CAT Duty - Final Update

Ahh. Perfect.

CAT Duty - Update #39

This is probably my last photo post from Mississippi. It's been an experience to say the least. There's still a ton of hard work to be done, and it's going to be years before normal returns. I've made some good friends here (and I'll probably be stuck with them in a hotel again next year!). Final CAT update tomorrow.

CAT Duty - Update #38

Long Beach, MS was really hit hard by the hurricane. It looks like most of the city south of the railroad tracks will be razed by the local government. I ran across several homes that had 'do not bulldoze' spray painted on them. People here want to rebuild, but many of the homes will never be able to be lived in again.

Good Morning, Rita!

She's a fiesty gal from the looks of it. I've got a second here while I'm eating lunch and wanted to give you an idea of how far reaching this new hurricane is. We have a wind advisory and flood and tornado watches posted. The power and cable (gasp!) have been going out at the hotel. It's too nasty to be on a roof right now, so I'll finish doing paperwork until it clears up.
Update: Let's add tornado warnings to the mix!

CAT Duty - Update #37

Some more photos. My last day here is Sunday and then I get to head to home see the family. I have a few more days worth of photos to post. I'll probably write up a post mortem during my drive back to Michigan.

CAT Duty - Update #36

Jefferson Davis' home and now museum, Beauvoir, was heavily damaged in the storm. It sits on I-90 a few hundred feet from the gulf. I admit, I do not know very much about the place, but I understand that some of the relics were able to be saved.

CAT Duty - Update #35

Most of my photos have been of antebellum mansions or casinos on the coast, but some of the hardest hit places were among the lower income areas of Biloxi. These photos were taken on the east end of Biloxi where the storm surge hit from two directions.

Upper left: Yes, that house is in the street.
Upper right: At least two houses washed up against each other.
Lower left: Debris and some unhealthy muck.
Lower right: Another house with a fatality. If you look closely you can see how far back it's pushed from its porch. Upon further review, I don't think that house is on it's own foundation. The porch is from a house with at least a brick facade. Looks the the brick house washed away.

Yesterday I posted about the number of deaths that were caused by the storm. We spoke with some local officials and the number is going to go up. The number listed (around 200) are only the bodies that have been identified. Anecdotally, I have been in a bunch of these neighborhoods and I'm positive the number is going to go much higher. The upsetting thing about these four photos is that each one shows a house where someone decided to stay, for whatever reason, and ended up dying in the storm.