My experience through Hurricane Katrina

As I watched tree after tree collapse in the wind, I wondered if I had gotten myself into something bigger than I could have ever imagined. Later that day, I realized, I was right. On August 27, early in the morning, we all sat in front of the television, listening to the warning of the weatherman. “This is no ordinary storm!” As I looked outside the window, it had only begun to rain heavily. The wind was picking up, and tree limbs began to snap. My mother started to panic, “I knew we should have evacuated!” But I didn’t think so, and neither did anyone else in the house. This appeared to be ’just another hurricane’ to me, and so I decided to take a rest, hopefully sleeping through most of the storm. “Brittany! Grab some towels! The waters coming in!” When I swung my feet over to get out of bed, they landed in water. “Great,” I thought. My boyfriend, Quentin, and I ran to the bathroom to grab some towels, supposedly to stop the water from coming in. But as soon as we made it to the living room, the towels were useless. The sliding glass door on the right made it obvious to us that we were going to have to do more than just keep the water from coming in. Inside the house, there were only a few inches of water, but outside the glass, was at least two feet of raging, angry waves, fighting to intrude my home. “We all need to get into the attic!”, my mother shouted. Ryan, my friend of over a year, found a ladder, and set it up to lead into the hole in the ceiling. One by one, six of us climbed into the attic. First, was my mother. Then, my younger brother, George, myself, my older brother Brian, Quentin, and last was Ryan. Inside the attic, it was hot and cramped. You could hear the pounding of tree limbs only inches above your head. I peered down through the entrance, and I could see my life, surging down the hallway, in the rapids. Pictures, drawings, presents, and all sorts of memorabilia, all gone within minutes. I said to my family and friends, as the water started to rise higher, that we need to get to higher ground, or we could become trapped. As I finished my words, I saw George start to weep, the first time in years. This was no ordinary storm. As we descended, Ryan had suggested that we should take ground upon my mother’s car. But by now, the only way out of the house, was to swim. Dodging furniture, glass, and other obstacles, we swam out the window, and sat upon the small, red car. As soon as I finished wiping my eyes, what I saw made me question my own life, as well as everyone else’s. Only a few trees remained standing, bending in the gales. My street was a river, waves curling, and turning white at their peaks. The roar of the wind sounded like a freight train, but much closer than ever before. Debris of all kinds was flying, and dive-bombing into the Meadowmoss Drive River. The car beneath us began to shift, and it was only a matter of time before it too, floated away. Then, a ladder passed by, and Ryan grabbed a hold of it. “Brittany!”, he screamed, “Let’s try to get on the roof!” As he leaned the ladder against the edge, I had already started swimming towards it. Ascending the ladder, a tree limb darted inches away from my head. It would have been enough to leave at least a nasty scar across my face. On top of my roof, somewhere I never thought I would be, the wind was so intense, it cut my skin, and stung horribly. I was almost taken off my feet a few times, and I knew my younger brother would not have a chance up there. “Ryan! We have to think of a better plan! It’s too rough up here!” I yelled down. Then, as I looked outward, I saw our last hope; my friend’s two story house, now appearing to be floating on top of the water. I jumped off the roof, splashing into the water below, and swam to the car. My smart family had already thought of the two-story house next door. But the only way to get there now was to swim across fifty feet of raging rapids. And in 100 mile an hour winds, it would not be easy. The plan was to pass back through our house, out the back door, and follow across a rope we had tied between two trees for a dog run, to our neighbor’s house. The first few steps followed through, until we had gotten to the patio outside. We then noticed, that the rope was gone, and now, all hope had seemed to be lost. My mother had started to cry, but I knew it wasn’t over. “We’ll grab furniture and paddle our way across!”, I screamed. As we pulled chair cushions and nightstands from our home, I then remembered, my pets. But there was no time to even think about them. We sat George on top of a floating tire nearby, and the rest of us took hold of furniture. As I pulled my brother, we all fought the river, until we had reached a tree that snagged our makeshift life preservers, and stranded us eight feet high in the middle of the storm. From our ‘lookout’, I could see where we need to get to. A door yards away, was the only obstacle left to pass. That, and more river. But the door was always kept locked, and was partial glass. It would have to be broken first, and the only ones who could do so, were Quentin and Ryan. As Ryan began to swim towards the glass barrier, Quentin followed him. “Quentin! Be careful!”, I yelled. But the wind was howling louder than I ever could, and I doubted he could hear my cry. My family and I watched in anticipation as the men struggled to break the glass, and unlock the door. My mother was praying to God, as she tightly held my young brother in her arms. Then, one of the men shouted, “It’s open! Everyone swim across!” Brian, somewhat of a large man, swam across first. He barely kept a straight line as he fought the current, and made it inside the house. Now, it was my turn. I knew I could swim across, having been swimming in competition for several years. But as for my mother and brother, I wasn’t so sure. “Just wait a minute!”, I cried to our heroes. There must be a way for them to get across too, I thought. Shortly after, a wide sized cushion was riding the current, almost surfing, across our view. Luckily, within our reach. My mother and I grabbed it, and pulled it close. “We’re going to put George in the middle, us on each end, and we’re going to paddle across,” I explained to everyone. George, my mother, and I, took our places, and began to swim. The current seemed stronger than ever, but I kept telling myself, and my family, “We’re almost there, keep kicking, stronger!” My mom uttered similar words of encouragement to herself and George, as she peered over to her left to make sure we both were still there, and okay. Halfway there, we began to be pulled to the right by the current, veering off our path. I worried only for a second, but I used all the strength I had left to try to kick us back on course. My legs scraped against objects swimming underneath the surface. My face was scratched by the harsh, unforgiving winds. For a moment, my most beloved memories of my home flashed in my mind, and just then I had realized, we made it. The men had shoved furniture aside, and created a path for us to the stairs. We swam fast, knowing dry ground was only a few feet away. I climbed up the steps, and at their summit, I broke into tears. All my thoughts had still not collected, but I was able to comprehend that we were all alive, and this, was most definitely, something I would always remember.

This is by far the most amazing, shocking, and thrilling event that has ever happened to me in my life. I have lost my home, my pets, and my life in Louisiana. Nothing will ever be the same again. I have been left with NOTHING, and must start back at square one. But in a way, this can be for the better. Having none of my posessions makes me realize now, that I do not need them anymore. Having none of my friends close to me, makes me realize that they are the most important people to me in my life. And having my family so close to me now, makes me understand that I should love them, and cherish every moment I have with them, because I had almost lost ALL of them before, and if our last moments should come, I would want every moment leading up to them to be the greatest we've ever had.

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