks, cars all along the side of the road. Shopping center parking lots have turned into mini-cities. Some of the gypsies are displaced homeowners, others are relief workers, contractors, you name it. There's no water, no power, no ice- people just living day-to-day, trying to figure out what to do next.
Amanda

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