HURRICANE IDA: THE ANNIVERSARY OF KATRINA

How The Hurricane Almost Delayed My Wedding

It’s Not What You Think

Photo by JD Designs on Unsplash

As I boarded the flight to New Orleans, I left behind my wedding plans. It was September 2005, and I was scheduled to walk down an aisle to say, “I do” in less than three weeks.

Hurricane Katrina had obliterated New Orleans and the neighboring parishes. When I say obliterated, I mean there was an occasional house standing, but many neighborhoods were lots of fallen lumber and brick. On my 10th day, a fellow nurse and I toured New Orleans. The smell wafted up into our noses as a reminder of the devastation. No amount of Vick’s under your nose could remove the stench.

We drove in silence, hoping our eyes were deceiving us. But no. Occasionally we would see a house standing. I remember seeing images on the TV of people sitting on the tops of their homes waiting for rescue, dogs floating away. It was too much.

I was a licensed EMT, volunteering my time with the American Red Cross. The Disaster Supervisor had me on her list because I had been a previous employee for the Long Beach Chapter in California. The necessary training was already done, so she needed me to deploy.