The Storm

As I am writing this, Hurricane Matthew is tormenting and terrorizing so many small countries. Eventually, Matthew will reach the borders of the United States, but the exact direction has not been determined yet. Regardless, Hurricane Matthew will cause an immense amount of grief. I have some good friends who are visiting Haiti on a mission trip and will be riding out the storm because the airports are closed, so I pray for their safety as well as all of those who live in the path of this deadly storm.

On August 29, 2005, Katrina came barreling into the gulf coast region. New Orleans was in great danger since it is surrounded by water and is already 6 feet below sea level. The water eroded the soil under the levees, eventually sweeping them away. Thousands of people in some parishes scrambled to their roof tops and attics. In New Orleans alone, the Coast Guard rescued 34,000 people from their homes. Many of us have seen the pictures and heard the stories. This article is not about how the government handled the situation or who is to blame for late warnings and levee breaches; this is about the devastation and loss that lead to immense grief for the residents of the gulf coast.

I had the privilege of assisting those people who arrived in Indiana from the gulf coast resettle and find a safe haven until they could return. However, the most memorable part of my recovery effort was actually visiting New Orleans in an effort to restore a school and church right on Canal Street. I believe that I spent most of my time listening to the residents who remained or evacuated and came back tell their story. The loss of everything that they owned, worked for, items passed down from generations, graves destroyed and loved ones lost, violence and looting, fear of not surviving, failed attempts to reconnect with loved ones due to no communication and in some cases death was told over and over again from different perspectives. Thousands upon thousands experienced the same disaster, but every single individual was affected in a different way. People were transported by bus to airports and put on planes, not knowing their destination. Families separated not knowing when, or if, they would be reunited. What was once called home was gone, and they could not return due to their residence being condemned or the fact that there was nothing to return to.

I heard stories of people just trying to survive the hurricane. Two people clung to a tree for their lives while the wind and rain beat on them for hours. People realizing that the surge along the coast was greater than they expected; homes, cars and belongings being swept out into the Gulf. Winds causing homes and businesses to collapse. The marina in New Orleans looked like a toddler had come along and very carefully placed boats and yacht on top of one another (some even stood 5 boats tall). As the flooding took over and the levees gave way, people talked about how the water quickly rose in their homes. They tried to take precious items to a second story or attic for safe keeping just to realize they needed to climb onto their roofs to await rescue. During all of this, one question was repeated over and over: “How could this happen to me?” At first, they were thankful to be alive, but then the reality of what they had lost set in. They no longer had a loved one, a pet, a home, a car, a neighborhood, a place of employment, a bank, a church, etc. If they did have a home to return to, they did not have utilities to remain in those homes until repairs were complete. They could not call up their relatives or friends and ask for help because everyone was in the same situation, and there was no one to turn to. Even after the water receded and people began to return to their condemned homes, they discovered that the cemeteries had been affected—their loved one was gone, probably washed out to sea. Children had no school to return to; hospitals, doctors and dentists were all gone. The streets of New Orleans became a dangerous place due to increased gang activity, looting and no security. What compounded the loss for many was that there were places in New Orleans and along the gulf coast that did survive and were not destroyed by the storm or the flooding. The anger and resentment for many was just too much to bear, so they left. Rebuilding was too overwhelming for so many who had very little before the storm. Parents were scared: how would they continue to support their children without a job? Those on some type of disability or government program struggled to apply in another State without the proper ID, which was lost in the flood.

I volunteered to work for the Emergency Management for the State of Indiana when I heard about all of the refugees coming into our State with no direction. I heard in the voices of those calling for assistance the panic, anger, frustration and loss of identity as I spoke to each person who called for help. When I was able to go to New Orleans four months after Katrina, I saw how weary and tired many of those who had returned were. I also saw the resilience of those who had stayed or were returning to rebuild. They were proud of their home and determined to reclaim it from Katrina.

The loss was devastating. Five years later, families were still trying to locate family members who had left and not returned. The loss encompasses so many areas; it may be the only example I have that includes all 43 areas of loss leading to grief. New Orleans is an example of how grief works: it walked through the storm and suffered an insurmountable amount of losses; however, on the journey to rebuild and repair the damage, pain and hurt, it has come out of the storm stronger and its identity was strengthened due to the resilience of those that stayed behind and walked through the journey of loss and grief. Now, 11 years later, you can hardly tell that Katrina destroyed a significant area of New Orleans or the Gulf Coast.

Hurricane Matthew will cause significant loss, and not to compare loss but I believe that it will be greater than Katrina. Many people living in huts and depending on tarps to give them a sense of a home and to keep dry refuse to leave the little that they have obtained over the years. They are the ones in extreme danger. Their homes will likely be blown away or washed away in mudslides, and their lives will be put into danger due to high winds. I only hope that those going through the destruction hurricane Matthew is leaving behind can find the same strength to work through the grief and loss they will incur; I hope they will rebuild not only the physical damage but also work on the personal grief that they experience so they can emerge stronger, more resilient and able to move on, to rebuild for themselves and their families.

What has been your greatest storm and how did you weather the waves during that storm?