Background We are Art & Masumi Williams. We live in a town named Diamondhead, which is located in Hancock County, Mississippi. The eye of Katrina covered all of Hancock County in fact the center of the eye was in Lakeshore, Ms.~8 miles from here. First, some demographics, as I know them. There are 3 counties that comprise the Ms Gulf Coast, they being West to East, Hancock, Harrision & Jackson county. Population of the 3 is about 280,000. Estimates published yesterday, 15 Sep 05, out of the ~170,000 dwelling units on the coast, a unit being a house like mine or a Walmart Superstore, 65,000 are destroyed, 40,000 have major damage (like XK and up) 50,000 have minor damage like my house (10K or less) and ~15,000 came through unscathed. If you have a Rand McNally Road Atlas look at the Ms Gulf Coast. Everything below US 90 to the Gulf of Mexico from the Louisiana State line to Pascagoula is almost 100 % destroyed. Everything from Interstate 10 South to the Gulf running the entire state (70 miles) is over 80% destroyed. Closer to home, here in Diamondhead, all homes south of I-10, some 300 or so are totally destroyed; all one can see is a slab here and there or a wall or a fireplace, whatever. North of I-10 there are about 2000 homes. Some 60% of them are either destroyed or have sustained major damage. Diamondhead was spared compared to the 4 other towns in Hancock County. Lakeshore, Waveland & Bay St Louis were almost 90 % destroyed and Kiln was about 70% destroyed. About 7 miles to the East of Diamondhead is the town of Pass Christian. They had the unfortunate luck of being on the starting edge of the NE Quadrant of the eye-wall, the absolute worst place to be in a hurricane. The next three towns just east of the Pass are Long Beach, Gulfport and Biloxi. Damage was sustained by a town in Florida named Navarre, which is about 150 miles East of Diamondhead, so just imagine what happened to New Orleans which is only 55 miles west of Diamondhead. The surge was as high as 32 feet at the coastline on top of which were 15foot waves. One of our friends has a home 9 miles from the Gulf . It is a house built on stilts that are 17 feet high on as piece of ground 5 feet higher than the Bayou. He and his wife stayed in the house. They got almost 4 feet of water inside their house, which means that the surge topped by waves was 26 feet high at a point 9 miles inland. Another friend lives about 2 miles from the Gulf and the surge went completely over the top of his house. Thank goodness they had decided to evacuate to Alabama. Although our house is only 1 & ½ miles from the Gulf, it is at 91 feet above sea level, hence no surge problems. To continue reading AK's Katrina account, click Our Preparation here, or in the frame on the left. |